Wagyu and Kobe Beef: A5 Grades, Certification, Top Brands and Where to Eat It

Wagyu literally means "Japanese beef". In Japan the term is reserved for four breeds: Japanese Black (Kuroge Washu), Japanese Brown (Akage Washu), Japanese Shorthorn and Japanese Polled. Japanese Black accounts for the overwhelming majority of production and is the one that gives the very fine marbling, with fat that melts at low temperature. Japanese Brown, raised mainly in Kumamoto and Kochi, is leaner and gaining fans.

Every carcass sold in Japan is graded by the Japan Meat Grading Association on two scales:

• Yield (A, B or C): the proportion of usable meat on the carcass. A is best.
• Quality (1 to 5): it combines four criteria, marbling (measured by BMS, from 1 to 12), meat colour and brightness, firmness and texture, and fat colour and quality. The final grade is the lowest of the four.

An A5 is therefore a carcass with the best yield and the best quality, with a BMS of 8 to 12. Three remarks to put the grade in perspective:

• A5 is neither a brand nor an origin. An A5 can come from any prefecture.
• A5 is not necessarily "the best" for everyone. A BMS 12 A5 is so rich that beyond 100–150 g many European diners have had enough. An A4, or a leaner cut (rump, fillet), is easier to eat.
• The grade applies to the carcass, not the cut served: the same A5 animal gives a heavily marbled sirloin and much leaner cuts.

Outside Japan, "wagyu" is often used for crossbreeds raised in Australia or the United States. It is not the same meat, nor the same price.

Kobe beef (Kobe-gyu or Kobe-niku) is not a breed but a protected designation managed by the Kobe Beef Marketing & Distribution Promotion Association. To qualify, the animal must first be Tajima cattle (a Japanese Black bloodline native to northern Hyogo Prefecture), a heifer or steer, born in Hyogo Prefecture, raised by an approved farmer in the prefecture and slaughtered at a Hyogo slaughterhouse.

The carcass must then meet all of these criteria:

• BMS marbling of 6 or more (out of 12);
• Yield grade A or B;
• Carcass weight of 499.9 kg at most;
• Fine texture and excellent firmness.

Around 7,000 Tajima cattle come to market each year, and about 5,500 earn the designation. It is a tiny production on a world scale, which explains the prices and the fakes.

How to check what you are eating:

• The 10-digit ID number: every animal has one, printed on the certificate the restaurant should be able to show. It traces the bloodline, the farmer and the slaughter date.
• The chrysanthemum stamp (nojigiku, the flower of Hyogo Prefecture) is applied to certified meat.
• The bronze statuette of a Tajima bull is given to restaurants and shops approved to buy and sell Kobe beef. No statuette, no certificate: be wary.

The classic traps: "Kobe-style beef", "Kobe wagyu" on a menu at too gentle a price, or ¥5,000 menus around Sannomiya station serving another wagyu. It is not necessarily bad, but it is not Kobe beef. Tajima beef and Sanda beef, from the same bloodline and prefecture, are good alternatives, often slightly cheaper.

Japan has more than 300 regional wagyu brands. Kobe is the best known abroad, but many Japanese first name Matsusaka and Omi, which with Kobe form the trio often called "the three great wagyu". Here are the ones you meet most while travelling.

• Matsusaka (Mie): only Japanese Black heifers that have never calved, registered in Matsusaka's identification system, whose last and longest fattening period took place in the production area. Very fine, very melting fat. Matsusaka is about an hour from Nagoya by Kintetsu train; its historic sukiyaki houses serve menus from ¥15,000–30,000 and up.
• Omi (Shiga): Japanese Black raised longest in Shiga Prefecture. The brand claims the longest history (over 400 years of documented consumption). Easy to taste from Kyoto: Omi-Hachiman and Hikone are 35 to 50 minutes away by train.
• Hida (Gifu): Japanese Black fattened for at least 14 months in Gifu Prefecture, with yield A or B and quality 3 or above. In Takayama you taste it as grilled skewers or seared nigiri in the old town streets (¥500–1,200 a piece), or as hoba-miso, grilled on a magnolia leaf.
• Ishigaki (Okinawa): the island raises many calves that are then fattened in other regions. Ishigaki beef proper is produced in small quantities and mostly eaten locally, as yakiniku or steak.

Also worth naming: Miyazaki and Kagoshima, regular winners at the national wagyu competition, Yonezawa (Yamagata) and Saga. For a group, these brands have a concrete advantage: quality comparable to Kobe at prices sometimes 20 to 40% lower, and better availability.

The same wagyu tastes completely different depending on how it is cooked. The choice of format matters as much as the brand.

• Teppanyaki: a chef cooks the meat in front of you on a large steel griddle, with vegetables, fried garlic and sometimes lobster or abalone to start. It is the classic way to taste Kobe beef, and Kobe claims to have invented the format after the war. You choose the cut (sirloin or fillet) and weight (100, 150, 200 g). The chef cuts it into bite-sized pieces and offers salt, wasabi, soy sauce or ponzu. Allow 1h30 to 2 hours.
• Yakiniku: you grill small slices yourself over a charcoal or gas grill set into the table. A convivial format that lets you try several cuts (tongue, short rib, skirt, sirloin). Tip: a few seconds per side is enough for heavily marbled wagyu; overcooked, it loses all its fat.
• Sukiyaki: thin slices cooked in a sweet-salty broth then dipped in beaten raw egg. Wagyu fat and sugar pair beautifully; it is Matsusaka's historic format and that of many Kyoto houses.
• Shabu-shabu: thin slices swished for a few seconds in a light broth, then in sesame or ponzu sauce. The lightest of the four, ideal in winter or for diners who find wagyu too rich.
• Also: pan-seared steak, seared wagyu nigiri (aburi), wagyu katsu (breaded and seared), or a luxury gyudon at lunch.

Avoid following a 200 g A5 teppanyaki with a yakiniku the next day. Heavily marbled wagyu is rich; 100–150 g per person per meal is plenty, with vegetables. Japanese restaurants serve it in small portions for that reason.

Prices vary with the brand, cut, weight and above all the time of day: as with kaiseki, lunch is much cheaper than dinner for the same quality. Indicative per-person benchmarks, excluding drinks:

• Kobe beef teppanyaki: ¥8,000–20,000 at lunch (often 100–120 g), ¥25,000–50,000 and up at dinner for a full menu with 150–200 g of A5 sirloin or fillet. Large hotels and places in Kitano or Sannomiya sit at the top of the range.
• Other wagyu teppanyaki (Tajima, Sanda, Omi, Hida): ¥6,000–15,000 at lunch, ¥15,000–35,000 at dinner.
• Good wagyu yakiniku: ¥8,000–15,000 for a generous meal; high-end omakase menus reach ¥20,000 and more. Yakiniku chains offer sets at ¥3,000–6,000.
• Branded sukiyaki or shabu-shabu: ¥10,000–30,000 in a historic house.
• Street food: Hida-gyu skewer in Takayama ¥500–1,200, wagyu croquette ¥300–500, two pieces of seared wagyu nigiri ¥600–1,200.
• Retail: 100 g of branded A5 sirloin often costs ¥3,000–8,000 in a department store.

Watch for bills that climb unnoticed: at teppanyaki, meat is often charged by weight on top of the menu, and garlic rice, dessert or a second cut add up quickly. Ask for the total price before ordering. And remember: travellers may not bring fresh or vacuum-packed meat from Japan into the European Union.

A Kobe beef or wagyu dinner is often the high point of an incentive in Japan. Well organised, it is a very convivial moment; badly calibrated, it is a ¥60,000-per-head bill and half the plates unfinished.

• Teppanyaki: one griddle table seats 8 to 10 guests around a chef. For 40 people you need a restaurant or hotel with four or five griddles, or private rooms with their own teppan. Large hotels in Kobe, Osaka and Tokyo do this very well. Book 6 to 8 weeks ahead, set the menu, and serve the same weight of meat to everyone (120–150 g is enough).
• Yakiniku in a private room: the most flexible format for 20 to 80 people. Large yakiniku houses have rooms that can be privatised, with one grill per 4 to 6 guests; a server per table can do the cooking for those who prefer.
• Sukiyaki or shabu-shabu: well suited to groups in tatami rooms (with low chairs), one pot per 4 people, and a hostess who handles the cooking.
• Visits and workshops: in Kobe, a morning at the Nada sake breweries followed by a teppanyaki lunch makes a balanced half-day. In Takayama, a Hida-gyu street-food walk through the old town works in groups of 10 to 15.

Precautions:

• Diets: at registration, identify participants who do not eat beef (for religious reasons, notably Hindu, or by choice), vegetarians and halal diners. Plan fish, seafood or vegetables on the teppan for them, cooked on a cleaned or separate griddle. A few Japanese suppliers offer halal-certified wagyu; it must be ordered in advance.
• Budget: fix the meat weight and the drinks package to avoid per-gram supplements and ¥30,000 bottles of wine.
• Authenticity: if the programme announces Kobe beef, ask for the certificate with the ID number.

For groups, SHINOGI DMC selects approved restaurants, negotiates fixed-weight menus and plans alternatives for every diet, from Kobe to Ishigaki.