Plates of food and a grill sit on a table.

All you need for a mouthwatering repast is laid out at Yakiniku Sakaba Tick in Sasebo, Japan. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes)

Yakiniku Sakaba Tick has a small footprint in bustling Sasebo city, but is a meat-lover’s dream.

I walked right by it while exploring the city center and overlooked the kind of cuisine and atmosphere waiting inside. The restaurant resembles a traditional Japanese houseboat and offers Nagasaki wagyu beef at reasonable prices.

Prior to coming to Japan, I’d mostly stuck to Korean-style hotpot restaurants for cook-your-own-meal adventures. I’ve come to appreciate the atmosphere, efficiency and nonjudgmental all-you-can-eat yakiniku Japan has to offer.

Junya, the owner, made a warm greeting and let me take a few pictures before taking my order and preparing what I’d requested.

Food sits in a dish.

A shrimp and avocado spring roll starts dinner off right at Yakiniku Sakaba Tick in Sasebo, Japan. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes)

I started with shrimp and avocado fresh spring rolls for just under $6. They packed a big punch. The chewy texture of the wrapper and the crunch of chilled veggies in a tangy sauce were a sharp contrast to the savory hot beef and pork coming fresh off the tabletop grill.

I also had the Nagasaki wagyu beef platter for 2,080 yen, the pork belly for 480 yen and the Nagasaki wagyu beef premium kalbi for 1,600 yen, with a bowl of rice and a ginger ale.

Junya brought out four sauces and toppings to help flavor the premium cuts of meat, and a side of cabbage with a tangy dressing. There were also onions and mushrooms that I threw on the grill with the beef and pork.

A man chops food at a restaurant counter.

Junya, the owner at Yakiniku Sakaba Tick, prepares an order in his small but inviting restaurant in Sasebo, Japan. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes)

I got so lost in the grilling and tasting that at some point I forgot to keep taking pictures.

Though the menu was translated in English, I didn’t realize how much food I was ordering. I finished my meal suffering from the meat sweats and was grateful I could walk some of it off on the way back to my hotel.

Yakiniku Sakaba Tick is worth the trip if you like to cook for yourself but skip the prep-work and dishes.

A storefront is lit up.

Yakiniku Sakaba Tick in Sasebo, Japan, piles high cuts of beef and pork at do-it-yourself diner stations. (Janiqua Robinson/Stars and Stripes)

Yakiniku Sakaba Tick

Location: 1st Floor Sugimori Building, 1-1 Kamikyo-cho, Sasebo City, Nagasaki prefecture.

Directions: A 15-minute walk from Sasebo Station in Sasebo, Japan.

Hours: Open 6 p.m. to midnight, Monday to Saturday.

Prices: Basic Nagasaki wagyu beef packages for one to two people cost about $13. A premium four-person course with a 90-minute all-you-can-drink package is about $35.

Dress: Casual

Information: Online: instagram.com/tick_junya