Yakitori

Yakitori literally means grilled chicken, but your average yakitori restaurant will serve quite a variety of skewered items cooked over a grill.  Yakitori is usually a casual food, served in low-key and often dingy establishments, and is accompanied by lots of beer.  Yakitori joints are popular for after-work gatherings.

The most basic item at a yakitori restaurant is Negima, a skewer of small pieces of chicken thigh, momo, spaced with Japanese leek, negi.  This can be seasoned either with salt&pepper, Japanese 7-spice pepper powder, or a vaguely sweet sauce reminiscent of teriyaki.  Sasami is a type of minced chicken, mixed with various flavorings, and then grilled on a skewer.  Kara-age is Japanese-style fried chicken.  It is usually made from pieces of boneless chicken thigh, not more than an inch across, dipped into a heavy batter and then deep fried.  Also worth trying are the chicken meatballs, Tsukune, usually dipped in the same sweet sauce as the normal skewers.  Skewered and grilled vegetables, usually cabbage, green pepper, or asparagus, are often available as well.

Many yakitori restaurants also serve Horemon.  Horemon is a general term for a variety of organ meats and body parts that are not generally eaten in any other way.  Common horemon items include heart, liver, head, cheek, tongue, windpipe, intestine, and nose-cartilage.   There are many establishments that specialize in horemon, which from the outside look just like a yakitori restaurant, so be careful.