A note on the words: torikawa is chicken skin wound round a skewer and grilled — the Hakata version, from Fukuoka in the south, is coiled tight, grilled over several days and basted in tare, the sweet soy glaze, until it is crisp outside and chewy within. Yakitori is grilled chicken on skewers generally; su-motsu is offal dressed in vinegar; otoshi is the small appetizer you are charged for on sitting down, which is the cover charge rather than a scam. Prices are as of this writing (August 2026).
Hakata Torikawa Nagamasa, Yotsuya branch, on Tabelog (English) — opening hours, payment details and the Japanese address are kept up to date there, not here.
I want to eat something good today as well. This is Hangover Meshi. This one I wandered into after Kainomi in Yotsuya. To think there was somewhere in Yotsuya serving Hakata-style chicken skin! There are more places in Tokyo doing those coiled skewers than I realized. So: a little chicken skin before going home. The shop is a small one, but there was room at the back, so we shared a table.
It seems to stay open until around midnight.
I do not have the impression that many places around Yotsuya run that late, so this is a help.
(Though for all I know there are plenty and I simply have not found them.)
The moment I ordered the chicken skin and a beer, the otoshi arrived: cabbage.
It is a fine thing that cabbage and miso alone make a perfectly good snack to drink with.
And then su-motsu, which feels properly Hakata.
The offal has almost no funk to it and a firm, crunchy bite. The vinegar cuts straight through and keeps it clean. Not a trace of heaviness from the fat — if anything it resets the mouth. It would go with beer or with a highball, but it is at its best alongside the first glass of the night.
And here is the Hakata specialty, torikawa.
Yes. Very good indeed.
Hakata torikawa is a completely different thing from the skin you get on an ordinary yakitori skewer. Crisp and fragrant outside, with a distinctive chewy give within. The tare is not too sweet, but sharp and clean, and one skewer in you can feel the “just one more” taking hold. This really does suit beer.
Well, the torikawa was good. Nagamasa seems to have shops in Hakata as well; presumably the Yotsuya one is a branch. It was only a casual second stop of the evening, but it satisfied me more than I expected, and it is a good shop. Starting the night here rather than ending it might be an option next time. I am glad to know it exists.
Hakata Torikawa Nagamasa, Yotsuya branch (Yakitori / Yotsuya, Yotsuya-sanchome and Kojimachi Stations)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.3
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
One more for the road?
