YOKA SHICHIRIN++

A stainless steel charcoal grill that can be ignited, extinguished, and reignited using just the main unit

First update in 400 years

Charcoal is an eco-friendly fuel that can be used many times and has a low environmental impact. It can be used for cooking, grilling, and sometimes heating. What's more, the food grilled on it is magically delicious. The charcoal grill is a device used to use charcoal, but it has an image of being difficult to use and handle, and it has come to be seen as something you can touch in a shop rather than something you use yourself. We want to spread the fun of the charcoal grill to your garden or balcony at home and enjoy a relaxing time around the fire. This project was started to make that happen.

However, big changes will not come about just by changing the material or shape a little. What is a shichirin? What is a charcoal fire? What does it mean for people to gather around it? We decided to rethink everything from the ground up and make changes to the mechanism itself, which is taken for granted. We made five major changes: "removing the air holes," "adding a lid," "putting the charcoal in a basket," "changing to stainless steel," and "making the grill two-tiered," which brought about a major evolution of the shichirin. The basic structure of the shichirin has not changed since the Edo period. To put it dramatically, this is the first update in 400 years.

Feature 1: Eliminating air holes keeps the table clean.

We have eliminated the air holes that are a standard feature of charcoal grills. Because only the top is open, ashes will not spill out even when used on a table. So where does the air come in? The charcoal is actually contained within a basket, with air all around it. It burns by air being sucked in from the top to the bottom.

■Feature 2: It has a lid so the fire can be extinguished.

Normally, to put out the charcoal in a charcoal grill, you have to move the burning charcoal to a fire extinguisher pot. This can send out quite a few sparks, so you need to be extremely careful. YOKA SHICHIRIN++ has a lid, so even if the charcoal is lit, you can just close the lid and put out the fire. It can also be stored in a completely sealed state, so it's very clean.

■Feature 3: Easy to light, extinguish, and relight.

Charcoal can be reused once it has been extinguished. However, in reality, this is not an easy task. To put out the fire, you need to move the charcoal to the fire extinguisher pot, and then move the extinguished charcoal back from the fire extinguisher pot. Every time you do this, you have to worry about sparks and dirt. I think this is one of the reasons why people think that charcoal grills are "troublesome" and "difficult."

YOKA SHICHIRIN++ can be lifted up with the basket of charcoal inside, so when you want to light or relight it, all you have to do is put some kindling underneath and light it. It can be ignited smoothly without scattering a lot of ash.

■Feature 4: Can be washed completely and is durable.

A charcoal grill made of diatomaceous earth cannot be washed, and burnt food accumulates. This affects the taste, but it is definitely cleaner if it can be washed. Also, diatomaceous earth charcoal grills are prone to breaking and are not very suitable for moving.

Nowadays, there are metal charcoal grills, so this problem has been solved to some extent, but the YOKA SHICHIRIN++ has a simpler structure, with all parts made of stainless steel. It can be treated like a pot, so it is easy to clean. (You only need to wash the shell and the net.)

■Feature 5: Two-tiered net

YOKA SHICHIRIN++ has a two-tiered grill. Not only can you use it to store skewers, but you can also place a pot on the top tier and grill food on the bottom tier.

The bottom tier has a hole in the middle, so you can add charcoal with the net still on. You can also use this hole to make a bonfire and use the heat to cook.

By adding this seemingly simple function that surprisingly no one had done before, we were able to make great strides in making the charcoal grill device.

■Others:

・The net can also be flat.

You can also place the upper net underneath (like this when storing), so although there will be a slight step, you can use it flat.

・You can also use commercially available nets.

It is large enough to use a commercially available 24 cm net. When grilling meat with sauce, it can be difficult to wash, so disposable nets can also be used.

By the way, we recommend a net that is mounded like the one in the photo.

■How to use

These are the features of YOKA SHICHIRIN++.

After more than six months of testing, and various tunings, we have created a product that anyone can use to "enjoy cooking over a charcoal fire."

I think that charcoal grills are an "outdoor activity" that everyone can enjoy, whether they are camping or not. I hope you will gather around the fire and have a relaxing time.

<Specifications>
-Material: Stainless steel -Size: 245 x 245 x H197mm
Weight: Approx. 2.9kg (including all set contents)
Set contents: Main unit, lid, core, charcoal starter, legs, Made in China