If asked, "What is the best yakiniku town in Osaka?", many Osakans would answer Tsuruhashi. However, Habikino City in the Minamikawachi region of Osaka Prefecture is one of the leading yakiniku meccas in the Kansai region, with a history of about 140 years in the meat industry. "I want to eat some delicious yakiniku!" For all you yakiniku lovers, meat columnist Ura Tomoe introduces some excellent yakiniku spots in Habikino City.

Habikino City, located in southern Osaka Prefecture, is known for its ancient historical sites and fig production (and, of course, as the birthplace of pitcher Yu Darvish!), but it has also had a thriving meat industry since ancient times. Yakiniku lovers will also be familiar with the many famous yakiniku restaurants serving fresh local meat and offal, making it a yakiniku mecca.

This time, we will introduce four carefully selected yakiniku restaurants around Eganosho and Furuichi, which are just 16 minutes by express train from Osaka Abeno on the Kintetsu Minami Osaka Line to the holy land.

01. Yakiniku Kojima Main Branch

A powerful, long-established restaurant that has continued to evolve for nearly half a century in Habikino, the mecca of yakiniku!

Hi! I'm Ura, a meat lover. This time I'm enjoying yakiniku to the fullest in Habikino, the yakiniku mecca of southern Osaka. I was so excited I couldn't sleep last night! So, the first place I'll be visiting is Yakiniku Kojima Honten, a long-established restaurant founded in 1978. This restaurant is a famous place that is frequented not only by local yakiniku lovers, but also by meat wholesalers from the area.

Glancing sideways at the palm trees, you pass through the noren curtains and slide open the sliding door to find yourself in a yakiniku paradise. A well-established counter reveals the neat and tidy kitchen! Just this view is enough to make you want to eat a big meal. We started off with the lunchtime special "Rare Japanese Black Beef Hamburger." Rare hamburgers have been trending lately, but Kojima's is on another level. Developed by a chef with a Michelin three-star restaurant, this is a masterpiece that maximizes the texture and flavor of 100% Japanese Black Beef. The surface is seared in a special skillet, then the egg yolk is crumbled into the incredibly smooth, rare center, and then served with a special sauce based on yakiniku sauce. It goes without saying that it pairs perfectly with rice!

Rare Japanese Black Beef Hamburg Steak!

A 200g rare Japanese black beef hamburger steak (1,320 yen including tax) with a popular egg topping (165 yen including tax).

This is it! Can you resist this image?

Break it open and mix it together - this is the correct way to eat a rare hamburger.

Keith for Mick, Rice for Rare Hamburger.

It was more delicious than I could have ever imagined! It gave me motivation, energy, and made me want seconds.

 

The legendary raw white omasum

The rare raw white senmai (1,408 yen including tax) can only be enjoyed at Kojima Main Store.

The mellow acidity enhances the deliciousness of raw white tripe even further.

The refreshing texture and subtle sweetness are irresistible.

 

Top skirt steak

A single serving of top-grade skirt steak (2,178 yen including tax) is this large.

The ultimate skirt steak that remains tender even when thoroughly cooked.

When I eat yakiniku, I always have a bowl of rice in my left hand.

The owner, Utsumi Junki, has been in this business since his teens and shows off his burning love for yakiniku through his meticulous cooking and customer service.

 

The menu items introduced here are all excellent, but Kojima Honten has an incredibly wide variety of dishes. There are 10 tongue dishes alone, as well as meat dishes such as fillet, chateaubriand, and aitchbone. I dream of one day being able to try them all. I especially recommend the weekends, when you can enjoy the lunch menu and regular yakiniku menu from noon.

Yakiniku Kojima Main Branch

1F, 353-1 No, Habikino City, Osaka Prefecture

Google maps

Business hours: (Weekdays) 11:30-14:30, 17:00-23:00 (Saturday) 11:30-23:00 (Sunday) 11:30-22:30
Closed: None
Phone number: 072-938-3272

02. Yakiniku Isshin

I was impressed by the restaurant's meticulous attention to detail and the beauty of the meat!

The second stop on our pilgrimage was Yakiniku Isshin, a 15-minute walk from Eganoshou Station. Its bright interior and charming blackboard menu are a pop-style spot. This restaurant is a licensed raw meat restaurant, so its specialty is raw meat. The meat is prepared with exquisite care. So, we immediately ordered the "Two Kinds of Sashimi Platter" (1,400 yen). The recommendation for the day was a platter of "Sankaku," the highest quality cut of belly meat, and "Kamenoko," a type of thigh meat with fine fibers and little fat. The "Sankaku" boasts a savory and sweet flavor that melts in your mouth, while the "Kamenoko" boasts the exquisite aroma and umami of lean red meat.

2 types of sashimi

Beautiful enough to be used as your smartphone wallpaper.

Sankaku is eaten with wasabi soy sauce.

The kamenoko is served with ginger soy sauce.

I'm currently in ecstasy over the deliciousness of the meat.

 

Wagyu beef tartare

Wagyu beef yukke made even more delicious with a special sauce. You can choose between lean and marbled beef.

Mix up egg yolk and green onion!

I had the best yukhoe.

 

"Isshin's Box" is a yakiniku treasure box, with meats lined up on a tiered display in a box! From the more than 20 types of meat available at any given time, the owner carefully selected nine of the day's recommended cuts, all of which are main course cuts. On this day, there were three types of tongue on the top shelf: "Tongue Tongue," "Tongue Pieces," and "Tongue Naka," so I tried each one. This is what a king would do. "Tongue Tongue" has the richest fat content and flavor, "Tongue Pieces" has a delightful crunchy texture, and "Tongue Naka" has the quintessential beef tongue flavor. I guess my favorite is "Tongue Tongue"? It also pairs perfectly with wine.

A box of heartfelt

Look! This is a stage of meat.

I want to decorate this for Hinamatsuri!

A luxurious comparison of tongues.

The rare thigh part, "hiuchi", is so tender!

Grilled Kamenoko, which was also served as sashimi.

It's so satisfying to wash down grilled meat with wine!

The second-generation owner, Yachida Rikito, has a lovely round smile and is a young yakiniku explorer in this sacred place.

 

Yakiniku Isshin is a restaurant that pays close attention to detail, with easy-to-understand explanations of the cuts of meat and menu information. They are happy to accommodate custom cuts such as steak, thick slices, or thin slices, making it ideal for yakiniku beginners and families.

Yakiniku Isshin

4-5-18 Minamieganosou, Habikino City, Osaka Prefecture

Google maps

Business hours: 17:00 - 23:00 (last order)
Closed: Wednesdays
Phone number: 050-5488-2953

03. Yakiniku goou

Overflowing with manliness! The volume of the King's Yakiniku is incredible!

The third place we visited was Yakiniku goou Habikino Main Branch. It's written as "King of Cows" and pronounced "Go-ou." We decided to order the recommended grilled shabros (1,628 yen including tax) and grilled sukiyaki loin (1,628 yen including tax)...and were surprised at how much they were, far exceeding our expectations. Both included two large cuts of rib roast! For a price that's big enough to overflow the hot plate, it's a bit too much for a man!

I had the grilled shabu-shabu loin with ponzu sauce and plenty of green onions. The wild yet gentle flavor of the fat was incredibly strong. Before I knew it, I had finished both pieces. The grilled sukiyaki loin was dipped in egg and served with rice. Is there anyone in the world who doesn't like this? Not only the meat, but the rice splashed with the sweet sauce and meat juices is already a dish in itself!

Baked Chabros

One serving of baked shabros (1,628 yen including tax) comes with two slices of this size.

It's not that the iron plate is small! It's that the meat is huge.

Fire! I'm not camping alone.

Roll up a large piece of meat and add green onion ponzu sauce.

It was so delicious that I don't remember the few minutes before or after!

 

Grilled sukiyaki loin

Two pieces of grilled sukiyaki loin (1,628 yen including tax) are also available at this price.

The savory rib roast is complemented by the mellowness of the egg and the sweetness of the sauce...

When you wrap the rice in meat...

Well, that's what happens.

Finally, we had TKG with eggs infused with the delicious flavor of meat juice.

 

Next up was the regular menu item, loin. I ordered a regular loin, but what arrived was a superb loin with beautiful marbling. What, is this normal?! The Gyuoh is insanely big, weighing in at almost 200g. First, I grilled it with salt to enjoy the flavor of the meat, then tried it with garlic chips. It was mind-blowing.

Loin

Loin (1,628 yen including tax) This is regular!

It's now like steak.

Garlic chips served with it...

Wrap it in meat...

I got it!

The owner, Masataka Kurita, who is full of manliness and love for yakiniku, came to work on this day carrying a huge package of liver.

 

The manager says, "I want to serve meat that exceeds the customer's expectations." He goes way beyond! I recommend you go to Yakiniku goou Habikino Main Branch hungry. The quality and quantity of all the menu items is amazing. The value for money is unbeatable.

Yakiniku goou Habikino Main Branch

4-1-9 Nonokami, Habikino City, Osaka Prefecture

Google maps

Business hours: 17:00-23:00 (last order 22:30)
Closed: New Year's holidays
Phone number: 080-7994-7683

04. GaryuYakiniku Sozaemon

Discover the best yakiniku restaurant along the national highway in the holy land

The final stop on the pilgrimage is "Garyu Yakiniku Sozaemon," located south by car from Furuichi Station and marked by a huge "Yakiniku" sign visible from Prefectural Route 27. The entrance has a porch with hanging chairs, reminiscent of a cowboy saloon from the pioneering days of the West. Inside, the restaurant has table seating and sunken kotatsu seating, and the heat source for the smokeless roaster in the center of the table is charcoal.

I sat down, checked the menu, and found my favorite, Marushin (the center of the thigh). The Marushin at "Munezaemon" is so beautifully trimmed that I was entranced by the cross-section. The meat, grilled over the gentle heat of the charcoal fire, was perfectly cooked, with a strong, red meat flavor. I'm grateful for the history of meat and fire.

Marushin

My favorite part is Marushin.

Wait until it grows to its best!

After all, lean meat is the fourth best when it comes to yakiniku.

By the fourth bar, I was craving a second helping.

 

Next, I ordered the tail (330 yen including tax), which can be ordered individually. The bone of the tail has a fun texture and a unique flavor, so before I knew it, I was sucking on the bone forever. Ugh, give me some sake!

Tail

Tails can be ordered individually for 330 yen each.

When it starts fluttering like a flower, turn it over.

Bite into it! Suck it up!

 

And to finish off my pilgrimage to the holy land of yakiniku, I had the "Hormone Hot Pot for One" (1,430 yen including tax). It was the best horumon hotpot, with plenty of tetchan and rare skirt steak cooked in a sweet and spicy sauce together with vegetables. To finish, I ate the classic udon noodles in a broth soaked in the fat of the tetchan. Ah, I'm so glad that Japan has four seasons, including winter.

Hormone hotpot

A special "Hormone One-Person Hot Pot" (1,430 yen including tax) that includes skirt steak.

I tried to contain my excitement and waited patiently.

It's starting to cook nicely.

Meat! Juice! Delicious! Warm! I don't know what to call this happiness.

The final dish is udon noodles served in a broth infused with the flavor of offal.

The deliciousness of slurping down udon noodles with gratitude for the day.

Masato Inokuma and Michiko Inokuma are a married couple with lovely smiles. The shop has a homey atmosphere that is unique to this shop. It's very relaxing.

 

Although it's not far from the station, it's a mysterious restaurant that gives you the illusion of encountering delicious yakiniku in a faraway country. I'm not Goro-san, but it's nice to be able to forget about the mundane things of the world for a moment and face the yakiniku freely and with an open mind.

Sozaemon, a self-taught Yakiniku chef

310 Daikoku, Habikino City, Osaka Prefecture

Google maps

Business hours: 17:00-23:00
Closed: None
Phone number: 072-959-5598

Habikino is the city of meat. Residents of the city may think of it as both close and far away, but we highly recommend taking the 15-minute ride on the Kintetsu Minami-Osaka Line with excitement! From the ever-evolving long-established Kojima Honten, the exquisite raw meat restaurant Yakiniku Isshin, the manly Gyuoh, and the yakiniku-filled Sozaemon, we felt the love for yakiniku and the pride of this meat-loving town at every restaurant we visited. You really have to get out there to experience it all.

\Recommended guided tours/
[DeepExperience] Yakiniku Hop-Hopping Tour in Habikino, Kansai's Leading Meat Town

・A luxurious tour where you can sample the best meat from popular restaurants loved by locals and difficult to book.
・Experience the meat industry with over 140 years of history in Habikino City, a hotbed of yakiniku.
・There are many long-established Wagyu beef specialty stores, where you can eat rare cuts of carefully selected domestic Wagyu beef and raw meat that meets safety standards.
・Having a processing plant in the city means suppliers are close by, allowing you to enjoy fresh, high-quality meat.
・Staff at each store will carefully explain the types of meat they offer, the recommended ways to cook and eat it, and more.
・Easy access, just 15 minutes by train from Osaka Abenobashi Station, where Abeno Harukas and Tennoji Zoo are located
Make a reservation here

A person involved in this article

Text

Tomoe Ura

Photo

Mei Hirano

Edit

Rie Tomimoto

Direction

NINGEN Editorial Department（NINGEN Inc.）