Meat in Japan - Prices, curiosities and consumption

The media tends to show exorbitant prices for meat of Japanese origin, and we already know that the daily consumption of beef in Japan is not common. These and other factors make people think that meat in Japan is absurdly expensive, for this reason the Japanese they don’t eat much meat. But is it really true? Do the Japanese really not eat meat because it is so expensive? How much does meat cost in Japan? In this article, we will answer that 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 has a higher price than in Brazil, but it is worth remembering that in several countries like Canada, meat costs much more than in Japan or Brazil.

Meat in Japan

Japan is famous for having one of the best and most expensive premium meat in the world, like kobe meat. Because of this meat, people think that all meats in Japan cost 200 BRL a kilo. Anywhere in the world this meat will really cost absurd, but how much does ordinary 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 eat only fish. I stayed in Japan for 30 days and only ate fish twice. 

I was completely lost with the immense variety of foods in Japan. The daily consumption of beef in large quantities is not common, but they use a lot of poultry and pork meat in most of their recipes.

Price is not one of the main reasons for the low number of meat sales in Japan. Most Japanese eat out at restaurants or buy a lunch box, they have the opportunity to try many different dishes every day. If a Japanese wants to, he can eat one gyudon (meat-covered dish) every day, or a meat udon / soba.

There is no such idea that if you go to Japan you will not eat meat. Meat is very affordable in Japan! I went to a Yakiniku, a restaurant where you pay 1,000 yen (30 reais) to spend 2 hours eating meat and various other foods, a kind of carvery. During my trip I witnessed several barbecues being made by Brazilians.

The simple fact that the Japanese do not consume meat like us Brazilians, is because there is no need, Japanese cuisine is too rich and diverse to have the need to consume a lot of meat every day.

How much does Meat cost in Japan?

The meat in Japan is not sold by the kilo but in 100 grams, which usually cost between 90 and 500 yen, but which can exceed this amount depending on the meat. As in Brazil, pork and poultry is cheaper.

Therefore, it is possible to buy chicken or pork with prices between 30 to 50 BRL a kilo. You can find beef from 50 BRL a kilo.

Meat cuts in Japan they are also different, the Japanese usually enjoy all the meat, which is usually sold chopped or in trays. Meat being sold every 100 grams does not mean that it is little eaten, absolutely almost everything in Japan is sold in small quantities, all because people eat more outside the home. 

Another common thing is the mixture of beef and pork in products like ground beef. To better understand the price of meat see the image below:

Is meat in Japan expensive and little consumed?

It seems expensive for the Brazilian pocket, but it is a value totally accessible to the pocket of 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 in the range of 1,000 reais. Do you prefer to earn 5,000 and pay 60 BRL on a kilo of meat, or earn a thousand and pay 20?

It is worth remembering that the meat exported from other countries to Japan is usually much cheaper than the meat produced in Japan, which can go from 1,000 yen to 100 grams. This is the main reason why people imagine that meat in Japan is very expensive.

Meat is widely used in Japanese cuisine, it is not only eaten as in other countries, where you have a plate full of rice and 3 beef steaks. The meat is used in recipes like gyudon which is quite popular in Japan.

In my opinion and experience I had in Japan, I ate more recipes that had meat than fish. Among the recipes I tried, I would like to highlight:

• Nikuman - Baked cake filled with meat.
• Gyudon - Rice with meat. 
• Niku udon - Udon with meat;
• Niku soba - Soba with meat;
• Yakitori - Chicken or poultry meat skewer.
• Tonkatsu - breaded pork.
• Gyoza, yakisoba and several 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;
• The Japanese have the habit of eating in restaurants or buying lunch boxes;
• The Japanese have the opportunity to eat several meat dishes every day;
• Meat imported into Japan is cheaper than Japanese meat;
• The meat is sold in the weight of 100 grams instead of a kilo;
• Meat is widely used in Japanese recipes;

Japanese Meat Name

Below is a list of the main Japanese meat cuts. If you want to see more colors we recommend our article with the types of meat and fish in Japanese.

Responsive Table: Roll the table sideways with your finger >>

Over	肩ロース	kata roosu
Meat around the rib	バラ	bara
Against fillet of tenderloin	サーロイン	saaroin
Rib and rib fillet	リブロース	ribu roosu
Needle rib	骨付バラ肉	honetsuki baraniku
Hard leg	外もも	sotomomo
Soft leg	内もも	uchimomo
Termite	コブ肉	kobu niku
Filet mignon	ヒレ	hire
Rump kernels	ランプ	ranpu
Muscle	すね	sune
Duckling and titty	しんたま	shintama
Little fish	ミスジ	misuji
Neck	ネック	necku
Filet Steak	イチボ	ichibo
Tail	テール	teeru
Racket	トンビ	tonbi

Videos about Meat in Japan