Tokyo is in the middle of an unprecedented neighbourhood yakiniku boom. The current trend runs towards restaurants sourcing meticulously prepared tongue, harami (skirt) and other offal from the Shibaura offal wholesalers - Kamiya Shoten, Kabasawa Shoten and Tajima Kenji Shoten - while the legends captured in the old saying Yuji in the west, Stamina-en in the east remain as popular as ever.
Sumibiyaki Yuji (炭火焼ゆうじ, Shibuya) is one of Tokyo's finest horumon restaurants. Owner Yuji Higuchi (樋口裕師) grills fresh, impeccably prepared offal over charcoal with a precision that has made the place an institution, and plenty of serious eaters come here for the offal alone.
Being supplied by the elite offal wholesaler Tajima Kenji Shoten (田島健次商店) puts a restaurant in a very small club. Places that advertise the connection - Horumon Kou (ホルモン コウ, Ogikubo) and Yakiniku Ushinoe (焼肉うしの絵, Machida) - serve offal in a class of its own for both freshness and quality.
The other great offal wholesaler, Kabasawa Shoten (樺沢商店), supplies names such as Sumibi Yakiniku Horumon Sawaishi (炭火焼肉ホルモンさわいし, Musashi-Shinjo) and Yakiniku Shishoku (焼肉 思食, Akasaka). At Sawaishi, the owner's own career with Shibaura offal traders is what underpins the sourcing.
The standard-bearer for offal from the wholesaler Kamiya Shoten (神谷商店) is Hodori (Yoga). Its buying power - centred on top-grade tongue and harami - is what pulls food lovers out of central Tokyo and into a quiet residential corner of Yoga.