Yakiniku Ito

Yakiniku Ito’s dining space is, frankly, nothing to write home about. With its simple, pared-back furnishings, it’s certainly a charming yakiniku eatery that fits right among Saiki’s local dining destinations. But what’s worth writing about is what happens behind the kitchen doors. Yakiniku Ito is run by apprentice-turned-master Kihara Shuichi, who manages most of the business himself. Shuichi honed his culinary skills over eight years at the renowned Stamina En in Tokyo, working under owner Masanobu Toshiyama and his brother, becoming the only apprentice acknowledged by the duo. In 2016, he took over Yakiniku Ito, which belonged to his family. The paddock-to-plate ethos runs deep here. Shuichi spends up to 15 hours a day in the kitchen, cutting Ozaki beef — his preferred protein, sourced from Miyazaki Prefecture — into various parts of meat. He personally handles the trimming and preparation, minimizing waste by making the most of every slab. The headlining dish is his mixed horumon (offal) platter, which features shimachi (large intestine), heart, omasum, knuckle and gyara (reed tripe). Other popular dishes include the beef tripe miso stew, which is cooked without a drop of water to bring out the full flavor of the tripe, and a curry made with stewed Ozaki beef shank. More classic yakiniku selections are often finished with Shuichi’s signature tare, a recipe he refined during his time at Stamina En. Proudly located in Saiki, a coastal city in Oita Prefecture, brimming in maritime activities, there’s no pretension to Yakiniku Ito’s grilling experience — according to Shuichi, all the extraordinary things he’s doing are just “obvious things.”