Aje Kiyamachi Donguri Branch

These days, many restaurants close their doors after 2:00 p.m., right? Sometimes I feel very sad when I miss lunch due to a long day at work. My theory is to find a café in such cases. In many cases, cafes are open until late in the evening, and if lucky, I may be able to find some leftovers for lunch.

So one day around 3 p.m., I was walking south along the Takase River toward a certain cafe for a late lunch when I happened to pass by a popular yakiniku restaurant, Aje Kiyamachi Donguri Branch, and noticed that it was open. I was puzzled for a moment, but then I thought to myself, “Whatever it is, I’m lucky if it’s open!”. What was going on…

Aje Kiyamachi Donguri Branch started lunchtime business on March 1, 2025… It is now open all day until closing time at night, greatly increasing convenience!

I found a sign inside the restaurant saying that Aje Kiyamachi Donguri Branch started lunchtime business on March 1, 2025. Aje has a total of six stores in Kyoto, Tokyo, Kanazawa, and Gifu, including the Matsubara Head Shop, but as of May 2025, the Kiyamachi Donguri Branch is the only one open during lunch hours. This is a rare opportunity to enjoy authentic hormone yakiniku (BBQ) in the middle of the day, even in Kyoto, where there are many yakiniku restaurants.

The interior of Aje Kiyamachi Donguri Branch is simply white and clean, giving the impression of being more spacious than the main restaurant in Matsubara. The restaurant has 48 seats in total, including 8 counter seats. There were a lot of old guys enjoying yakiniku with beer in their hands, and they sounded like they were having a lot of fun. I had to work that night, so I was very jealous of these old guys. I was like, “Next time I come here, I’ll be sure to sit on your side…”.

I was in a hurry to order because of the limited time, but… how was it like trying the three dishes I ordered at Aje Kiyamachi Donguri Branch?

Let me introduce the three dishes I ordered at Aje Kiyamachi Donguri Branch. I didn’t have much time to spare before my night work, so I was in a bit of a hurry to order… 

Hoso Shio 

First, let’s start with Aje’s signature dish, Hoso Shio (Salt). When you come to Aje, you can’t start anything without ordering this one. And as you can see in the picture above, there are 10 big slices of Hoso in the dish, and that’s for one person. The price is only 750 yen. This alone explains why this restaurant has become so popular.

The hoso is grilled slowly in a roaster and dipped in the dipping sauce for hoso. While the excess fat is washed away by the sauce, the sauce soaks into the intricate wrinkles of the hoso, and when thrown into the mouth, the sweetness of the fat and the broth-like sauce gradually ooze out into the mouth. This “gradually” is the key word for Hoso Shio, and by savoring it slowly in the mouth, you can enjoy the maximum flavor. If eating too quickly, you may not be able to enjoy the full flavor, so please be careful when ordering.

Hormone Mix 

Next came the Hormone Mix. This is a tare-only product, but at a glance, there were 5-6 different kinds of hormones inside, including Tripe, Tracheal cartilage, Omasum, Aorta of the heart, etc…

This hormone mix has a sauce for Hoso Shio and another sauce, which has a slightly spicy taste. However, the rubbing sauce on the hormone itself is quite spicy, so if these hormone mixes are also submerged in the sauce, the extra spiciness will be removed and it will be easier to eat. The price for this dish is 850 yen including tax. The volume of this dish is more than enough for one person at other restaurants, and it makes you think, “If I can have yakiniku hormone here, I don’t have to go to other restaurants anymore…”.Hormone Stew 

And finally, Hormone Stew, labeled as a “specialty” on a separate paper menu from the regular menu. As you can see from the image above, this dish is basically what is called “Bokkake” in Kobe, and several kinds of hormones are added to it and stewed together.

The seasoning is just as you might expect, rich and slightly spicy, with a “mature” taste. Eating this dish made me want a beer in my left hand more and more. The portion of this dish is large enough to be shared by two or three people, but the price is only 550 yen, tax included. It is an unquestionable accompaniment to beer before the yakiniku is cooked, and I recommend ordering it first if it is on the menu that day.

I was actually thinking of adding two more dishes after this, but the time for the train I had to catch was approaching, so I cried and cried and cried and paid the bill here. Although I hadn’t had any alcohol, my stomach was full after eating these three dishes, and my bill was just a little over 2,000 yen. If you can eat such a large amount of food for such a reasonable price, it would work well as a regular lunch. I am very thankful that Aje Kiyamachi Danguri Branch has opened its doors for lunch.

In fact, there was a lunchtime-only menu… To get to Aje Kiyamachi Donguri Branch, a 3-minute walk from the nearest station, Gion Shijo Station on the Keihan Electric Railway line. 

In fact, there was a lunch-only menu item that I could not order that day. This dish was called “Tetsunabe Vegetable Kopchang,” which reminds me of Hakata Motsu Nabe. It seems that this menu item is only available at Kiyamachi Donguri Br,nch so if you have a chance to visit the restaurant during lunch time, please be sure to order it.

Now, here are the details of the restaurant… 

It takes 5 minutes on foot from Kyoto Kawaramachi Station on the Hankyu Kyoto Line.

P.S. If you are looking for delicious BBQ in Kyoto, please stop by this article below…