Charbon Kunitoraya, the yakitori restaurant a stone's throw from the Palais-Royal

Japanese gastronomy isn't just about maki and sushi - we're not telling you anything - it's one of the world's most diverse, varied and delicious cuisines. In Paris, there is (at last!) a temple dedicated to yakitori, those famous grilled chicken skewers(yakitori means 'cooked chicken' in Japanese), a stone's throw from the Palais-Royal: Charbon Kunitoraya.

However, "France is so rich in products that are so good just grilled, that it would have been a shame to limit ourselves to chicken", says Nomoto, founder of Kunitoraya. So expect to discover a multitude of meats, fish and seafood at Charbon Kunitoraya, all cooked with binchotan, in the purest Japanese tradition!

If you're familiar with Chef Nomoto's name, it's because he's also behind Kunitoraya, Udon Bistrot Kunitoraya, Stand Tora and Onigiri Bar Kunitoraya, an address dedicated to the art of onigiri at the Maison de la Culture du Japon.

From now on, Kunitoraya's Franco-Japanese cuisine is out, and it's in place of this famous udon restaurant, which opened in the Opéra district in 1991, that the chef opens Charbon Kunitoraya, a new table entirely dedicated to yakitori. "As the years went by, udon made its mark in Paris. I needed a new adventure. But also, quite simply, I had a mad desire to eat real yakitori in France!" explains the chef.

• To be read
• Japanese restaurants in Paris
• Asian restaurants in Paris, our best addresses
• Where to eat dumpling, dim sum and Asian ravioli in Paris? Our good addresses

Did you know? The origins of yakitori go back to the 18th century, to the Edo period. At the time, it was a dish reserved for the nobility. Democratized in the 60s, yakitori can now be prepared with meats other than chicken, according to the Japan Yakitori Association.

And that's just as well, because Charbon Kunitoraya has lined up a whole slew of kaiseki-style dishes, to be savored in a unique tasting menu (120€): skewers of Bresse chicken, Japanese beef, eel, seafood, but also sweetbreads marinated in seaweed and fried, or just-grilled crab legs, season permitting, before continuing with udon soup and finishing with a light dessert.

What better way to discover Japan.