Create meetup in Tokyochevron_right
Select a place on the map to change the location.
I want to meet
Verified required?
want to meet at fmd_good Forno Centrale
want to meet at fmd_good Funland
explore Tokyo Guides
bar_chart Trends in Tokyo
Apollostation Okubo's Mystery
honestly i think you stumbled onto something good. that alley is known to locals as "okubo's spine" cause it snakes behind three blocks of old wooden buildings. there's a tiny yakitori spot in there, no sign in japanese even, just a red noren curtain with a chicken silhouette. they do this thing where they grill the negima with a miso-mirin glaze that's hard to find elsewhere. if you go back, aim for dinner around 6pm, the old guy who runs it usually fires up the binchotan himself and will chat your ear off if you show even basic japanese
You're talking about the narrow lane just east of the station, past the pachinko place. That's actually the back entrance to a couple of tiny Korean-run izakayas, not yakitori specifically. Okubo has a huge Korean community, so those hidden slots are often Korean bars serving chijimi and makgeolli alongside Japanese skewers. I'd bet the old guy was pointing you to a spot called Hana, which does good samgyeopsal at the counter. Next time, ditch the car and walk five minutes from Okubo Station's north exit.
oh man you prob missed out on a solid spot. that alley leads to a tiny yakitori place called Torikizoku, but not the chain one - theres a mom-and-pop version just off the main road. they do a killer tsukune with this tare sauce thats been simmering for years. next time you're in okubo, park at the station and walk, the alley starts right behind the 7-eleven on the corner.
load 1 more reply
Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.