"Wagyu" means "Japanese beef." It refers to four unique breeds of purebred cattle: Kuroge (Japanese Black), Akage (Japanese Brown), Nihon Tankaku (Japanese Shorthorn), and Mukaku (Japanese Polled). This classification was established in 1944.

For those four wagyu breeds, cross-breeding with other cattle varieties is prohibited. These four strains emerged by cross-breeding with cattle mostly from Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Their common ancestor? Tajima cattle.

Generally, Japan-raised cows are referred to as "domestic cattle" in Japan. This includes wagyu but also other varieties, such as Angus, Jersey, or Holstein, that were raised in the country as well. Even imported cattle can be counted as domestic if the feeding period in Japan is longer than the feeding period overseas.

A lot of Japanese restaurants offer Japanese wagyu beef and barbecue dishes – so how do you know the quality of the beef? The main criteria to be on the lookout for are brand and grade. Let's take a look at both.

Brand
The brand of the beef indicates the areas where the cattle come from. The three most famous Japanese wagyu beef areas are Kobe beef from Hyogo Prefecture, Matsusaka beef from Mie Prefecture, and Omi beef from Shiga Prefecture.

In total, Japan boasts over 150 beef brands from the Japanese black, so if you see a restaurant offering wagyu, check (or ask for) the brand or production area.

Grade
The other important indicator of wagyu quality is the grade. You'll often see grades such as "A5" written on a restaurant's signboard or menu. This classification refers to a universal system, grades awarded by a member of the Japan Meat Grading Association.

The "Yield Grade" is marked by letters from A to C, indicating how much high-quality meat one cow offers, not counting parts such as skin and internal organs, of course. The highest yield grade that can be attained is A.

A number between 1 and 5 then follows this letter – this is the "Quality Grade." Four criteria determine how high the quality grade is: marbling, meat color and brightness, firmness and texture of meat, and color, luster, and quality of fat.

As such, A5 is the highest grade that Japanese wagyu beef can get and, also, the most expensive. Once you know what the wagyu grade system is all about, it will be a tremendous help in making a decision when choosing a restaurant or what to order.

・ A to C: The Yield Grade, with A being the highest.
・ 1 to 5: The Quality Grade, determined by four criteria, with 5 being the highest.

Just like any beef, wagyu has all sorts of different cuts with their own unique flavor and aroma. The most sought-after is sirloin meat (サーロイン / sāroin), generally used to make wagyu steak or sukiyaki.

The meat around the loin boasts a fine marbling and thus makes for the best cuts to savor the characteristic taste of Japanese wagyu beef. Another great choice is the rib roast (リブロース, riburōsu), offering a nice balance between marbled and lean meat and this cut is most often used for shabu-shabu, Japanese fondue.

Other prime cuts of include chuck flap (ハネシタ, haneshita), making for a roast of the highest quality, as well as bottom flap (カイノミ, kainomi), a small, delicious part of the rib area.

A lot of Japanese-style barbecue restaurants, called yakiniku, serve such rare cuts that every Japanese cow only has one to offer of. Below is a list of popular cuts among Japanese gourmets, to make your choice even easier:

1) Wagyu Sirloin (サーロイン / sāroin)
・ Description: regarded as the best of beef cuts. From the loin.
・ Appearance: a fine, mesh-like marbling.
・ Taste: a rich, full-bodied flavor that spreads throughout the entire mouth.
・ Try as: steak, shabu-shabu, sukiyaki.

2) Wagyu Skirt Steak (ハラミ / harami)
・ Description: the diaphragm, a cut from the plate. Sometimes also called “sagari” (サガリ).
・ Appearance: deep red meat that is actually offal.
・ Taste: despite being offal, skirt meat tastes like actual red meat.
・ Try as: barbecued with a rich sauce.

3) Wagyu Offal (ホルモン / horumon)
・ Description: usually refers to different kinds of offal. Sometimes used for the large intestine (シマチョウ / shimachō)
・ Appearance: white and rather fatty
・ Taste: firm to the bite, fatty, and with a rich taste.
・ Try as: thoroughly barbecued until golden-brown, best enjoyed with a rich sauce.

4) Wagyu Ribs (カルビ / karubi or kalbi)
・ Description: “kalbi” is the Korean word for rib and generally stands for beef ribs.
・ Appearance: lean meat with a very fine, mesh-like marbling.
・ Taste: the marbling makes for a deep flavor.
・ Try as: plain or with a hint of salt.

5) Wagyu Brisket (肩バラ / katabara)
・ Description: a cut from the breast or lower chest part.
・ Appearance: layers of lean meat and fat, a rather tough cut.
・ Taste: tender after cooking, with a firmness to the bite close to ribs.
・ Try as: boiled in stews, ground as hamburger

6) Wagyu Tongue (タン / tan)
・ Description: beef tongue.
・ Appearance: can be cut into slices of dozens of centimeters long. Often thinly sliced.
・ Taste: a unique, acquired taste with an equally unique texture.
・ Try as: briefly barbecued, tastes best with salt and lemon juice.

7) Wagyu Chuck Eye (肩ロース / katarōsu)
・ Description: a roast from the meat between the shoulder and back.
・ Appearance: fatty towards the head, with a fine marbling.
・ Taste: an excellent balance of lean meat and fat.
・ Try as: sukiyaki

8) Wagyu Ribeye, Spencer Roll (リブロース / riburōsu)
・ Description: from around the back and the ribs. One of the best cuts of meat, along with sirloin.
・ Appearance: great balance between lean meat and fat, beautiful marbling.
・ Taste: a rich umami flavor of excellent quality.
・ Try as: steak, sukiyaki, shabu-shabu.

At barbecue specialty restaurants and steakhouses, you'll often see the word "Kuroge," Japanese Black on both menus and signboards. Among the four breeds, Japanese Black makes up the vast majority of wagyu, with a majority of a whopping 95%.

The most famous brands and areas, including Yonezawa, Miyazaki, and Sendai, as well as the three big wagyu brands of Kobe, Matsuzaka, and Omi are all Japanese Black.

As mentioned earlier, the common ancestor of the four wagyu strains is Tajima wagyu cattle, used for farming and agriculture since ancient times. The cross-breeding with European cattle made the meat of the Tajima cattle incredibly delicious. It is rich in "good fat," such as Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids, as well as monounsaturated fatty acids.

That's also the reason for the wonderfully smooth mouthfeel of wagyu, a characteristic that made it famous all around the world. Almost 100% of all Japanese Black beef in Japan can be traced back to Tajima cattle.

Especially yakiniku (Japanese barbecue) restaurants boast menus with a large variety of cuts and dishes. Instead of "kalbi," the Japanese word for ribs, you'll often see things like 上カルビ, pronounced jō-kalbi, or 上ロース (jō-rōsu).

The 上 character means "up" or "above" and generally indicates that the meat is fattier than usual and of a slightly higher quality. Sharing this meaning is another often-used expression: 特選, read as "tokusen," and meaning "special selection."

Other characters you will come across in front of dish or cut names are 塩 (shio), meaning salt, and ネギ (negi), meaning green onion. This means that the meat has been marinated in sauce or comes with said toppings and can be understood as a recommendation by the restaurant – "We'd like you to try it with this." The rule of thumb is to simply ask the staff if you are not sure or have a question!

Japanese Black wagyu is used in many dishes, including classics such as steak and sukiyaki. One of the best ways to savor and try unique cuts is yakiniku, a Japanese barbecue.

An excellent place to do just that is a restaurant called Boya, located near Ueno's Okachimachi Station. Boya offers a rich variety of choice cuts for reasonable prices, including sirloin and ribeye, but also rare delicacies such as chuck flap and inner shoulder. The restaurant's secret is to purchase one entire cow from a selection of famous brands, including Yonezawa, Sendai, or Hitachi – always the one with the highest cost performance at the time of purchase.

We highly recommend ordering the assortment of cuts the first time you visit, which will allow you to try sirloin, ribs, chuck flap, and other delicious cuts. It's a beautiful balance of marbled and lean meat, bringing out the characteristics and unique flavor of Japanese Black wagyu just perfectly. Boya boasts a variety of such assortments, and another example is "Boya Ittomori" (4,980 yen, four cuts for 2-3 people), offering meat that is more on the fatty side, or "Marutokumori" (3,980 yen, four cuts for 2-3 people), to name a few.

Most people expect to pay a ridiculously high price if they actually ordered Kobe beef, or even Matsusaka or Omi beef at a restaurant in Tokyo. However, not all places serving wagyu are upscale and expensive.

Next to these three famous brands, Japan boasts a large variety of wagyu producers! Some might not be as famous or internationally known but taste great nonetheless and are far friendlier for the wallet, fitting in basically every budget.

Still – the demand for wagyu is rising all around the world and as every single cow is carefully raised by hand, it’s hard for the production to keep up. If you want to get to know the gourmet delights of wagyu for affordable prices, now is the best time!

We also recommend these restaurants in addition to those above. Save time and hassle - book your table online today!