Photo By: Elin Chow

Kobe Beef is a prized Japanese delicacy renowned for its tenderness, flavor, heavy marbling and melt-in your-mouth texture. The succulent meat is the reason why we decided to include a visit to the city of Kobe in our 7D6N Japan trip. After all, where better to taste the world-famous Kobe Beef than Kobe itself?

Authentic Kobe Beef can commands an extremely high price in Japan. In fact, it is famously known to be one of the most expensive beef in the world, carrying a price tag of hundreds of dollars per pound. Even though it is expensive, I will still recommend you splurge on this super luxury meat, especially if you are visiting the city of Kobe in Japan.

Kobe Beef has a high level of fat marbling and a relatively low melting point. The taste of the meat is incredibly heavenly and unique, so much different from any other beef you have tasted. Furthermore, it is nearly impossible to buy or eat Kobe Beef anywhere in the world because they are rarely exported out of Japan.

Wagyu literally means Japanese cattle that is bred in Japan or Japanese-style.  All Kobe Beef is Wagyu, but not all Wagyu is Kobe Beef. Most people thought that Kobe and Wagyu are the same premium Japanese Beef, but they are actually not.

Kobe Beef must come from a pure lineage of Tajuma-gyu wagyu cattle that are born and raised in Hyogo prefecture. But not all Tajuma-gyu deserve the title "Kobe Beef". Only the chosen few that satisfy the specific quality criteria set out by the Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association can be labeled the Kobe Beef. Due to the strict standards, only 3,000 head of cattle qualify as Kobe Beef per year. It is the rarity of the meat that makes it so valuable and expensive.

The production of Kobe Beef is rigorously monitored. Wagyu are usually raised to three years old, giving the cattle a longer period for fattening. They are largely kept indoor and are fed a high quality and nutritious feed, consisting a blend of rice, straw, maize, barley and various other ingredients and drink only fresh and clean water. Once all the strict criteria are satisfied, the Wagyu will be labeled "Kobe, and will carry a 10-digit identification number.


Kobe Beef can be prepared and served as steak, sukiyaki, shabu shabu, sashimi and Teppanyaki. But the best way to enjoy it is at a Teppanyaki restaurant where a chef grills the meat on a huge iron griddle in front of hungry diners.


After reading numerous reviews online, my husband and I decided to dine at Steak Land, one of the most popular Kobe Beef restaurant in Kobe city. This restaurant comes highly recommended and did not disappoint.

Steak Land is conveniently located right across Hankyu Sannomiya Station and is always packed with both locals and tourists alike. It is certainly one of the best place to try authentic Kobe Beef in the city due to their relatively affordable price and central location.
Steak Land is open from 11.00 am to 10.00 pm everyday. The restaurant opens at 11.00 am and closes at 2.00 pm for lunch and will reopen again at 5.00 pm for dinner. Even though lunch time is until 2.00 pm, the restaurant will start turning people away at 1.30 pm (or even earlier).

We arrived slightly past 1.00 pm and make it for their last lunch slot of the day. People who arrived slightly later than us were turned away by the restaurant. How lucky we were! Thus, I suggest that you come earlier if you plan to have your lunch at Steak Land to avoid any disappointment.

We were seated around a huge iron griddle with another five people. Each table has its own chef in the middle where the delicacy will be prepared right before your eyes. As soon as we were seated, a waitress came to take our orders. Remember to order the set that is labeled as "Kobe Beef". Without the word "Kobe", the meat is just an ordinary beef.


My husband and I ordered the Kobe Beef lunch set priced at 3,180 Yen each. Each set comes with 150 g of Kobe Beef, a bowl of rice, miso soup, grilled vegetables, Japanese pickles and a choice of after-meal coffee or orange juice.