If you walk just five minutes from the Hachiko exit of Shibuya station you’ll find yourself at Chitose kaikan. “Niku Yokocho” is a theme park so to speak that spans across two floors and is made up of 24 different vendors selling meat. “Shibuya Yokocho” first opened back in 2010 but in 2015 seven new meat vendors opened up on the 3rd level to make up “Yokocho-banare” All of this delicious meat can be bought here at a low price and enjoyed by all ages, from the young non-drinking teenager to the business man (salary man) who just got off from work.
Tokyo Girl's Update sent reporters Kumiko Funayama, Ai Matsumoto and Hikari Shiina on a mission to find out the most delicious meat available at “Niku Yokocho”.
Their first stop was “Nikutennokuni”. This vendor is famous for its tempura meat (deep-fried meat) and sushi. Tempura is one of Japan’s traditional dishes and uses a mix of water, egg and flour as its base for deep-frying a variety of vegetables, fish and other foods. The also popular "Uniku", wrapped Sea urchin in sirloin, samgyeopsal of tempura and some tomato-filled meat. The tomato was so refreshing that one person could easily gobble one up on their own. And it’s great to know that many of the vegetables used are organic and the oil used to fry them is canola oil.
The second stop was “Teppanyaki Yappa”. They offered special feliciaous Yamagata beef, Yamagata pork for a reasonable price. The "Yappa Beef Sushi" is bite-size sushi and one of the popular menu. Here they cook cone-shaped beef and pork, seasonal vegetables and tamogayaki on an iron plate. Here you can enjoy dishes that have been made by chefs that have been trained at some of Ginza’s most high-class Teppanyaki restaurants at a reasonable price. The girls ordered steak here but even the side menu offered meals that shined with sheer perfection.
Their third and final stop was “Niku CHIKA”. Located at the basement of a row of supermarkets, this vendor’s name was based off its location and similar to that of a butcher shop, customers can choose from a variety of meat showcased, with orders being taken from just one slice of meat. You can eat as little as you want, so at the second place we stopped by at you can use this meat there. Their speciality is the yaki shabu-shabu. It’s covered with sweet marinade and quickly grilled and after being dipped in egg it’s ready to eat! “Niku CHIKA” also has an all-you-can-eat option and is very popular with many visitors.
On this visit, TGU reporters were only able to check out just four of the vendors in “Niku Yokocho” but there are actually another 20 more of them. At “Niku Yokocho” you can also get your meals delivered to you, so I would make the most of it and try a variety of meat-based dishes while you’re here!
🍚🍚🍚This is OpenRice recommend, picked up from Niku Yokocho🍚🍚🍚
OpenRice recommend Part 1: Niku no Rakuen
Niku no Rakuen offer A5 rank finest beef at reasonable price, guaranteed by the owner. Especially juicy "Japanese Beef Ribs steak", soft and juicy "Japanese Marbled beef hamburg steak" are very popular. And repeat customers keep coming back for meltingly delicious "Broiled Japanese beef Yukke". You must try!
OpenRice recommend Part 2: Borracho
You will feel like you are in a Spain bar once you get inside. They offer popular dishes like "Trippa with tomato stew" and "Ahijo". Borracho's must-eat menu is "Manga Niku", it looks like it's popping up from manga (comics)! And it's big enough to share with your friends.