The Japanese street food consisting of skewered grilled chicken is yakitori. Small pieces of chicken are threaded onto bamboo skewers and grilled, traditionally over charcoal, until lightly charred and smoky.
Yakitori can be seasoned with shio, or salt, or tare, a sweet-savory sauce commonly made with soy sauce, mirin, and sugar. Vendors grill many parts of the chicken, including thigh, breast, wing, skin, liver, gizzard, and cartilage. Negima, made with chicken and scallions, is a particularly familiar style.
A common mix-up is kushiyaki. Kushiyaki is the broader term for grilled foods on skewers and can include pork, beef, seafood, or vegetables. Yakitori specifically refers to chicken in standard usage, although regional exceptions exist. Yakitori became closely associated with Japanese food stalls, izakayas, festivals, and after-work dining.