Drive-in Tori

Often when you hear about Japan you hear how every prefecture has their own flavours, their own take on ramen or their own wagyu. This is pretty accurate and there are many sites where you can see what each prefecture is known for whether it’s the Udon in Kagawa, the soba in Shimane, Kobe beef or Fukuoka’s famous tonkotsu ramen. Every prefecture has a flavour, food or produce that they are very proud of. When I first came to Saga my supervisor took me shopping for the first time, I recall looking at rice and asking what the difference was. They replied they are the same but that one is from saga! I ended up buying the saga one much to her pleasure.

I have covered Saga wagyu and some of my favourite places to eat that I have found around my prefecture. Today’s blog entry is similar, today’s entry is a place with only two stores, and both are in Saga! Today’s entry will be known to all Zombieland Saga fans! For today we finally talk about Drive-in Tori!

Drive-in Tori is a restaurant that deals primarily in chicken! Think Yakiniku but with chicken. It offers guests a chance to cook their own cuts of chicken over a grill. They serve their own chicken fried rice and a range of sides that also deal with chicken. Not being the biggest fan of chicken, I initially wasn’t compelled to visit. With all that glitters in Japan chicken felt somewhat cheap and can run the risk of being dry. But after seeing the location repeatedly and remembering the hype in the Zombieland Saga anime I finally decided the time had come!

Drive-in Tori has been open for about 40 years and they pride themselves in their seven secrets to why their chicken tastes so good. They also use local high-quality ingredients and have their own soy sauce which they say has been passed down for many years. It would seem many famous chicken chains have secrets as to why they keep producing the yummiest chicken!

My local branch is located a five-minute walk from Saga station and can be found in the Cygames building! The company made Zombieland Saga and decided they loved Drive-in Tori enough they bought their own product? I do not blame them if I had my own business I would love my own yakiniku store on the premises.

The menu is on a tablet where you can choose what you want to cook, and it will be brought to you. It is not all you can eat however I have heard through the grapevine they occasionally do have all you can nights. The price can add up so be careful. I highly recommend their famous chicken fried rice to pair with your meats. My go to is onions, peppers and the squash on the side which make great breaks between the meat and taste amazing grilled.

As for meat there are different cuts on offer as well as many kinds of chicken insides also included as options if that is your thing. Ordering is easy and if it is quiet the service is very quick. Included on the menu is seasonal additions recently Imari beef cuts and pork have been on this tab. The wagyu looks amazing, and I hope to try some at some point as every time I go, I stuff myself on the chicken.

It makes for a great lunch, and I have been around 5 times now. I can’t explain it but the moment I tried the chicken it was a whole new world. The chicken tasted amazing, and the flavour was good. The smoky char from the grill also boasted it to another level. The fried rice is out of this world, and I can understand why the girls in the show made a fuss over it. The experience was unexpected, and I had low expectations on my first visit. But it has turned into a slightly pricey treat that I have had a handful of times now. I really recommend checking it out, it is literally a 5-minute walk from saga station which you can grab if you’re planning to head to Nagasaki or Fukuoka on a trip. Saga is 40 minutes before Nagasaki and worth stopping at for drive-in tori alone!

Another bonus for fans of the show is the limited merch available from the store as it is directly under Cygames. I wrote this blog on the same day the movie comes out in theatres. I watched Zombieland Saga in a theatre in Saga and got limited merch only available in saga! “Everything you need can be found in Saga.”