Kobe Beef

Kobe beef is the most famous product associated with the city — a Wagyu beef produced from Tajima cattle raised in Hyogo Prefecture to exacting standards. The meat is characterised by extraordinary marbling: the fat is distributed throughout the muscle in fine threads rather than gathered in seams, giving it a texture that is often described as melting. The fat itself has a lower melting point than ordinary beef fat, contributing to the sensation.

The best way to eat Kobe beef is at a teppanyaki restaurant, where the chef cooks slices of the marbled meat on a steel griddle in front of you with minimal seasoning — salt, pepper, and perhaps garlic. A proper meal is expensive (budget ¥15,000–30,000 per person at serious establishments), but the quality is unlike any other beef you will encounter. Several mid-range restaurants in Sannomiya offer certified Kobe beef at more accessible price points.

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True Kobe beef comes from Tajima-strain Wagyu cattle raised within Hyogo Prefecture to strict standards — the cattle must be born, raised, and slaughtered in the prefecture, and the meat must reach a certain marbling grade. Fewer than 5,000 head of cattle per year qualify. Outside Japan, "Kobe beef" is often used loosely for any Wagyu, but in Japan the label is strictly controlled and restaurants serving certified Kobe beef display a certificate and the animal's registration number.

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