The media often shows exorbitant prices for Japanese-origin meats, and we already know that daily consumption of beef is not common in Japan. These and other factors make people think that meat is absurdly expensive in Japan, which is why Japanese people do not eat much meat. But is that really true? Do Japanese people really not eat meat because it is too expensive? How much does meat cost in Japan? In this article, we will answer this and other questions.
People think that just because Japan is small, it has the most expensive meat in the world. It is logical that meat in Japan is priced higher than in Brazil, but it is worth noting that in several countries like Canada, meat costs much more than in Japan or Brazil.
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Meat in Japan
Japan is famous for having some of the best and most expensive premium meat in the world, such as kobe beef. Because of this meat, people think that all meats in Japan cost 200 reais per kilo. Anywhere in the world, this meat will indeed cost a fortune, but how much does regular beef, pork, and poultry cost in Japan?
We don’t need to talk about fish because everyone knows that fish and seafood are part of Japanese cuisine. But it is wrong to imagine that Japanese people only eat fish. I spent 30 days in Japan and only ate fish twice.
I was completely lost with the immense variety of foods in Japan. Daily consumption of large quantities of beef is not common, but they use a lot of poultry and pork in most of their recipes.
The price is not one of the main reasons for the low number of meat sales in Japan. Most Japanese people eat out at restaurants or buy a bento box; they have the opportunity to try various different dishes every day. If a Japanese person wants, they can eat a gyudon (a dish topped with meat) every day, or a meat udon/soba.
There is no idea that if you go to Japan, you won’t eat meat. Meat is very accessible in Japan! I went to a Yakiniku, a restaurant where you pay 1,000 yen (30 reais) to spend 2 hours eating meats and various other foods, a kind of all-you-can-eat. During my trip, I witnessed several barbecues being held by Brazilians.
The simple fact that Japanese people do not consume meat like we Brazilians do is because there is no need; Japanese cuisine is rich and diverse enough that there is no need to consume a lot of meat every day.
How much does meat cost in Japan?
Meat in Japan is not sold by the kilo but in 100 grams, which usually costs between 90 to 500 yen, but can exceed this value depending on the meat. Just like in Brazil, pork and poultry are cheaper.
Thus, it is possible to buy chicken or pork meat at prices between 30 to 50 reais per kilo. Beef can be found starting at 50 reais per kilo.
The cuts of meat in Japan are also different; Japanese people tend to use all parts of the meat, which is usually sold chopped or in trays. The fact that meat is sold in 100-gram portions does not mean it is consumed little; almost everything in Japan is sold in small quantities, all because people eat out more often.
Another common thing is the mixture of beef with pork in products like ground meat. To better understand the price of meats, see the image below:
Is meat in Japan expensive and consumed little?
It seems expensive for the Brazilian wallet, but it is a value that is totally accessible to the Japanese. If we take the minimum wage in Japan, which is between 150,000 to 300,000 yen (4 to 9 thousand reais), we will spend much less on meat than in Brazil, where the salary is around 1,000 reais. Would you prefer to earn 5 thousand and pay 60 reais for a kilo of meat, or earn a thousand and pay 20?
It is worth noting that meat exported from other countries to Japan is usually much cheaper than meat produced in Japan, which can exceed 1,000 yen for 100 grams. This is the main reason people imagine that meat in Japan is very expensive.
Meat is indeed widely used in Japanese cuisine; it just isn’t consumed like in other countries, where you have a plate full of rice and 3 steaks of meat. Meat is used in recipes like gyudon, which is quite popular in Japan.
In my opinion and experience in Japan, I ate more recipes that contained meat than fish. Among the recipes I tried, I would like to highlight:
- Nikuman – Steamed bun filled with meat.
- Gyudon – Rice with meat.
- Niku udon – Udon with meat;
- Niku soba – Soba with meat;
- Yakitori – Skewered chicken or poultry.
- Tonkatsu – breaded pork.
- Gyoza, yakisoba, and various other recipes contain meat;
Thus, we can conclude that:
- Meat in Japan is cheaper than in several countries;
- The Japanese salary is more than enough to consume meat daily;
- Japanese people are used to eating in restaurants or buying bento boxes;
- Japanese people have the opportunity to consume various meat dishes every day;
- Imported meat in Japan is cheaper than Japanese meat;
- Meat is sold by weight of 100 grams instead of a kilo;
- Meat is widely used in Japanese recipes;
Names of Meats in Japanese
Below we have a list with the names of the main cuts of meat in Japanese. If you want to see more colors, we recommend our article with the types of meats and fish in Japanese.
| Chuck | 肩ロース | kata roosu |
| Meat around the rib | バラ | bara |
| Sirloin | サーロイン | saaroin |
| Rib and ribeye | リブロース | ribu roosu |
| Bone-in rib | 骨付バラ肉 | honetsuki baraniku |
| Round | 外もも | sotomomo |
| Inside round | 内もも | uchimomo |
| Brisket | コブ肉 | kobu niku |
| Filet mignon | ヒレ | hire |
| Top sirloin | ランプ | ranpu |
| Shank | すね | sune |
| Flank and flank steak | しんたま | shintama |
| Brisket | ミスジ | misuji |
| Neck | ネック | necku |
| Picanha | イチボ | ichibo |
| Tail | テール | teeru |
| Racket | トンビ | tonbi |
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