Ginza's Bird Land: A Michelin-starred Yakitori Restaurant

Japan has many unique dishes such as sushi, ramen, tempura, and teppanyaki that draw in visitors from all over the world.

When it comes to Japan's famous chicken cuisine though, there's yakitori. It is relatively unknown dish, compared to sushi and ramen.

Today, we'll introduce you a must-visit place for yakitori lovers in Ginza called Bird Land Ginza. It acquired 1 star in the Michelin Guide Book 2015 Edition, which made it famous not only in Japan but also worldwide.

How did such a common yet well-liked dish from Japan gain acclaim from a French gourmet guide? Here, we took to figure out the reasons why.

Bird Land, lurking in Ginza's underground

Bird Land is located on the basement floor of the building connected to the C6 Exit of Tokyo Metro's Ginza Station.

At Bird Land, you can enjoy your yakitori made exclusively with Ibaraki's original okukujishamo chicken with a glass of wine. Okukujishamo chicken is best known for its low fat content and springy texture.

The entire menu consists of only 2 types of Recommended Courses (5 plates for 6,300 yen or 8 plates for 8,400 yen). The 6,300 yen course comes with popular Bird Land standards like 8 kushiyaki skewers and chicken liver pâté. The 8,400円 course includes the above as well as some slightly rare types of yakitori, and white meat enjoyed with a basil sauce. It also comes with dessert. If you want to eat a bit more after you're done with the course, you can order some extra food.

The restaurant is most often fully booked between 19:00-20:00 (regular business hours are 17:00-21:30), so we recommend you visit before or after that block of time if you haven't made a reservation.

The restaurant has both counter seats and tables. At counter seats, you can see the yakitori being made right before your eyes.

Watch the Delicious Yakitori Magic of the Master

Yakitori is a rather simple dish. That's why the chef's technique plays such a big hand in its flavor.

Bird Land grills their chicken over a blast of heat from kishubinchotan charcoal (a high-grade charcoal manufactured in Wakayama prefecture) until it's evenly browned. It keeps all of the chicken's juicy flavor while also enveloping it in heat.

This is negima, a type of yakitori. It's a standard menu item at yakitori restaurants, where negi (green onions) are nestled between pieces of chicken. The chicken's savoriness and the onion's sweetness make for a delectable combination. The aroma of the grilled onions also has a tendency to make one's stomach rumble.

The heat is adjusted in accordance with the type of yakitori and the quality of the charcoal that day. Since our chef is a master in both chicken and charcoal, he can grill any type of yakitori to perfection.

All charcoal is not heated equally, so the chicken must be treated with the utmost care. Minute adjustments are made repeatedly to make sure it isn't burned by the fire below.

Our chef is using an uchiwa fan to adjust heat with air in the photo above. You could say the best yakitori is judged not only by using quality ingredients, but also by its texture, flavor, and appearance.

Savor Your Yakitori with Some Wine

Now is the time to eat our yakitori. This is our negima yakitori that we mentioned previously. This was made using meat from a chicken's calves.

With its incredibly chewy texture, the flavor of the meat becomes more potent with every bite.

You can eat uncommon types of meat, such as this chicken calf meat, that you wouldn't normally find at other yakitori restaurants, here at Bird Land.

Both courses leave the menu entirely up to the chef, but if there's any type of meat you don't want to try, you can let the chef know beforehand.

Next up is wasabiyaki, which is made with breast meat. Its low-fat content makes for a soft texture. The flavor alone is enough, but the texture makes it perfect.

Bird Land's wasabiyaki is simply seasoned with salt, and topped with wasabi.

The subtle saltiness only increases the fresh flavor of the Okukujishamo chicken while the wasabi provides an excellent accent. We were shocked at its tenderness.

Next, we were served some chicken liver pâté from the course menu. It is carefully prepared so that it does not have an unpleasant odor, and is easy to eat.

While there are an increasing number of yakitori restaurants that offer wine as a menu option, Bird Land was one of the first to do so.

Chef Wada, the owner of the restaurant, discovered how well sour wine pairs with the flavor of yakitori and decided to offer wine as a menu item. Perhaps this avant-garde and skillful thinking is one of the reasons that they've attracted global attention, starting with the Michelin guide.

Even those who aren't crazy about Japanese sake don't have to worry about what to enjoy their food with at Bird Land.

Finally, we tried the kawa yakitori, made by skewering pieces of chicken meat and skin. You'll see it at a lot of other yakitori restaurants as well.

There are many visitors that don't particularly care for the high-fat content of kawa yakitori, but at Bird Land, Chef Wada prepares it with an especially low amount of fat, so anyone should be able to enjoy it.

Bird Land is also unique in that it prepares this dish using the meat and skin from a chicken's neck. The skin here is softer and the meat more flavorful compared to other parts.

Bird Land's kawa yakitori has been a hit with visitors thanks to word of mouth. If you stop by the restaurant, definitely give it a try.

The Secret to their Success? Careful Preparation and Fearless Curiosity

We asked Chef Wada about the secret of Bird Land's success.

The most important thing is careful preparation. The quality of the chicken is obviously important, but he says that preparing the other ingredients to maximize their deliciousness is also key.

Good yakitori isn't made just by cutting up some chicken and putting it on a stick. For example, in order to make sure chicken calf meat doesn't become too tough, it is sliced lengthwise.

Another important thing to have is the curiosity to constantly think about what you can do to make your yakitori taste even better. Chef Wada has been to wineries in Austria, Italy, and Australia in order to find the perfect wine to pair with his yakitori.

This is Bird Land: a yakitori restaurant that constantly strives to make its menu even more delicious. If you ever find yourself in Ginza, stop on by.。

Information

Bird Land Ginza

Address: 4-2-15 Ginza, Chuo ward, Tokyo, Tsukamoto Sozan Bldg B1F
Hours: 17:00~21:30
Closed: Sunday, Monday, holidays
Wi-fi: --
Credit cards accepted: VISA, MASTER, JCB, AMEX, Diners
Other menu languages offered: English
Nearest station: Tokyo Metro Ginza Station
Access: Next to Tokyo Metro Ginza Station's C6 Exit
Price range: 6,000 - 10,000 yen
Phone number: 03-5250-1081
Official website: Bird Land Ginza