Kobe Beef Teppanyaki — Wagyu at the Source

**What the certificate actually proves:** The gold plaque on the wall means the restaurant is authorized by the Kobe Beef Marketing & Distribution Promotion Association to sell verified meat. Every cut comes with a 10-digit ID—for example, cattle #1406829537 was born March 2021 at Tanaka Farm in Sanda City, raised on a diet of rice straw and barley for 28 months, and graded A5 at slaughter. You can look this up on the association's website while sitting at the table. Restaurants using the term "Kobe-style" or "Kobe-quality" without this number are serving regular wagyu, which costs 60% less wholesale but tastes entirely different—less marbling, firmer texture, grainier fat. **The lunch calculation:** Mouriya's lunch teppanyaki runs ¥11,000 for 100g sirloin, served 11:30-14:00 (last seating 13:00). The dinner equivalent is ¥18,000 for the same cut and preparation. You're getting identical beef from the same supplier, same chef technique, same sides (grilled vegetables, garlic rice, miso soup). The differences: lunch uses slightly smaller plateware, the dining room lighting is natural instead of dimmed, and courses arrive 5 minutes faster. If you're paying out-of-pocket, the ¥7,000 lunch savings buys you two nights at a business hotel. Window seats overlook Sannomiya regardless of time slot. **Why teppanyaki over yakiniku for first-timers:** At yakiniku restaurants, you grill the beef yourself over charcoal. Kobe beef cooks in 20-30 seconds—easy to overshoot and turn ¥8,000 of steak into expensive jerky. I've watched tourists char A5 ribeye to medium-well, then wonder why they paid ¥15,000 for tough meat. Teppanyaki removes that risk. The chef controls temperature, timing, and resting. You learn the proper doneness (cool red center for tenderloin, warm pink for sirloin) and can replicate it if you later buy beef at a butcher. Plus, the chef explains the white fat networks you're seeing—intramuscular marbling vs. subcutaneous fat, why genetics produce the pattern, how it differs from American or Australian wagyu. It's a tutorial that costs ¥12,000 but prevents ¥30,000 in future mistakes.