table of contents
The charcoal grill has been updated for the Reiwa era! It's now a new metal charcoal grill that's sure to create a sensation!
Have you all heard YOKA SHICHIRIN++ (hereafter referred to as YOKA Shichirin)? It started as a crowdfunding project and raised over 30 million yen. It took the top spot in the fire pit category on the crowdfunding site, and is still a hot topic today. It's a stainless steel metal shichirin that's a modern take on the time-honored shichirin. Apparently, it took 400 years for the shichirin to be updated!?
This is the YOKA charcoal grill, and it looks exactly like a metal version of that grill. However, its performance is packed with features that traditional charcoal grills cannot offer! By the way, YOKA is an outdoor brand that focuses on camping gear, and its catchphrase is "Make your holidays the best." This is also Gearjin's first review of the campfire grill category in a long time
Examples of past fire pit reviews
Sneak into YOKA Atelier!
So I came to Lake Yamanaka. Unfortunately, the weather was bad and Mount Fuji looked like this (wry smile)
This time, I was specially invited to the YOKA Atelier, where I was able to experience the power of the YOKA charcoal grill and ask the company president, Takashi Tsunoda, a lot of questions.
We're all set. And here it is...Next to the YOKA charcoal grill is another hotly talked about multi-gear item, the TMR boiler, a canned drink cooler that can also be used as a cooker, which we're currently testing for a long period of time, so please wait for our review!
Let's take a look at the ingredients prepared for the demonstration!
Mr. Kakuta himself does the grilling, and once the charcoal is ready he removes the charcoal starter. More on this later
The two-tiered grill is the key to the YOKA charcoal grill. If this were a regular charcoal grill, it would have a feature that most bonfire stands don't have! You could even call it Kakuta magic. For example, when grilling skewers like the one in the image, you use the "direct flame" zone in the center, but skewers outside that range won't get grilled, so there's no problem
For some reason, Tsunoda's mannerisms when using a charcoal grill give him a DJ-like vibe, and that's because he also has a different identity as "Sauna Musician AKOY." A truly versatile man!
AKOY official website https://www.akoy.jp/
The finished ingredients look delicious!
The charcoal grilled yakitori is superb! And there's also grilled marinated mackerel, right?! I thought that if I grilled marinated mackerel in the "slow cooking zone" on the bottom tier, it would be delicious!? The grilled marinated mackerel I tried was also excellent, not to mention the deliciousness of the vegetables
And when you're done using it, just close the lid. You don't have to deal with the hassle of cleaning up the charcoal grill itself on-site! At the same time, it also doubles as a fire extinguisher, so you don't need to prepare a separate one. Isn't that just too convenient?!
Unraveling the mysteries of YOKA and YOKA SHICHIRIN++
Mr. Tsunoda will talk about the product in front of a number of prototypes
-When did YOKA start?-
It all started in 2015, when I was originally working on toy and interior design, but I realized that the outdoors was becoming popular. I had been doing outdoor activities as a hobby even before that, but I felt that I needed to take another step to fully launch YOKA. The first YOKA product I created was a wooden chair, table and box, which I recall is not in the current lineup
- Riding the Garage Brand Boom? -
YOKA started in 2015, but we had been doing it on a small scale until 2017, when the camping gear garage brand boom began. It was like, "This is the big wave!" We were inundated with collaboration requests from apparel brands and the like, and we collaborated with a variety of big names, but they were all one-offs (wry smile). It made me realize, for better or worse, that they're quick to take the bait but don't last. But it did generate some buzz, so that was good. However! I'm also realizing that we haven't quite made it through the wave yet, and I think that's because we didn't receive many approaches from the real outdoor scene. The initial exhibitions we exhibited at were in a slightly different genre, interior lifestyle, so that might have been a factor. From there, we shifted our focus to exhibitions with a stronger outdoor theme, and we stepped more deeply into the outdoor world. Then, a turning point occurred
Up until then, I'd mostly been making furniture, but it wasn't selling very well. Most of the pieces were large, so they were bulky to take to festivals, for example. This wasn't good (wry smile). Then, at one event, a customer noticed YOKA, and when I talked to him, he said, "My friend said he wanted to get all the YOKA products." I thought, "Huh!? I want to get all the products?"
Up until then, I hadn't been making things with that intention, but then I thought to myself that I had to respond to the desire of users to "collect everything" (laughs). That was an important turning point in my decision to make a variety of items from a lineup that mostly consisted of furniture
-And another reason?-
I was using Instagram, but it wasn't growing at the time. There was a moment when I realized why it wasn't growing, and that was our chair for example. People at the campsite would say it's cute and be happy, but once you sit on it, that's it. If you then decide to grill some meat, the main focus will be on that. When that happens, the images that are uploaded are no longer of our products. I realized that YOKA products would not be able to take center stage among the products that would be uploaded to Instagram in the future, and that there were no YOKA products among the subjects. It just can't compete with meat after all (laughs)
Here! I have to make something that captures that moment! With that in mind, I created griddles and frying pans, in an era before combustion devices, such as the fire pits and YOKA charcoal grills that came later, were invented. However, at a time when other companies were creating trendsetting griddles, we knew that doing the same thing wouldn't sell, so we tried various things. This was a hit, and it took off a bit, which made sense
At that time, I used laser cutting and sheet metal to make the iron plate, and initially I thought I could use it to make furniture, but then I shifted my thinking a bit and while I was sleeping in a hotel, I had the idea that maybe I could make a fire pit using this method.So I asked the same company that I had commissioned to make frying pans at the time to make a fire pit for me, and the result was the YOKA Fire Pit Cooking Fire Pit.
Source: YOKA
The fire pit is the main attraction, it's in the center when taking photos. And there's a metal plate on top. This strategy also worked well, and it gave me a little more space. So, what's next?
- Thinking about camping situations? -
When I go camping and take photos, I wonder what I should definitely include. I always think of the tent as something that always comes up in a lot of photos, so I thought I'd include it too (lol)
Source: YOKA
That's how YOKA TIPI (now TYPE2) was born . At the time, I was visiting exhibitions in China as a viewer, and even before that I had been interacting with Chinese people and making products, but it wasn't going very well (wry smile). It was then that I met someone at an exhibition who spoke Japanese, and that's how TIPI came about. Just after I returned from my final check in China, the lockdown happened, and I was close to not being able to come back. As you all know, from this point on, all products stopped working, and I remember it being quite difficult for those who had made advance reservations.
-Then came the camping boom-
And then the camping boom exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, which was something no one could have predicted. But riding on that wave, YOKA TIPI became a huge hit, and at the time, I didn't really think it was because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I thought TIPI itself was popular. However, after the boom passed, sales didn't go down at all (wry smile).
Ah, I guess this was the impact of the coronavirus pandemic after all. My friends and I were saying that this was definitely a bubble. I thought it would land more gently, but it was a sudden crash (wry smile)
However, although the excess of camping gear (a buying boom?) has passed, it seems that the number of campers themselves has not decreased that much. You could say that the environment has returned to being good for people who just want to go camping
-The legendary Mystery Grill?-
After the COVID-19 pandemic ended, the industry seems a bit uncertain. We can't continue with the same mindset as during the bubble, so we're shifting again and exploring various directions, and one of them is gardens... or should I say, we should go in the direction of resorts. So, what kind of products would thrive in that environment? There's also this thing called glamping, right? I was involved a little bit in it, and there was an experience I didn't like. Glamping is like paradise, right? Everything is provided, there's alcohol, and you're in a sloppy place, and luxurious ingredients are brought to you, and you're told to grill it yourself. But then the staff just leave it there and say, "No, grill it for me" (laughs)
I was so upset that I was the only one there, even though I had been there so much, and from that experience the Mystery Grill was born
This is a legendary dish
Freshly grilled food is important, but we don't want to put the customer through the trouble of grilling. What kind of gear could combine all of these? That's how it was born. It was patented and a great product, but for various reasons it was put on hold. As I mentioned earlier, one of them is the Mystery Grill, which requires absolutely no effort. But what about taking all that effort out of the outdoor field? That's what I thought was one of the fun parts. From there, we focused on the original YOKA charcoal grill, which was the "core" of this product. We decided that we should bring this to the world as a new cooking tool!
-And so the YOKA charcoal grill was born-
The Mystery Grill is a hassle-free grill, but we needed to "transform" it a bit. We are currently refining it, and one day we may be able to deliver it to you in a different form. So what exactly do we need to transform? We thought it would be great if the act of grilling itself could become entertainment. If it's fun, it's no pain, right? We thought we could achieve this by brushing up the original core of the Mystery Grill. And so, the YOKA Shichirin was born, or rather reborn!?
The prototypes are also models with different shapes
From there, there was a flurry of prototypes, and the finished product has excellent combustion efficiency, but this was also achieved through the accumulation of experimental results and facts. Originally, only the core was metal and the outer shell was ceramic. However, during the discussion, it was said that ceramic is difficult to prototype. They said that they couldn't change the design so frequently. So, we decided to make it ourselves, and switched from factory orders to hand-made work, which was a bit like clay (laughs). However, this turned out to be surprisingly successful! However, then, the clients who ordered the ceramics started to become less enthusiastic (wry smile)
So I had no choice but to make the prototypes all by myself! And so, the result is the cylindrical one shown in the image above. This also worked well, but this time the cooking area is simply smaller. And, and this is important, it looks like a 000 stove, if it's cylindrical (lol). I also tried making it double-sided to incorporate secondary combustion. When I uploaded a video of it, people who watched it would comment, "How beautiful the flames are?" This made it seem like this was a showdown with a 000 stove, but I thought that wasn't right
At this point, I realized that I wanted to make a charcoal grill. Of course, it is designed to be a charcoal grill. However, if it looks cylindrical, customers won't know it; everyone who sees it needs to see it as a charcoal grill. This is when I decided on a clear vision: I wanted it to look like a charcoal grill!
- Will exploring air flow lead to new possibilities? -
We decided to make it in the shape of a charcoal grill, but at that point we were thinking of making it something that could be used only in the upper direct flame area without considering the radiant heat that spreads out to the sides. From there, we explored the possibilities in the core part of the YOKA charcoal grill, and initially we wondered if it would be more efficient to simply have it double-fixed so that air could flow in and out, rather than the separate type like it is now
The core part of the prototype could not be separated
So wouldn't it be better to simply remove it? That's how we came up with the current detachable design, and by changing the central part from a flat plate at the time to a mesh-like one, the outer charcoal starter part could be removed, allowing the heat to spread sideways. This is where the accumulated experiments I mentioned earlier come into play. As a result, we now have a product that is easy to light and simple for anyone to use. If your fire pit is difficult to light, you don't need to prepare a separate charcoal starter and then transfer it to the main unit once it's lit, so it makes perfect sense
-The double-decker net was invented!?-
The double grill is also an important element of the YOKA charcoal grill
First of all, it's simply visually appealing. The removable second-tier grill allows charcoal to be supplied from the center, and the cooking temperature can be adjusted between the direct heat zone at the top and the radiant heat zone at the bottom, making it a truly entertaining experience. Simply grilling is fun. The radiant heat zone at the bottom is a by-product of the redesigned charcoal grill shape, and this type of use is something that wasn't possible with conventional charcoal grills. And food cooked thoroughly with radiant heat is delicious
The true value of the YOKA charcoal grill lies in the use of these different grilling zones
The reason I came up with this idea was that when I was trying to find a way to expand the grilling area, I tried to force a grill for the cylindrical version onto it, and that's when I created a double grill. I developed this further and created the double-tiered three-dimensional grill type
-Measure the volume of air under your feet?-
The height of the legs is also different between the prototype and the finished product. We didn't physically calculate the volume of air that would be there, but we came up with the current height after considering the amount of heat going down, the flow of the air being drawn in, and other factors. The shape of the legs themselves is also different, but this is something that our partner factory can do, so it would have added to the cost and was completely rejected (wry smile)
The prototype had five shells in total, plus a separate internal core, which was quite substantial, but still, it's average among the many YOKA projects. It took a lot of work, but since it's a product, I want it to sell for a long time. I want to bring to the world the strength of something that isn't just a passing fad. People have been saying the design is pretty cool, which I'm grateful for, but I didn't design it with the intention of it being cool. Since it's a product that handles fire, "failure" is even more important than the design; if the bottom falls out, it would be no laughing matter. So, it would never have ended up like that by doing something unnecessary. So, I didn't even think about decoration for this, but the fact that people are saying it's cool means that it's quite a "strong" product
The prototype on the right is in its final stages, and the final version
Finally, this is the result of a technical buildup. We wanted to expand the grilling surface from a cylindrical type and turn it into a charcoal grill, which is why it took on its current shape. With a cylindrical type, the flame only comes straight up. By expanding this area, the slow-cooking zone I mentioned earlier was born. You'll notice this later, but this is the pure radiant heat zone. I realized this because the taste of grilled green onions is different on the top and bottom, and they're even more delicious on the bottom, because the quality of the flame is different. And it turns out that in the history of charcoal grills, there has never been a pure radiant heat zone!? All of them are grilled using only direct heat. This is truly groundbreaking, and we continue to research this area day and night, hoping to find more ways to explore it
-The development period was 10 months, which was neither too short nor too long, and as those who had been paying attention will know, it became a huge hit on crowdfunding, appealing to people who had originally wanted a charcoal grill but thought the existing ones were not bad... It became a huge hit, raising an enormous amount of money and has continued to this day
From here on, this will be the author's review of the YOKA charcoal grill
Try using YOKA SHICHIRIN++ for yourself
I was one of the first to spot it through crowdfunding, and I've already acquired the first batch. I've used it countless times since then, including for camping trips, but I'll be honest: for 1-4 people who want to enjoy a leisurely charcoal fire, this is the best! It's so convenient because it's all-in-one, easy to light, burns efficiently, and basically requires no messy cleanup on site—it's just too perfect. However, it goes without saying that it's not suitable for situations where you just want to grill food with a large group of people
Of course, I wouldn't take this to the mountains right now, but it would be fine for BBQs, camping, setting up at base camp, etc
Source: YOKA
All the parts of the YOKA charcoal grill are, from the top center clockwise, the lid, legs, upper rack, lower rack, charcoal starter, and main body, with the core in the center.The storage bag here also comes with instructions.
Let's explain the basic steps for using charcoal. First, load the amount of charcoal you want to use into the core with the charcoal starter attached. Simply place the charcoal starter over the core. The inverted top cover shown in the image will be replaced with a heat-reducing item, so place it on the bottom of the unit
Then place the fire starter in the center of the bottom of the unit and light it
Just insert the core and you're done! There's no need to fan or blow on it. All you have to do is wait for the fire to spread! At first, there will be a fair amount of smoke, but once it settles down, there's almost no smoke left, like with charcoal
This is the only part where you need to wait a bit, once the fire has spread to the top charcoal and it starts to turn white, it's done! Now just remove the charcoal starter
All that's left is to place the grill on the grill and it's time to grill! In fact, you should place it on the grill once the flames have calmed down
My recent favorite is a dashi nabe (hot pot) made with simple cut vegetables. It's super easy and anyone can do it (lol)
I also recently purchased the new Zain Arts Nokupot, which fits perfectly on the top rack. However, the Nokupot itself is designed for gas cooking only and is not intended for charcoal or campfire cooking. I think this is due to the exterior paint, and while it's not a problem for cooking, there will inevitably be burn marks on the outside, so it's entirely at your own risk
Source: YOKA
Once the fire is stable, it's a wonderland. You can cook it either on top or bottom! It's hard to decide which way to place it, but it's fun and delicious to eat
Once you're done using it, just put the buckle-attached top lid on the bottom. Even if there's still fire left in it, it's no problem as it also functions as a fire extinguisher. However, the bottom does get hot, so you need to be a little careful about where you place it in this state. When the lid is on the bottom during use, the surface is almost completely unaffected by the heat, so you can just place it on a desk or something, and when using charcoal, you don't even need a fire sheet - it's that easy!
Above all, after use, things like fire pits get dirty and you don't really want to touch them, but if you just close this lid, it looks like it did before use. You can take it home and wash it at home while the outside is still clean
By the way, you can also replace the net and store everything inside to take home
By using firewood, it can also function as a pure bonfire stand.You can choose to leave it as the core set and expect the chimney effect to improve combustion efficiency, or remove it and go for a quantity-based option
From what I've seen, I think it's fine to use a core, and you can adjust the heat somewhat with a charcoal starter. If you're using it in this state, be sure to lay a fire sheet or something similar on the grass, and check the conditions on gravel or rocky areas
Easy to wash too!
From here, it's time to clean up. Well, it's the fate of meat and fish to end up like this when you grill them. That doesn't change, but it's still nice to be able to seal it up and take it home
First, dispose of the ashes
Well... it's in pretty good condition. By the way, adding a little water after lighting it will also help reduce smoke and burning
Here's another trick that's hard to come by without a YOKA charcoal grill: since there are no holes in the main body, you can soak it. Just fill it up to the brim with water or hot water and detergent and leave it for half a day to a day
After that, just scrub it with a metal scrubber or something! Everything will be clean except for the burn marks!
The net is elaborately made, so it may be a little difficult to clean, but since it's a special product, it cleans well. It's also quite sturdy, so it seems like it will last a long time without warping. I think being able to properly clean it up at the end shows that you're a true outdoorsman
Favorite points
- Versatile as a fire pit and charcoal grill
- Almost everything can be covered with this one device
- Yet it is easy to use and suitable for everyone
- Easy to take home after use
- I'm always thinking about what would be delicious to grill with this
- Looking forward to future expansion
Points of interest
- It takes a little while for the fire to spread
- The small internal parts and the stepped areas are a little difficult to clean
- Not suitable for people who want to cook a lot of food at once
Main specifications and evaluation
| item | YOKA SHICHIRIN++ |
|---|---|
| weight | Full set ( body, lid, core, charcoal starter, legs ) weighs approximately 2.9 kg |
| color | Unpainted |
| size | One size, 245 x 245 x H197mm |
| Material | stainless |
| accessories |
|
| Other features |
|
| Outdoor Gearzine Review | |
| Visual impact | ★★★★★ |
| Ease of use | ★★★★★ |
| Easy to wash | ★★★★☆ |
| Versatility | ★★★★★ |
| Functionality | ★★★★★ |
| durability | ★★★★★ |
| weight | ★★★☆☆ |
| Total satisfaction | ★★★★★ |
Special announcement at the end!?
We are currently accepting orders for the 3rd batch of YOKA SHICHIRIN++! The acceptance period will close on June 30, 2025, and deliveries are scheduled for late September. The shell itself has been updated with this batch, and is now molded as a single piece. The tabs that secure the mesh have also been riveted, rather than welded. Up until the 2nd batch, the two-piece structure was not visible from the outside, but was visible from the back. This eliminates any slight unevenness, which may make it easier to wash!
・YOKA SHICHIRIN++ sales recruitment site https://fireandnature.com/?pid=182620991
What did you think of the YOKA SHICHIRIN++? It's attractive that it can be used even in non-outdoor environments if you use charcoal, and almost everything is integrated into one, so you don't need any extra items. It's easy to use and made of stainless steel, so if you take good care of it, it can last a lifetime! There's no denying that. Once you get used to it and get a steady, strong fire, it will become an all-purpose cooking tool you won't want to let go of.
-YOKA-
・Official website : https://yoka.co.jp/contents/
・Official You tube https://www.youtube.com/@YOKATUBE
・Official Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/yoka_twelvetone/
・Official web store https://fireandnature.com/
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