Wagyu, it's the most delicious and the most desired beef in the world

Wagyu means Japan's beef

And I'm here at 43 prefecture because they won the Wagyu Olympics making it the Number One beef brand in Japan

Every five years the Wagyu Olympics is held to see which brand and area is the best

513 cattles came to Sendai to compete on best marbling and leanness

Tottori Wagyu won the award for best beef this year.

Top beef brands, Kobe and Matsuzaka weren't present, so it begs the question

Is Tottori the new No.1 Wagyu in Japan you see all Japanese Wagyu beef is extremely tasty

A4 or A5 beef grading

It's so good that it's hard to tell the difference

Kobe beef is the most famous Wagyu brand

Limited to just three to five thousand cattle a year just half of one percent of the domestic beef

It's rare, but is that selection and rarity really worth it

All top Wagyu brands live stress-free lives in areas of freshwater clean air with healthy diets to increase leanness and marbling

It's lighter and tastier than other beef

You know when you taste it. It's that good, but in this episode. I'm gonna tell you why Tottori Wagyu it's so good

It comes from one of the most natural places in all of Japan with a history of having Wagyu cattle

Mount Daisen, the Mount Fuji of the West it provides Tottori with some of Japan's purest water

supplies the area with amazing soil for produce

nutritious grass for cows and cattle to graze on

And yeah, they have really good milk and ice cream, too

The area between Mount Daisen and Yonago City is loaded with farms right near the sea

It's a place where you don't have to pick either mountain her beach for vacation. They're both there

This is Nishida-san's "Bokujyo" or ranch where he has his own brand of Wagyu called Daisen Kuroushi

They live in clean pens of three their lives are all about relaxing

They love being scratched and unlike cattle overseas Wagyu are super friendly and approachable

It takes a little while to build trust and make friends

Wagyu are also really curious

That ring in their nose is to help lead them safely

It's the easiest way with minimal stress to lead a stubborn cattle

for Wagyu that usually means because they're too lazy to get up

Kimochi ii? (Feel good?)

Feels good?

Wagyu are very gentle and very clean

Nishida-san let me come in and help rush them after they've gotten a chance to know me

With those horns one could be worried, but really these Wagyu are just like kids

The neighbors jealous that they're not getting brushed - one Wagyu at a time, folks

All Japanese Wagyu have a ten digit number that identifies them online

the livestock database can track the date of birth and track each back to their mother all

Japanese Wagyu have this number all the way to the restaurant so you always know where the meat came from

Nishida-san really treated his Wagyu with a lot of love and affection.

They seemed pretty happy to me

So how do I wrap my head around the idea of eating these lovable Wagyu?

Daisen Kurooushi Kyoushou-tei when Nishida-san Wagyu beef goes

To eat it, I had to learn how the Japanese do it which required learning an important lesson here the principles of "Itadaki-masu"

it's one of the most important Japanese words you can learn and

Nakanomori-san, taught me the deep meaning of the word to people in Japan

You saw the lovable Wagyu, right?

The owner Nishida considers them as adorable

He takes a great care of them everyday for raising

We are also the consumer of Wagyu who raised them with a great daily care

At that time, we consider not to eat the Wagyu,

but we receives the life from the Wagyu

the gratitude

I am receiving your life

Which is the word "Itadakimasu"

There is love as well as respect

The love toward the cow which will be eaten

and will slso be shown when we actually consume it

It's more than just a word we say in Japan it's a deep feeling of appreciation

Japanese have for the food in front of them

In the kitchen Nagatani-san an experienced chef who has handled Wagyu for decades taught me a little bit about the different cuts of meat

Kyoushou-Tei prepares their Daisen Kuroushi brand for Yakiniku

This first cut is called "Haneshita" called Chuck flap in English part of the shoulder loin or rib side

You can see that intense marbling

Next cut is called "Kurimi" or chuck tender near the shoulder

it's loaded with that Amami taste on another level

The final cut is called "Hiuchi", which is a premium upper leg cut limited to just two kilograms of the Wagyu

Wagyu oil is different from other kinds of beef, it containes more Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids

and monosaturated fatty acid than other beef

After Nagatani-san is cut enough Wagyu for my dinner

he prepares it as beautifully as he can great respect is paid to the meat, which is why it's set so well for the customer

Three different cuts to try this is going to be quite a meal, " Itadaki- masu"

It doesn't take long for the meat to cook on the grill

Generally it's better to cook the meat through so the oil is heated with yakiniku it takes about 15 seconds

There's a selection of sauces and salt

This one you can eat with wasabi

Wasabi is a nice way to go adding extra depth to the meat, but really with this Wagyu beef

You can eat it as is and be really satisfied

Yeah

It's not chewy and not oily. Yes, the red meat contains little fat.

The distinctive feature of Daisen Kuroushi is in very natural oil tastes

because of the lack to stress to the Wagyu

the stressless cultivation and the natural oil taste are deeply related

The oil is there but not overpowering or heavy.

That's nice sound

Each piece was absolutely delicious

So which one is better Kobe or Tottori to meet Tottori beef is just as good and a fraction of the cost

Thankfully if you're eating Kobe or Tottori beef you can ask the manager for that ten digit number and know exactly where it's from

It's worth traveling around Japan to eat different Wagyu throughout the country there are over 300 Wagyu brands

There are also many ways to eat it all based on personal preference

Mount Daisen has a long history of being one of Japan's cattle market places

The environment around this area of Tottori has made it an ideal place to raise Wagyu cattle and that balance with nature

yields some of the best beef in the world

It really is something to give thanks to

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Mata ne~