Composite: Left: ©PIXTA | Right: ©Kitan Club

Yakitoring! Japanese grilled chicken skewers turn into rings you can wear

As some of our readers may recall, Japanese toy and capsule toy maker Kitan Club likes to make unusual rings in the shape of popular Japanese food items. For example, their Onigiring series have realistic sushi toppings and come in both triangular and round rice ball cases.

Now for their new series, Kitan Club has shifted their focus from sushi to another popular Japanese food, yakitori! If you aren't familiar with the word, 焼き鳥 (yakitori, literally "roasted or broiled chicken") is chicken on skewers, either basted in a tare sauce or simply seasoned with salt and grilled over coals. Various parts and preparations of chicken are grilled, from breast, thigh, wings, neck, tail, skin, and liver, to chicken meatballs. Negi (Welsh onions) is also sometimes included on the skewer together with chicken meat.

Yakitoring やきとりング

The new series is called やきとりング Yakitoring, and features five types of yakitori on a ring, each one enclosed within a case resembling the red paper lantern signs with the word やきとり yakitori printed on them typically hanging outside of yakitori shops or attached to yakitori stands.

Every detail has been thoroughly considered with attention to realism, such as the shiny texture, the charring, and even the hole that remains when the meat is removed from the skewer.

When you wear a Yakitoring, your finger looks like a yakitori on a skewer! You can even wear several at the same time, so you can enjoy this capsule toy even if you get the same one twice.

Let's take a look at the lineup. There's a total of five types:

ねぎま(たれ) negima (tare [sauce])

One of the most popular yakitori types, Negima ねぎま is chicken thigh meat alternatively threaded on a skewer with sections of Welsh onion. This is the version with tare sauce.

出典:出典名

ねぎま(しお) negima (shio [salt])

Negima trivia

Contrary to popular belief, the "ma" in negima doesn't come from 間 ma, meaning space, but rather maguro, meaning "tuna." In the Edo period, it was an affordable stew of Welsh onion and tuna which then evolved into a skewered dish. However, when tuna became prohibitively expensive, it was replaced with chicken.
Negima is also the inspiration for the name of the protagonist of Negima! Magister Negi Magi, whose author Ken Akamatsu just became the first manga creator to be elected to Japan's House of Councillors.

皮(しお)kawa [skin] (shio [salt])

つくね tsukune [chicken ball]

ベーコントマト bēkon tomato [bacon and tomato]

Not all things served at yakitori shops and stands these days have chicken in them. This is a more contemporary type of yakitori featuring a slice of bacon wrapped around a cherry tomato.

Yakitoring case

Unlike most capsule toys which come in capsules, Yakitoring come in these lantern-shaped cases. They make a great impact and they're very durable.

You can even hang them with a string to recreate the look of a yakitori stand or an izakaya (Japanese gastropub). It could even be a fun way to propose to someone who really loves yakitori (or has a good sense of humor).

Information

  • Name: やきとりング Yakitoring
  • Release Date: July 12, 2022 (Tuesday) *Date may differ slightly depending on the region
  • Price: Capsule version 400 JPY (including tax), box version: 440 JPY (including tax)
  • Size: Case approx. 89 mm (height) x 66 mm (width), ring approx. 30 - 36 mm (height)
  • For more details, see the product page on Kitan Club's website

By - grape Japan editorial staff.