The founder of Hakata Kawaya, Kyotani Mitsuyuki, opened “Kawaya Shirogane Branch” in Shirogane, Fukuoka in 1999. The signature dish he devised himself, called the famed “Nadai Kawayaki,” uses chicken skin and is the restaurant’s flagship: the skin is repeatedly grilled and marinated through a special preparation process before being served. Kyotani set out with the idea of “spreading Hakata’s kawa-yaki like mentaiko” and cultivated the kawa-yaki style while expanding from the Shirogane branch to the Kego, Ōhashi, and Gion branches. Today, Kawaya’s flavor has been passed on not only throughout Fukuoka but to locations nationwide. The foundation for that was built on the founder Kyotani Mitsuyuki’s attitude and way of thinking.