No shop paid us: the Tokyo yakitori an AI chose from 14 traveller posts, from 50-yen skewers to 8-seat counters
Plenty of "best yakitori in Tokyo" lists are written by someone who was handed a free course and a nice photo angle. Ours was written by an AI that has never eaten a skewer, which is exactly why it only counts what real travellers saved, repeated and complained about.
How our AI picked these
- 14 traveller posts about yakitori and izakaya in Tokyo, read in full, comments included.
- Those posts had been saved 8,516 times by other travellers.
- 27 places were named and scored. 17 we could confirm on a shop page, booking page or review site. 8 made the main list below.
- The formula, in plain words: every post that names a place gives it points, and posts that more people saved count for more. A place gets extra points when different authors recommend it independently, one point if we confirmed it is open, and loses a point when comments flag a real problem.
No shop paid to be listed here, and we accept no free meals, drinks or gifts from any shop. Read the full rules.
The list mixes two very different nights out. Numbers 1 and 2 are loud, cheap and easy: walk in or book a day ahead. Numbers 3 to 8 are serious counters where a chef grills each skewer in front of you, the menu is a set course, and you book days or weeks ahead.
The list
1. Shinjidai (焼鳥 新時代)
Why the AI picked it: named in two separate posts that were saved 2,488 times between them, more than any other place here. Both writers came back to the same thing: the crisp, chewy chicken-skin skewer that costs almost nothing. It lost one point because both also said the other dishes are only fine.
Order this: the house chicken-skin skewer (den-kushi), several of them. Add gizzard and a meatball skewer, and a big glass of beer or highball if the branch is running its upsize deal.
Price: the skin skewer has long been about ¥50 and drinks around ¥200, so this is one of the cheapest full nights out in Tokyo. Prices can change by branch; check the menu on the wall.
Queue / booking: walk in. Busy and noisy from early evening, so arrive before 19:00 on weekends.
Getting there: a chain with branches around Tokyo, including Shimbashi, Shibuya and Akihabara. Search the Japanese name in your map app to find the nearest one.
Heads-up: come for the skin skewers and beer, not for a refined meal. Seats are tight and smoky.
2. Kushiyaki JOMON Roppongi (串焼ジョモン 六本木店)
Why the AI picked it: named in two posts by different authors (saved 952 times). Both liked that staff bring a tray of raw skewers to your table so you can simply point, and that menus come in English, Chinese and Korean. A group of four ordered heavily and still paid about ¥4,000 each.
Order this: Hakata-style vegetable rolls wrapped in pork (avocado, tomato, scallop or shrimp versions), a few chicken skewers, then the miso offal hot pot (motsunabe) to share.
Price: about ¥4,000–¥5,500 per person with drinks.
Queue / booking: book. It has a TableCheck page in English; you can also call 03-3405-2585.
Getting there: 5-9-17 Roppongi, about 3 minutes on foot from Roppongi Station. Tokyo Tower is about a 20-minute walk.
Heads-up: one writer found the signature pork-and-lettuce roll ordinary; the other rolls got better reviews. It is the kind of place you stay three hours, so plan nothing after.
3. Masakichi (まさ吉)
Why the AI picked it: one post saved 1,064 times, and the writer's main point was that there were almost no other foreigners in the room. Public sources back it up: running since 2003, on the national yakitori top-100 list and in the Michelin guide.
Order this: the yakitori set, chicken wings and tsukune, then finish with the chicken-broth ramen (tori chuka soba), which locals say is reason enough to come.
Price: about ¥5,000 per person.
Queue / booking: book. About 16 seats; opening hours listed online are roughly 17:00–23:00, but check the shop's page before you go.
Getting there: a quiet back street in Meguro-honcho, about 3 minutes from Musashi-Koyama Station (Tokyu Meguro Line).
Heads-up: a neighbourhood place, not a show. There is an English menu, but keep your voice down; it is small.
4. Kasahara (かさ原)
Why the AI picked it: the highest-rated place in the data. A traveller post saved 642 times shared the top of Tabelog's Tokyo yakitori ranking, and Kasahara led it with a 4.55 rating and a Gold award.
Order this: there is nothing to choose. The omakase course uses one breed of chicken and runs from chicken sashimi and liver to classic skewers, ending with oyakodon.
Price: the posted budget is about ¥20,000–¥40,000 per person depending on the source and your drinks. Check the shop's page before you go.
Queue / booking: book well ahead. Most seats are booked as an omakase course; a few are released through an auction on a review site.
Getting there: Higashi-Gokencho, Shinjuku, about 6 minutes on foot from Kagurazaka Station (Tozai Line).
Heads-up: no photos of the food. This is a quiet chef's counter, not a drinking night.
5. Tori Shiki (鳥しき)
Why the AI picked it: same traveller post, 642 saves, with a 4.43 rating, and the best value among the famous counters. It has held a Michelin star for years and is often called the hardest yakitori booking in Japan.
Order this: the omakase skewers, then add anything you want at the end; the oyakodon finish is the usual pick.
Price: the course is about ¥8,000–¥10,000 before extras and drinks.
Queue / booking: very hard. 12 counter seats, bookings by phone. Keep trying, and have a backup plan for the night.
Getting there: about 2 minutes from Meguro Station.
Heads-up: open days have changed over the years; check the shop's page before you go.
6. OHKUSA (オオクサ)
Why the AI picked it: the same post (642 saves), rated 4.37. Eight counter seats and large skewers of branded local chicken chosen by the owner each morning.
Order this: the set omakase; it is the only option.
Price: about ¥15,000 per person including tax and service, before drinks.
Queue / booking: phone only, and bookings open only about a week ahead. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Getting there: a back alley near Yotsuya-sanchome Station (Marunouchi Line), an easy hop from Shinjuku.
Heads-up: no photos and a quiet room. Ask a hotel concierge to call if your Japanese is not up to a phone booking.
7. YAKITORI Moe es (YAKITORI 燃 es)
Why the AI picked it: the same post (642 saves), rated 4.28, and the easiest of the top counters to book for visitors, since it takes online reservations.
Order this: the omakase built around Himekko chicken from Ehime. The chicken-breast skewer with shiso and wasabi and the closing ramen are the dishes people remember.
Price: about ¥15,000 per person.
Queue / booking: book online; seatings start at a fixed time, so be punctual.
Getting there: 7-13-10 Roppongi, right by Roppongi Station. About 16 seats, with a private room.
Heads-up: combine with drinks in Roppongi afterwards; JOMON (number 2) is about 10 minutes on foot if you want a second round.
8. Shutei Tanaka (酒亭 田中)
Why the AI picked it: same post (642 saves), rated 4.27, and on the 2025 top-100 yakitori list for eastern Japan. Two brothers run it: one cooks refined Japanese dishes, the other grills.
Order this: the course, which alternates small Japanese dishes with skewers. Ask for sake pairings.
Price: about ¥10,000–¥15,000 per person.
Queue / booking: diners say it is booked up months ahead. Check the shop's page for the current booking method.
Getting there: near Kanegafuchi Station in Sumida, about 10 minutes from Asakusa on the Tobu Skytree Line. The closest top counter to our shop.
Heads-up: it is in a residential area with nothing else around; take a taxi back if it gets late.
Also on the same top list: Maki Tori Shin Kobe (Akasaka-mitsuke), Tori Chataro (Shibuya), Eiki (Ebisu), Minami Aoyama Nana Chome (Hiroo), Toribayashi (Azabu-Juban) and Mizuki (Shirokanedai) come from the same post and scored the same as numbers 4 to 8. If those are full, try these.
Can't get a booking? Sada Juro Nakameguro (佐田十郎 中目黒)
It scored lower (one post, 366 saves), but the writer's point is useful: it is one of the few good yakitori bars in Nakameguro that take walk-ins. Staff are friendly but speak little English and the menu is in Japanese only, so use a camera translation app and point. Order the wasabi chicken skewer. Expect skewers around ¥380 each and ¥4,000–¥5,000 for a full evening (estimates based on its sister branch). Check the shop's page before you go.
The rip-off warning
One place in our data was flagged by commenters as a rip-off, with dishes that did not match the photos. We could not confirm the shop independently, so we left it off the list and are not naming it. The pattern is common, though, and easy to avoid:
- Never follow a street tout. Anyone steering you into a bar from the pavement is usually paid per customer, and the bill is where they recover it.
- Find the price before you sit. A posted menu with prices, or a QR menu you can read, is a good sign. No visible prices, or a "set" nobody will explain, is your cue to leave.
- Ask about charges up front. A small table charge (otoshi, a few hundred yen) is normal. A cover charge of several thousand yen, or one quoted only at the end, is not.
- Check recent reviews on your map app at the door. Thirty seconds of reading beats a ruined night.
- Use places with a booking page. Every shop on our main list can be found on a shop page, booking page or review site.
Yokocho: the alleys, in short
Yokocho are narrow lanes of tiny bars and grills, many dating back to post-war street markets near stations. They are a great place for a cheap first round before or after one of the counters above.
- Omoide Yokocho, Shinjuku. Smoky yakitori and offal grills beside the tracks at the west exit. Go early for a seat. More in our Shinjuku at night guide.
- Golden Gai, Shinjuku. About two hundred bars seating a handful of people each. Cover charges are common, some bars are regulars-only, and many ask for no photos.
- Nonbei Yokocho, Shibuya. A short, quieter double alley by the tracks near Shibuya Station.
- Yurakucho under the tracks. Yakitori counters and standing bars in the brick arches towards Shimbashi, full of office workers from early evening. A Shinjidai branch is nearby in Shimbashi.
- Asakusa's hoppy street. Outdoor izakaya tables near Senso-ji, open from the afternoon, serving stewed beef tendon and hoppy. See our Asakusa one-day guide.
Yokocho manners: two or three people per group, everyone orders a drink, do not linger when people wait outside, ask before photographing anyone, leave suitcases in a station locker, and carry cash.
How to plan a route
- Roppongi night: dinner at YAKITORI Moe es (7), then a second round at JOMON (2), about 10 minutes away on foot.
- Shinjuku night: OHKUSA (6) in Yotsuya-sanchome or Kasahara (4) near Kagurazaka for dinner, then a short taxi to Golden Gai or Omoide Yokocho. For cocktails afterwards, see our Tokyo bars guide.
- Budget night: Shinjidai (1) in Shimbashi, then walk to the Yurakucho arches.
- East side: Shutei Tanaka (8) in Kanegafuchi, with Asakusa's hoppy street earlier in the afternoon.
- Southwest: Tori Shiki (5) at Meguro, or Masakichi (3) two stops down the Tokyu Meguro Line at Musashi-Koyama.
More grilled meat? Our AI also ranked Tokyo's yakiniku. And for the walk home, many locals end the night with a bowl of ramen.
Book the counter, find the alley, read the menu
Most of these counters take bookings only by phone, a booking page or a review site, and many hide in back streets with handwritten menus. Install an eSIM before you fly and you can book Moe es online, map the way to Kasahara and point your camera at Shinjidai's menu the moment you land.
Japan eSIM from ¥480