A konro is a long, narrow Japanese charcoal grill built for skewers. A shichirin is a small, usually round clay grill for one or two people at the table. In Japan, a hibachi is not a grill at all: it is a fire bowl for heating a room. In the US, "hibachi" means a small cast-iron charcoal grill or, confusingly, a teppanyaki restaurant. Konro and shichirin were both built around binchotan, Japan's dense white charcoal.
Thaan means charcoal in Thai, and the long charcoal grills on Thai streets, the ones turning out moo ping and gai yang, work on the same idea as a konro: a narrow channel of coals close to the food.
Konro, shichirin and hibachi at a glance
| Shape | Traditional material | Built for | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Konro | Long, narrow rectangle | Diatomaceous earth, cut from a block or molded | Rows of skewers over a narrow bed of coals |
| Shichirin | Small, round or square | Diatomaceous earth | A few pieces at a time, often at the table |
| Hibachi (Japan) | Open bowl or box | Ceramic, wood or metal | Heating a room or a kettle, not grilling |
| Hibachi (US) | Small rectangle with adjustable grates | Cast iron | Quick direct-heat grilling, camping |
What is a konro?
A konro is a long, narrow, shallow box that puts a channel of coals close to the food. Skewers rest across the short side, so the meat sits over the fire and the handle stays clear of the heat. That shape is why it became the yakitori grill.
Traditional konro are made from diatomaceous earth, a light, porous stone formed from fossilized algae. Some are carved from a solid block, others molded from diatomite paste, and many come from Japan's Noto Peninsula. The material insulates so well that the outside stays cooler than you would expect while the heat is pushed up into the food.
The trade-off is care. Diatomaceous earth cracks if it gets wet or takes a hard knock, so a clay konro never sees water. Brush out the ash once it is cold and keep it dry. Modern konro use stainless steel with an insulated lining, and those you can wash.
What is a shichirin?
A shichirin is the konro's smaller cousin: a compact clay cooker, usually round, sometimes square, made from the same diatomaceous earth. It holds a small fire for one or two people, which is why you see it at the table for fish, a few skewers or toasted mochi. The name is often traced to "seven rin," an old coin, for how little charcoal it needed.
Plenty of sellers use shichirin and konro interchangeably. In practice, small and round is a shichirin. Long and narrow is a konro.
What is a hibachi?
In Japan, a hibachi, literally "fire bowl," is a brazier: a ceramic, wooden or metal container that holds charcoal to warm a room or keep a kettle hot. It was never meant for grilling.
In the US the word picked up two other meanings. A hibachi grill is usually a small cast-iron charcoal grill with grates you can raise and lower, tough and cheap and good for camping. A hibachi restaurant is really teppanyaki: food cooked on a flat steel griddle, usually over gas. Neither one is a konro.
Which one should you buy?
- Skewers and yakitori for a group: a konro. The width matters more than the length, because it decides how much of each skewer sits over the coals.
- One or two people at the table: a shichirin.
- Cheap, tough and going camping: a cast-iron hibachi.
- Skewers, steak and fish on the same grill, and something you can wash: an insulated steel konro-style grill, like the Thaan Grill.
Can you use regular charcoal in a konro?
You can, but it fights the grill. Lump charcoal sparks and flares when fat drips on it. Briquettes leave a heavy ash bed, and a shallow konro has nowhere to put it, so airflow chokes and the heat drops partway through the cook.
Konro were built around binchotan because it burns hot for hours with almost no flame, smoke or ash. Dense extruded charcoal does the same job: ogatan, made from compressed sawdust, and Thai-Style Charcoal, extruded from rambutan hardwood, which burns 4 to 6 hours at up to 1,200°F. More on fuel in Yakitori Charcoal: What to Burn, Heat Zones and Burn Time.
Is a konro worth it if you can't get binchotan?
Yes. The shape does most of the work. Binchotan is expensive and hard to find in the US, but any dense, low-ash charcoal gives you the same steady, flame-free bed. See Thaan vs Binchotan for how they compare.
Where the Thaan Grill fits
The Thaan Grill is a konro-style grill built in steel. It keeps the long, narrow channel: the grilling surface is 13 by 8.5 inches, and the Thaan Grill XL stretches it to 25 by 8.5 inches without getting any wider. Insulated walls do the job diatomaceous earth does, holding the heat in and focusing it on the food, at around 800°F. The grates sit about an inch apart, so skewers rest across them without rolling, and you can wash the whole thing.
Like every charcoal grill, it goes outside. In Japan, konro run indoors under commercial restaurant hoods. At home, cook outdoors and away from overhangs.
A long, narrow fire, dense charcoal and a rail of skewers. See the Thaan Grill or shop Thai-Style Charcoal.