Domestic Beef in a Japanese grocery store.

[gboss]

I recently had the opportunity to visit Japan for business. I went to a couple "fancy" grocery stores in Kobe to check out the current prices and offerings.

These are "very nice" offerings from a relatively fancy grocery store; this is not every day shopping but it's also not inaccessible or difficult to find meat of this quality. This is all "Domestic, Japanese Black Beef."

Prices are in yen per 100g. The current exchange rate is about JPY130-$1USD. I've put some of the prices in a spreadsheet so you all don't have to do it.

JPY per 100g	$ per 100g	$/lb
5400	$41.86	$189.88
2160	$16.74	$75.95
1944	$15.07	$68.36
3780	$29.30	$132.91
6480	$50.23	$227.85
4320	$33.49	$151.90
2160	$16.74	$75.95
3240	$25.12	$113.93
1491	$11.56	$52.43
1350	$10.47	$47.47
864	$6.70	$30.38
1059	$8.21	$37.24
1296	$10.05	$45.57
1059	$8.21	$37.24
1300	$10.08	$45.71
754	$5.84	$26.51
1404	$10.88	$49.37
1659	$12.86	$58.33
1128	$8.74	$39.66
798	$6.19	$28.06

Will add some more photos in a reply








Thinly sliced ribeye for shabu-shabu (Japanese hot pot). 600Yen discount per 100g, so this cost 980yen/100g + tax = 1078Y/100g, about $38/lb



Sliced wagyu for yakinuku, ~$30/lb


Authentic Kobe Beef Ribeye, ~$114/lb




Also authentic Kobe Ribeye, ~$190/lb


~$37/lb looks like top blade to me. Says it's for Sukiyaki.

~$28/lb

Thinly sliced ribeye for shabu-shabu (Japanese hot pot). 600Yen discount per 100g, so this cost 980yen/100g + tax = 1078Y/100g, about $38/lb (I guess this is a duplicate photo)




Thinly sliced Top Round for shabu-shabu (Japanese hot pot). 600Yen discount per 100g, so this cost 700yen/100g + tax = 770Y/100g, about $27/lb

HSliced for yakiniku, this is Tri-Tip (Hiuchi). ~$45/lb

[gboss]

More photos







BBeef for Yakiniku (Kata, shoulder cut near the neck, from the chuck) ~$37/lb

Top Round, ~$47/lb


~$30/lb


Beef for sukiyaki, ~$26/lb


Tri-Tip (Hiuchi) steaks ~$47/lb


Beef for shabu shabu (chuck, neck) ~$46/lb



Top blade steak (Misuji)


Assorted


Beef for sukiyaki (Top blade)


Authentic Kobe Top beef for yakiniku (assorted round, shoulder, ribeye, and striploin) ~$52/lb



~$28/lb

[hoovarmin]

Did it seem like plenty of people were paying for this beef?

[gboss]

hoovarmin there wasn't a queue of people lined up to buy this, but I did see some people buy some in the few minutes I spent there.

[MsTwiggy]

Anyone here know what they are doing to raise meat like that? Do they give them grain every day instead of finishing on grain? The marbling is ridiculous!! 💯

[gboss]

I am sure it has a lot to do with genetics.

There's all sorts of myths and legends about Kobe Beef in terms of massaging the cows and feeding them beer.

I don't know what's true, production wise, to be honest. But I am sure a lot of effort goes into their production. The nose print and traceable certificates of the high end wagyu is real. I have seen those at some restaurants.

[MsTwiggy]

Some of those cuts look like blocks of butter with some meat flecks in them. . .

[SheilaAnn]

gboss you are correct about the nose print. At my old job, when we brought in wagyu we had certificates with the nose print and other provenance identifiers.

[ofelles]

WOW! I need a cigarette!

[gboss]

So, my last night in Japan before flying home, I found an all you can eat A5 yakiniku with an all you can drink plan.
I don't smoke aside from bbq but if there was ever a time where a post meal cigarette was warranted, it was after that over indulgence.

[ofelles]

Yea, I have not smoked in 43 years but this.......

[SheilaAnn]

AYCE wagyu? Smart business people. How much can you really eat without hurling?

[rlozinak]

The marbleing looks amazing

[gboss]

It's really unreal. It's the most delicious marbling too! So soft and delicious!

[bbqLuv]

Ah--so, me no go!

[58limited]

Wow!

[gboss]

Yea, it's one thing to know that this kind of meat exists. It's another thing entirely to go into a supermarket and see tons of it, just sitting there!

[DaveD]

Yowza!

[Jerod Broussard]

That 3rd pic down in the first set is screaming A5 for 600 whatever.

[gboss]

I edited to add some more info. The discount is 600Y off each 100g. It's still pretty pricey.

[DTro]

Hope your hotel had a grill?

[gboss]

While I have been known to cook in hotel parking lots, this trip was a little different. Luckily, "yakiniku" restaurants have a grill built into a table and they will bring you meat to cook and eat at the table. It's quite fun.

[Uncle Bob]

This stuff is absolutely fascinating. Even in a cold case there is a limited shelf life and that's quite a spread, so there must be sufficient demand though the quantities per sale may be smaller than we think here in the U.S.

As for the market demand for that high level of marbling, again, this is likely a cultural thing, perhaps for special occasions when it means something special to be "puttin' on the Ritz". It reminds me of the time, way back, in my working career when I had saw mill clients that ran special lines for the Japanese market. In the Northwest fir is abundant (relatively) and the fine grain is prized by the finicky Japanese market. More than just the grain, they demanded blemish free timbers (yes, not just "simple" dimensional lumber). That means no knots, no dark spots, no discolored striations. The wealthy Japanese built their homes with exposed post and beam construction methods so the appearance was critical to the beauty of the home. Those guys had to work extra hard to ensure that the product they produced met those standards, but they also made sure they got paid accordingly. And even at those nose bleed prices they were filling a lot of cargo containers.

[gboss]

You ain't kidding, Uncle Bob.
I can tell you from experience, you're absolutely correct about the level of quality expected by Japanese consumers/customers.
"Those guys had to work extra hard to ensure that the product they produced met those standards, but they also made sure they got paid accordingly."
That statement sums up a lot of my experience working in Japan. Just that "working extra hard" does not AT ALL imply working efficiently. But that's veering off topic. Cheers!

[jfmorris]

That is some amazingly marbled beef, and I would love to try something like that one day. I've yet to buy anything here that looked like that - just prime beef locally, and the Click Akashi stuff looks nothing like this, despite claims to be "red waygu".

[gboss]

I think it's worth the splurge if you find yourself with an opportunity to take advantage. I've hard far, far better value for my meat dollar elsewhere, but real wagyu is really a supreme beef experience (when done correctly).
I don't want to spam this board with Japanese adventures, but I did take some photos of my ridiculously amazing A5 teppanyaki experience. If there's interest, I'll post.

[smokin fool]

So on the whole which was a more rewarding experience Kobe, Japan or Hamilton, Ontario....
Interesting stuff, neat insight into beef else where.

[gboss]

Apples and oranges, my friend. Both were rewarding for different reasons, although I think the Canadians have a much better* sense of humor.

(*better=relatable to me.)

Glad you found it interesting. I have some photos of the pork and chicken at these stores as well... Again, if there's interest, I can post them in The Pit.

I do like to try to go to grocery stores when traveling the world, just to see how "normal" people shop and eat.