Sekai no Yamachan in Nagoya: Famous Tebasaki Chicken Wings

2015-03-21 · Updated: 2026-08-11 · Original (Korean)

This article was translated from the original Korean post with AI assistance. Read the original Korean post →

After walking around so much in the cold weather trying to see the sights, I was hungry and my throat felt dry. To end the first day of our trip on a high note, we decided to grab a beer and some tebasaki (fried chicken wings), one of the classic Nagoya Meshi (local Nagoya specialties), before heading in. Out of the eight must-eat Nagoya Meshi dishes, tebasaki is the only late-night snack menu. The most famous place for it is Sekai no Yamachan, which translates to something like "Mr. Yama of the World." Specialty restaurants selling other famous local dishes (like Atsuta Houraiken, which sells hitsumabushi or grilled eel on rice) don't have many branches, so you have to struggle with a map to find them. But maybe because Sekai no Yamachan is a pub, you constantly see it everywhere as you wander around Nagoya. We didn't plan on going to this specific Sekai no Yamachan either; we just stopped by because we saw it on our way to the hotel.

Restaurant entrance with a wooden exterior and a Sekai no Yamachan signboard — We arrived at the Sekai no Yamachan we spotted on our way to the hotel.

A notice warning to be careful on the stairs and a poster promoting Taiwanese-style motsunabe (offal hot pot) — That guy with the bird legs must be Yamachan. I don't know if they have a whole character merchandise business going on, but that mascot is absolutely everywhere inside the restaurant.

Wooden plaques with messages left by visitors densely attached to the wall

Autographs of celebrities covering the wall of the restaurant stairs — As expected of a famous spot, there are a lot of autographs. We had some time to wait so I looked closely, and a few of the signatures were really unique and fascinating—maybe they were from manga artists.

Even though the place is quite spacious, it was packed with people. They told us we'd have to wait 10 minutes, which we agreed to, but nobody was leaving so I think we waited longer than that. Business is booming, but the turnover rate seems low. Or maybe it's just so delicious that people don't even think about leaving. Just as we were getting tired of waiting and about to turn back, they asked if we'd be okay with a table in the smoking section that just opened up. I was already put off by the strong smell in our hotel's smoking room, but I didn't know when we'd get another chance to sit if we missed this table, so we just took it. I guess I've lost my tolerance since indoor smoking is banned in Korea these days. The moment I sat down, my eyes stung so badly. With people smoking and poor ventilation, there was literally a cloud of smoke floating in the room. I probably should have waited a bit longer for a non-smoking seat.

Menu board with illustrations explaining the tebasaki (chicken wings) menu and how to eat them — This is Yamachan's guide on how to eat tebasaki. True to Japan, it's explained with a manga. But we are Koreans. We don't need those trivial instructions; we already learned how to eat fried chicken from our moms while still in the womb.

Restaurant menu with photos of various anju (bar snacks), salads, and stir-fried dishes — I thought they only sold tebasaki, but they have a lot of different things. Plus, there are different types of tebasaki depending on the seasoning. Still, they have pictures, so it's easy to choose.

Drink menu listing prices for alcoholic beverages such as draft and bottled beer — There are also many kinds of alcohol. I tried to take the picture without the fluorescent lights showing, but looking at it now, it's a total failure. When will I ever be good at both writing and taking photos?

First, we ordered 5 pieces of the basic tebasaki and two glasses of beer. But soon enough, Chef Kim (my mom) remembered her profession as a cook and started ordering some interesting things. She ordered a tofu-based dish, tako wasabi (raw octopus with wasabi), and pickled cabbage. I had no idea why she was ordering them, but as we ate later, I realized you really can't ignore my mom's level of experience. The chicken wings are salty and sweet depending on the sauce, and it's not easy to wash that all down with just beer. But eating them with the pickled cabbage and tako wasabi (I especially recommend the pickled cabbage) refreshes your palate, just like eating pickled radishes with Korean fried chicken. As they say, you never lose out by listening to a woman.

Back view of two men eating at a traditional floor-seating table — You can just tell I'm treating her. ㅠㅠ

Yamachan Draft. Like a proper Japanese beer, the foam is smooth and it goes down easy. You can think of it as a smooth lager.

A generous pile of seasoned fried chicken wings on a white plate — The tebasaki we waited so long for. It's tebasaki coated in a soy sauce glaze.

It was a familiar taste since we have Kyochon Chicken, a fried chicken brand in Korea that uses a soy sauce glaze. The only difference is that they specialize in chicken wings and don't have other cuts. Unless you're someone who hates chicken wings, it's so good that you'll empty a plate in no time without even speaking. Fried chicken is inherently delicious, so evaluating its taste might be an insult in itself.

Cucumber and seasoned raw squid salad in a small patterned bowl — The tako wasabi that I couldn't tell if it was on the house or not.

As the food started coming out, our male server was completely losing his mind. He looked really young and didn't know how to speak English properly. I thought about trying to order in my broken Japanese, but the guy was in such a total panic that it didn't even seem necessary. He kept making endless order mistakes, to the point where I couldn't even tell if this was what I actually ordered or not. But seeing this young kid looking so apologetic, his face turning pale as he struggled, I felt like if I scolded him, he'd never be able to work a part-time job again. Thinking, "Are young people in our country the only ones suffering? Japanese kids must be having just as hard a time," I explained things to him step by step. Even when he brought the wrong item, I just said, "Ah~ it's okay, you can leave it." I just adopted the mindset of, "Well, I'm on vacation, so I get to try a variety of things~" and kept smiling and telling him it was fine. But I wonder if he even understood me saying it was okay?

Dish of tofu topped with salted squid and yellow garnish in a black bowl — This is tofu with sea urchin. (Is it sea urchin..?) It's the tofu dish Chef Kim ordered. I wasn't a big fan, but it seemed to suit my mom's taste pretty well. I realized later that eating tebasaki with vegetables or tofu like my mom did makes it taste better and cleanses your palate.

Sliced cabbage and a piece of dark fried chicken wing on a white plate — This is the seasoned tebasaki that the clueless part-timer misunderstood and brought us. Eating this is how I found out it tastes great with cabbage.

Bowl of raw cabbage pieces sprinkled with sesame seeds and a light dressing — Chef Kim hasn't been feeling well lately so she's been eating a lot of cabbage, and she ordered this because she was curious how they prep their cabbage here. And that's how we discovered the harmony of cabbage and tebasaki!! Next time I come, I'm definitely eating them together.

Japanese menu with photos and prices of various bar snacks like cabbage salad, kimchi, and edamame — The foods that pair well with tebasaki, which we only found out about after we were almost done eating. It's probably written somewhere in Japanese, but it's no use since we can't read it.

Restaurant receipt showing the ordered menu items, prices, and a total of 4363 yen — Despite the order mistakes, the bill came out to a small amount for two people drinking. Though of course, I drank all the alcohol.

Walking back to the hotel, I realized this was my first time drinking beer just the two of us with my mom, and our first trip together too. Feeling a bit tipsy, this walk back to the hotel felt incredibly refreshing. We should have times like this more often, but I wonder if we'll be able to?

I don't know, anyway, Day 1 of the trip with Chef Kim ends here!!

#Cheer up young people #Cheer up to me too #To hell with passion pay #I hope a world comes where hard work pays off #Why are you making the money when I'm the one suffering