Walking east from JR Sannomiya Station into the quieter atmosphere of the Ninomiya area, among the scattered restaurants in this corner of the city, there’s one establishment radiating particularly intense energy.

Its name: “Yakiniku Dojo Tecchan”.

Top-class boxers and professional athletes competing on the world stage now make special trips to this place—to fuel up before matches or to savor the sweet taste of victory.

Yakiniku Was Always There

“My mother ran it for about 15 years, I guess. I’d always seen it, so yakiniku had kind of stuck in my mind. Even so, I had no intention of doing yakiniku myself—if you asked if I was interested, I’d say I wasn’t.”

So says Tetsuji. The roots of yakiniku go back even further in his family.

His maternal grandmother ran a yakiniku restaurant near a scrap factory in Hiroshima. His mother worked helping out at that restaurant, and later the family moved to Hyogo Prefecture. After her child-rearing settled down, his mother started a yakiniku restaurant in Kakogawa.

Growing up watching his mother’s back, he never imagined he’d enter the food service industry himself.

But by chance, the job he landed was at a chain yakiniku restaurant. Working there, he became captivated: “Yakiniku is amazing—if I’m going to do it, I want to do it myself,” and he set his sights on independence.

He gained experience as a store manager, entrusted with running locations. He also accumulated experience in Japanese cuisine and obtained a fugu (pufferfish) license, broadening his culinary skills.

Ten years in food service.

While searching for a property with independence in mind, he encountered Ninomiya during the turbulent pandemic era.

“I heard from seniors who’d gone independent, and I was looking for turnkey properties. There surprisingly weren’t many available yakiniku places, but this one just happened to pop up.”

November 2020: opening. It was a launch during a time when everyone else was giving up.

The Legend Who Came Four Times a Week

Shortly after opening, a regular customer introduced the restaurant to Hozumi Hasegawa, a boxing world champion in three weight classes.

February 2021: the former world champion’s first visit.

“After that, he came four times a week.”

Four times a week. A legend frequenting a recently opened yakiniku restaurant—Tetsuji’s meat had captured his heart.

Since then, many in the boxing world, including Naoya Inoue and Junto Nakatani, began visiting on Hasegawa’s recommendation. Trust built new connections.

“When Naoya Inoue came, nobody noticed. Everyone left without knowing. Only we were shaking.”

A four-division world champion sitting in this Ninomiya restaurant with no private rooms, and nobody noticed.

“People who’ve definitely seen them before come to this remote spot in Ninomiya. It’s not a place with private rooms. I find it amazing myself that they just quietly come to a place like this.”

“But the customers are considerate. That’s why there was never any commotion.”

Banshu Beef and “Three-Way Good”

“I think the Kobe beef lineage is important, but there are lots of delicious cattle in Hyogo Prefecture that are still undiscovered.”

That’s why Tetsuji has adopted Banshu beef.

“A senior one year ahead of me runs a ranch in Kakogawa, and I stock their meat because I think it’s delicious myself.”

Kobe beef is certainly wonderful. But that’s not all. Hyogo Prefecture has many excellent producers still unknown.

“With so many businesses handling meat, if you don’t have something that hooks people, we’ll just get buried, and what we’re trying to convey won’t get out there.”

That’s why Banshu beef. His palate’s judgment that it’s delicious, and his commitment to local Hyogo Prefecture products.

“We’re kind of at the bottom, so to speak. Many vendors, many people have been involved before it reaches us. But from the customer’s perspective, we’re at the top.”

From production through distribution to the restaurant. Being at the end of that flow carries responsibility.

“To gain customer trust, it’s really not just about money. If people feel reassured coming here, feel comfortable paying—well, that’s putting it crudely—but I think that’s what’s most important.”

Connections with trustworthy producers. That leads to trust from customers.

“Customers Complete It”

Tetsuji’s concept is extremely simple.

“Having people eat their fill is most important. That’s what matters for a restaurant.”

Yakiniku is food where customers do 80-90% of the work. It’s not a dish the restaurant serves in finished form.

“How to make it simple and delicious. Getting the sauce and meat properly combined, shoveling it down with white rice. That’s what I believe is authentic.”

Precisely because it’s simple, there’s no room for deception. Precisely because it’s authentic, athletes keep coming back.

The Meat a UFC Fighter Chose

“I’ve been supplying meat to Kai Asakura since before he went to UFC.”

Through connections with Don Mai Kawabata, a former judo representative for Japan now also active on YouTube, Tetsuji began supplying meat around August 2023 to mixed martial artist Kai Asakura, who was competing in RIZIN and achieved UFC participation.

UFC participation—the pinnacle stage for mixed martial artists. Before that crucial moment, the meat Asakura chose was selected by Tetsuji.

“He’s busy in Tokyo, so we can’t meet often, but we’ve talked about various things.”

Now, with Naoya Inoue, Junto Nakatani, Kai Asakura—boxers, mixed martial artists, and even Olympic medalists—world-class athletes gathering at his restaurant, Tetsuji has begun a new challenge.

That challenge is the “Wagyu Hamburger” and “Wagyu Tongue-burger” co-developed with the ranch owner he trusts.

The umami of rare cuts that athletes craved, now in a form anyone can enjoy at home.

What you feel with one bite is overwhelming meatiness. Not fluffy, but with a solid presence of meat. Meat juices overflow with each bite, along with the sweetness and umami unique to wagyu. This transcends the concept of “hamburger” as a dish—it’s the taste of meat itself.

Available online only, this authentic taste that made Kai Asakura say “This hamburger is seriously godly.”

Making Ninomiya Even More Interesting

Tetsuji’s gaze doesn’t stop at just his own restaurant.

“Ninomiya has many yakiniku places and Korean restaurants too, so it’d be great if this area became a bit like a Koreatown. Tsuruhashi gets too crowded, but if people didn’t have to go all the way to Nagata and could find what they need here…”

A future where Korean culture blends into the atmospheric shopping district.

“It gets kind of lonely after 8 or 9 o’clock, doesn’t it? I think Ninomiya is an area that can attract more people. If we don’t each push selfishly but think about the whole picture, that’d be better.”

One yakiniku restaurant thinking about the entire neighborhood. In that vision, he saw Ninomiya’s future.

That night when Naoya Inoue quietly stood up and left without anyone noticing, Tetsuji saw him off, hands trembling.

No private rooms, just a backstreet in Ninomiya. Yet there you’ll find “authenticity” that satisfies the world, and the warmth of a “dojo” that embraces everyone.

“Having people eat their fill is most important.”

Today again, Tetsuji supports someone’s day with supreme meat and white rice.

World champions and people on their way home from work alike.

So they can eat their fill and face forward again.

Yakiniku Dojo Tecchan

📍 Tamataya Mansion 1F, 3-2-15 Kotonoecho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo
🚃 About 5 minutes walk from JR Sannomiya Station East Exit
🗓 Closed: Irregular holidays
⏰ Hours
- Mon-Sat, day before holidays | 17:00–22:30 (L.O. 22:00)
- Sun, holidays | 17:00–22:00 (L.O. 21:30)
🍖 Genre: Yakiniku
📱 Instagram: @yakinikudoujou_tecchan

Check Yakiniku Dojo Tecchan on Tabelog

The Hamburger Kai Asakura Called “Godly”