Auto (70 Yen) -Yakitori

Most have heard of the automatic yakitori cooking place tucked away in a small alley in Yokosuka - well this is it. 

If you haven't been here it's worth a walk by at least, even if you don't enjoy yakitori. Find it on the blog map.  You should also be able to click on the location link at the very bottom of the post.

According to free information on the web, they are open from 1 pm to 9 pm, 7 days a week.  They'll start cooking before 1 pm and I've seen people eating at 12:45.

8 choices, all have English labels

 The real name of this place is Sagamiya foods or 相模屋フ－ズ. The kanji doesn't come out to Sagami so it's a bit confusing. But if you go to the restaurant review sites gnavi and tabelog that's what they say - Sagami サガミ. Nobody ever calls it by it's real name or even tries to determine it's real name though, so it doesn't matter. Knowing where to find it is what's important!

But you do need to refer to it by some naming convention, so some variants are "70 Yen yakitori place" or "stand-up yakitori" or "back alley yakitori." I like to call it the auto-yakitori place in honor of the neat yakitori cooking machine.

Yakitorimaster 2000 V1

The real draw of this place is of course the automatic yakitori machine. In case you are wondering if this is a one of a kind, it is not. There is one in Singapore too and other locations.

The actual name/model of this machine is the TF-600. You can purchase one from Tanfar Engineering. I'm checking into the price but haven't received word back yet from Eddie. (update) - I did get word back from Eddie himself. Cost is $4650 which includes shipping by sea. It is in stock. At that price you can get back your investment within a few weeks. Tanfar does refer to it as a "Japanese style auto yakitori machine." They provide electric or gas versions. The yakitori sticks get loaded on and undergo one pass through the heating coils, then they get dipped into the Shoyu sauce, then go for the final cooking pass.

If you go to the Tanfar link above, you will see some pictures of a field unit. These are pictures of the one in Yokosuka. I can tell this because the labels and the cup colors are in the same exact arrangement as how they exist in Yokosuka, as well as other details.
If your interest is in a red bean cake maker, a sushi maker, or a takoyaki maker instead -  Tanfar can help you out there too.

The astute observer will notice that the prices were once 60 Yen per stick. You can see this in this link here which provides a video of its operation and additional pictures as well.  That was back in July of 2006.

options

There is a restaurant associated/attached to this alley classic. They have the same prices and you can have a chair and beverage at the same time. You can see their "menu" and additional photos by going to this tabelog site.

When you go here you just start eating - tails, tongues, livers... Place your sticks into just one empty cup. That is your cup. When you're done take your sticks to the "register" and they'll count them up for you. Enjoy.