Farm-to-Table Matsusaka Beef Sukiyaki Experience at Local Farmer’s Inn - EAT! MEET! JAPAN

In Japan, the beauty of preparing a meal the old-fashioned way, using traditional methods and ingredients picked that same day, is not lost. Join a local family in Mie Prefecture for a farm-to-table dining experience that showcases the joys of slow food and regional cuisine.

This experience starts with visiting a local spring, a source of miracle water that locals say promotes longevity. Here, you’ll gather spring water for the rice and sukiyaki hot pot. Next, you’ll visit a local vegetable patch and a small mushroom farm to harvest ingredients, picking them at their peak.

Returning to the inn, preparations for the Matsusaka beef hot pot will begin, starting with the rice. The family still practices traditional methods of making rice, using a wood-fueled stove called a “kamado.” They will teach you how to split wood and build a fire to steam the rice. While the rice cooks, the sukiyaki preparations will continue, the table overflowing with a growing spread of vegetables, tofu, mushrooms, and other ingredients and dishes.

Lastly, the star of the show is unboxed. With gorgeous striations of fat and meat, melt-in-the-mouth tenderness, and rich flavor, Matsusaka beef is the best wagyu that money can buy. Cultivated in Mie Prefecture’s Matsusaka region, it is known as one of Japan’s “three big beefs,” a rival to Kobe beef. As only about 2,500 Matsusaka cattle are available each year, the wagyu is extremely sought after, and very few restaurants are able to serve this luxurious beef.

Seated around the table in the family’s cozy kitchen, taste for yourself the difference that locally-sourced ingredients and traditional Japanese cooking methods can make.