#4251

Have you Heard of Hayama Gyu Japanese Beef?

Here is the story of my visit to a Ranch just outside of Tokyo

Just a few days ago, I had an opportunity to visit one of the best “Wagyu Cattle Ranches” in Japan, which is located in the city of Hayama, less than 2 hours train/ bus ride from Tokyo. The ranch is surrounded by serene nature, it lies among a combination of bamboo, cedar forest, a stream and many farmlands.

“Wagyu” is “Japanese Beef” and is a breed of cattle that perhaps many internationals associate with “Kobe Beef”. Kobe beef is also one of the most well known Wagyu in Japan and is also known to be quite delicious. “Hayamagyu” or Hayama Beef is also very famous and the cattle ranch I visited is one farm that produces this lovely beef. Located in the city of Hayama, the most desired part of Hayamagyu is that it is genetically predisposed to intense marbling and also that it produces a high percentage of oleaginous unsaturated fat. Wagyu is also produced in Australia, Canada, Scotland, and the United States as an example but some countries cross breed them with other type of cattle such as Angus Cattle.

Here is some great information about the Wagyu breed.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/entertainment/restaurants-bars/bbq/article/American-Wagyu-and-the-myth-of-Kobe-beef-6132860.php

The cattle ranch I visit is call “Ishii Bokujyou (Ishii Ranch)” and Ishii came from their family name and they have been operating the ranch for 60 years. Mr. and Mrs. Ishii run the place but Mrs. Ishii’s father started the ranch around 60 years ago and they built the present ranch in Hayama in 1963 and it’s been there since then. Their Wagyu cows are black in color and very large in size. Ishii ranch has won many competitions for the last several years and the present Prime Minister Abe has been served and enjoyed Ishii Ranch’s wagyu as well.

Here is an Italian restaurant in Hayama where you can eat Hayamagyu!
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2011/09/16/food/sardinia-meets-shonan-coastal-cucina-with-flair-and-local-flavor/#.VnFJMmR97Zs

The ranch is not very large by size but completely functional. All cattle are housed under the roof and they seem to be stress-free for when I arrived at the ranch, they were listening to the music from the local radio station as well as listening to the announcer speaking on the air. The reason why they broadcast the station is so that they get used to people speaking and when the visitors come by, the cows will not be stressed from their visitors’ presence and/or conversation. As matter of fact, when I roamed around the place, they seemed to be completely used to having humans nearby.

Mr. Ishii shared with me the secret of Ishii Bokujyo’s Hayama Wagyu as to what makes its meat so tender and delicious. He claims that the 60% to 70% of the secret belongs to the type of food cows eat and the remaining 30% to 40% belongs to their style of care.

The type of good food for the may be much more balanced that the typical food I eat, that's for sure! The owners cook rice, just like the type we eat each day, Oatmeal is imported from Australia and this too is mixed with the cattle feed. Also, Okara (soy pulp), Green-young hay imported from the United States mixed with the local hay along with other vegetable mixes. When they mix the food, the fermentation process takes place so they add Osu (vinegar) to the food so that it is close to the Ph level of 7.

It was apparent that the family takes pride in what they do and work extremely hard each day to care for their cows. Oh, I should not forget to mention about their cat that also roams around the ranch, keeping all the cows in check. The cat is very friendly to visitors and love to gain attention from anyone, perhaps even from her cow friends.
Hayama Wagyu is extremely famous in Japan and since the number of cows raised each year is very limited, it is not the cheapest of beef by far. But, it will not disappoint your pallet in the least. Ishii family’s years of experience coupled with their hard work is behind their ability to produce first class beef in Japan.

Thank you very much to Ishii family for allowing me to visit their ranch and experience the Japanese ranch life in the middle of Hayama city. It was a great and peaceful way to spend a Sunday morning.

AustinA image

AustinA

United States

AustinA's other advice

Journey on the Tokaido (Shinagawa is Stop Number Two) images

Journey on the Tokaido (Shinagawa is Stop Number Two)

Now that we have left the first stop Nihonbashi (described in my previous article), we are approaching our next stop of Shinagawa. Imagine you are traveling from Edo (Present Tokyo) to Kyoto during e…

Journey on the Tokaido Goju San Tsugi (53-station Highway) images

Journey on the Tokaido Goju San Tsugi (53-station Highway)

Recently, I took a casual walk to a very famous Tokyo locale known as “Nihonbashi”. It is to the North of JR Tokyo station. It was a nice 10-plus minute walk from the station and as I walked carefull…

Shomyoji Temple, A Beautiful Place in Yokohama Japan images

Shomyoji Temple, A Beautiful Place in Yokohama Japan

I am going to introduce you to a temple call Shomyoji Temple, which is located in Kanazawa Bunko, Yokohama. Kanazawa Bunko is located approximately 20 minutes south of Yokohama JR station. To get to …

Ginkgo Biloba, Get Ready for a Gold Tokyo! images

Ginkgo Biloba, Get Ready for a Gold Tokyo!

I live in the city of Shinagawa and on my way to Shinagawa JR train station, I walk along the properly spaced and placed trees along the main road along the JR train tracks. The tree I am describing …

Good Smoking Rule in Japan images

Good Smoking Rule in Japan

Many years ago, my Dad as well as some of my other family members from the US were stationed in various parts of Japan from just after WWII. When I was with them, one of the questions they often ask …

JAMSTEC Should be a first Choice for a Visit During Your Japan Travel images

JAMSTEC Should be a first Choice for a Visit During Your Japan Travel

JAMSTEC stands for Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology was renamed from Japan Marine Science and Technology Centre in April 2004.http://www.jamstec.go.jp/chikyu/eng/ChikyuImages/…

You might also like

What to do at a Japanese Funeral | Funeral Etiquette images

What to do at a Japanese Funeral | Funeral Etiquette

Attending a Japanese funeral can be stressful, even shocking, if you don't know what to do. The more you know beforehand the better, as you'll be able to comfort and support mutual friends and their …

Former Deep Japan Writer image

Former Deep Japan Writer

Enjoy bath, Japanese style images

Enjoy bath, Japanese style

Enjoy taking bath with Babu(Bub), a popular Japanese bath tablet to Relax after Exploring Japan on Foot.All travelers know how sight seeing can be exhausting. Especially walking around on foo…

mimichan image

mimichan

5 Traditional Japanese Villages to Explore images

5 Traditional Japanese Villages to Explore

The rural area of Japan is quite worth an exploration. Many villages in Japan have typical Japanese styles. Although they are quite far away from big cities, you can enjoy enchanting natural views an…

Alexlovetravel image

Alexlovetravel

1920's Japanese life style house images

1920's Japanese life style house

I visited a museum near where I live....retaining the old lifestyle from 1920s. http://www.showanokurashi.com/Even for me who was born and grew up in Japan, it was quite interesting....when I…

Zara image

Zara

The interesting relationship between Japanese culture and sweet, delicious strawberries images

The interesting relationship between Japanese culture and sweet, delicious strawberries

Strawberries are one of the many fruits produced all over the world. Strawberries are also produced in Japan, and Japanese strawberries tend to be very sweet and it is possible to eat them raw. One s…

DeepJapan Editor image

DeepJapan Editor

The Top 8 Places to Beat Summer Heat in Japan images

The Top 8 Places to Beat Summer Heat in Japan

Where do Japanese love to visit to avoid summer heat in Japan? I searched the top 8 summer resorts loved by Japanese including Furano in Hokkaido, Okinawa, Karuizawa and Hakone, which are famous amon…

Alexlovetravel image

Alexlovetravel