I have been craving Korean-style fried chicken ever since listening to Rick Bayless talk about it on The Feed Podcast. When I lived in New York City and Singapore I could get my fix. For some reason, Tokyo, which has amazing kara-agé (deep-fried, seasoned, boneless cuts of chicken) hasn’t caught on to it. And, there is a big difference. I believe the Korean chicken is fried twice. It has a sweet and spicy sauce that will have you licking your fingers after you have gnawed off all the meat that you can get off of the bone.
I went to Shin-Okubo, the Korean part of Tokyo and tried two restaurants, both disappointing. A dear friend suggested iro-kara near Omotesando. The kara-agé here was delicious but it wasn’t what I was looking for. I will be back as it was a nice, quick lunch. The chicken is fried after the order is placed and there is al fresco seating on the rooftop. The donburi is a generous serving of rice topped with the fried chicken, katsuobushi, leeks, and pickled ginger. A mash-up of kara-agé and takoyaki toppings.
There are several flavors, such as basil, curry, yuzu kosho, and ume shiso. We tried a few but nothing outstanding. Best to stick with the basic kara-agé.
Brimmer Beer is next doors, but not open at lunch time. There is also a curry stand next door. Could be fun to order a curry and top it with the fried chicken.
iro-kara
Minato-ku, Minami-Aoyama 3-8-34
Food Sake Tokyo 
Was Kaya Chicken one of the restaurants you tried in Shin Okubo? A friend of mine who is a chef liked it and wrote about it recently.
http://www.afar.com/highlights/yangn-yummy
Arigato! I will check it out. I think I tried going here but they were closed the day we went. So frustrating as we made a special trip for it. If it’s good I will post it here. Cheers, Yukari
I’m surprised bonchon or kyochon hasn’t established a shop in japan! But then again, are there any korean owned food chain in japan like red Mango?
Right? I need to start open a franchise shop of bonchon of kyochon.