West Japan Yakitori Festival in Nagato 2019

Gathering of Yakitori restaurants in Western Japan

Nagato City is one of the seven largest yakitori towns in Japan, with the highest number of yakitori restaurants per 10,000 people in the country.

This year's Yakitori Festival will bring together 13 famous yakitori restaurants from all over western Japan.

Within 30 minutes of the start of the event, lines were forming at several stores.

Visitors were given fans and pamphlets.

Everyone stopped and looked carefully at the introduction column of the stores and considered where to line up.

Two restaurants, "Kita no Daichi" in Tottori Prefecture and "Yakitori Ichiriki" in Ube City, opened for the first time.

Those who were looking at the pamphlet seemed to naturally turn their toes to those two stores marked as first-time openings.

Each restaurant has its own unique way of grilling, which may be a kind of enjoyment.

Around noon, there are lines at all of the restaurants.

Among them, the store in Nagato City was particularly popular, and I had the impression that there was always a long line of people waiting in line.

Nagato's Yakitori and Jidori Chicken "Choshu Kuro Kashiwa

Yakitori in Nagato City is a style of fresh chicken meat served with salt.

This year, three stores from the city, Chikuzen Sohonten, Nagato Honjin, and Fukagawa Chicken Farmers Cooperative, opened their stores.

The skewers use the well-known "Choshu Dori" and "Choshu Kuro Kashiwa," an original local chicken from Yamaguchi Prefecture.

This local chicken is soft and juicy with just the right amount of chewiness. Even within the same western Japan, the origin of the chicken varies, which also makes a difference in the flavor of yakitori.

Summer Ends with Yakitori

Rain began to fall in the afternoon of the first day, and there were a few people using umbrellas here and there.

Even in such a situation, the venue comes alive with the energetic voices of the storeowners.

Some visitors heard about the store's pride and joys and descriptions of the different types of products at stores that they do not normally see.

The more conversation that ensued, the more satisfied they seemed to be with their yakitori purchase.

After purchasing yakitori, some people eat it on the spot while waiting in line at the next store, while others gather at the market where tables are laid out to share their purchases.

The market was almost full, and people were spreading out beer, rock oysters, and other items purchased at the local stalls' corner, enjoying the yakitori eating contest.

Not limited to eating, the event was also filled with singing, dancing, monkey shows, and other entertainment.

The "Western Japan Yakitori Festival in Nagato" concluded the summer events in Nagato.

This year, too, many people came to the event and were able to enjoy not only Nagato's yakitori, but also "local yakitori" from outside the city and prefecture.

If you have found the yakitori you like this time, please enjoy the taste of the main restaurant as well. You may also be able to find yakitori that is unique to the restaurant.

Store Locations

• Yakitori bancho, Ueda City, Nagano Prefecture
• Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture "North Land
• Imabari Yakitori Maruya, Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture
• Naha City, Okinawa, Japan "All Color Head Office (Full Color)
• Gunkei Farm, Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture
• Niwakatei, Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture
• Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture "Charcoal Kushiyaki Oretachi no Kizuna
• Fukuei Kumiai" Agricultural Cooperative, Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture
• Fujimura Butcher Shop, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture
• Yakitori Ichiriki, Ube City, Yamaguchi Prefecture
• Nagato Honjin, Nagato City, Yamaguchi Prefecture
• Fukagawa Poultry Farmers Cooperative Association, Nagato City, Yamaguchi Prefecture
• Chikuzen Sohonten, Nagato City, Yamaguchi Prefecture

Related Links

• Yakitori no Machi - Nagato (Special page in Nanavi)