Kabuto
Kabuto is a samurai helmet, and indeed Kabuto-san in Shinjuku's Yakitori Alley is a warrior — of the charcoal grill. And not any grill, because (as he famously hurried to make me realize, pointing at an ink brush painting on a wall of his grill shack) he will only grill one thing: うなぎ, that is unagi, the mythical Japanese delicacy, freshwater eel.
I love the way the Japanese are so single-mindedly focused on their skills, to the point of never thinking there is a limit to how much one can learn by practicing the same gestures, movements, techniques, day in, day out through an entire life. If you know eel, you cannot know chicken too. Both have countless cuts, each with its own texture and grilling requirements. In the half hour I spent with Kabuto-san I've tasted at least six different ell parts, all different, all equally delicious.
Just don't ask about the gooey, tar-like sauce he was dipping the skewers in before one last minute on the grill. Felt like it has been simmering there since the beginning of time... Also o not ask about Kabuto-san's assistant, who at probably over 40 is still just barely allowed to get anywhere near the grill; being an apprentice in Japan requires endless love and self-sacrifice...
