It recently occurred to me that I was about to leave Japan without having yakitori (skewered meat, traditionally cooked over charcoal). Obviously, that wouldn’t do.
Hachibei is a well-regarded chain of yakitori restaurants, with a handful of locations in Fukuoka and throughout Japan. They have a combo that comes with five skewers for 980 yen, which is a pretty good deal and a nice way to remove any guesswork if you’re not sure what to order.
It came with pork belly, chicken tail (which is a nice way of saying chicken butt), chicken gizzard, vegetable roll, and chicken meatball.
Everything was very good. The guy manning the grill obviously knew what he was doing; it was all perfectly cooked, with a light exterior crispiness and a delightful amount of smokiness from the charcoal that never overwhelms.
The pork belly was super tender, the chicken tail was kinda like crispy chicken skin, the gizzard had a nice bite, the vegetable roll was delicious (the “roll” in this case is bacon, and obviously anything rolled in bacon is going to be delicious), and the chicken sausage was tender and bursting with flavour.
I also ordered a Suntory highball, mostly because I keep seeing various bars and izakayas advertising their highball; clearly, the highball is quite beloved here.
This particular one was just whisky, soda water, and a lemon on ice. It was quite refreshing, and the perfect drink to go with grilled meat.
Location: 〒812-0012 Fukuoka, Hakata-ku, Hakataekichūōgai, 8−１ Ｂ１
How to find it: It’s on the lower level of the JRJP Hakata building.