Matsusaka Beef — Japan's Most Luxurious Wagyu

Wadakin has operated in the same Meiji-period building since 1878, when the Wada family started serving sukiyaki to merchants traveling the Ise pilgrimage route. The building is now a registered cultural property, all dark wood beams and tatami rooms that smell faintly of charcoal and soy. Reservations open 30 days in advance and book solid for weekends within hours—call the day reservations open (03-59-21-1188, limited English, but they're used to it). Weekday lunch slots stay available longer. The lunch sukiyaki course (¥8,000-¥12,000) gets you five slices of A5 Matsusaka beef cooked tableside in a shallow iron pot with soy, sake, sugar, and spring onions. The staff will cook for you or, if you prefer, guide you through doing it yourself. You dip each slice in raw beaten egg before eating—the egg cools the meat just enough to let you taste it without burning your tongue, and adds creamy richness. The beef needs maybe 12 seconds per side in the simmering broth before it's done. Any longer and you're wasting money. Dinner courses (¥12,000-¥18,000) add more slices, sometimes different cuts—the shoulder is more intensely beefy, the loin sweeter. Both are marbled to near-translucence. Wadakin is formal but not stuffy. You sit on zabuton cushions at low tables, and the whole experience takes 90 minutes if you eat at a normal pace, which you should. Rushing through Matsusaka beef is like speed-reading poetry. For something more casual, Isshobin operates a few blocks from Matsusaka Station and has a completely different energy—bright lights, tile floors, the sound of meat sizzling on dozens of tabletop grills. This is where locals go for yakiniku, DIY grilling where you cook your own cuts. They serve certified Matsusaka beef starting around ¥5,000 for enough meat to fill you properly. You order by the cut: kalbi (short rib), rosu (loin), or the mixed platter that lets you try three or four different sections. The quality is genuine—all Matsusaka beef sold within city limits is certified by the Matsusaka Beef Association, and restaurants display certificates showing each cow's ID number, birthdate, and farm. Outside Matsusaka city, certification gets looser. If you're buying Matsusaka beef in Osaka or Tokyo, ask to see the certificate. If they hesitate, it's probably Kobe beef or lower-grade wagyu being sold up. Isshobin doesn't take reservations for dinner, so arrive at 5:30 PM when they open or expect a 30-60 minute wait on weekends. Lunch (11:30 AM-2:00 PM) is easier. The restaurant gives you tongs, scissors for cutting meat, and a small tabletop grill that heats with gas. They'll walk you through the grilling if you're uncertain, but it's intuitive: lay the meat flat, wait for the fat to render and the edges to brown (30-45 seconds per side for thin cuts, up to 90 seconds for thick loin), then eat immediately. Pair with rice and whatever vegetable sides they're offering that day—usually kimchi, lettuce wraps, or marinated bean sprouts. Matsusaka beef is rich enough that you want something sharp or bitter to cut through it every few bites.