Everyone has heard of Kobe Beef, the most famous beef in the world, but it's just one of many wagyu brands in Japan. In fact Japan has over 300 brands of beef, all with that amazing marbling and leanness you'd expect from premium graded A5 beef.
Every 5 years, Japan holds the Wagyu Olympics and Tottori Wagyu won the "best beef" competition this year.
Could Tottori prefecture have the new no.1 wagyu steaks - even better than Kobe or Matsuzaka!?
On a mission to find out, I traveled across Japan to Tottori Prefecture and the Mt. Daisen area near Yonago city to see if and what makes their beef so very tasty.

Mt. Daisen is called the Mt. Fuji of the west - and it looks it!
It has a history long history as a wagyu marketplace and the fertile grass and clean water and air lead to a great environment for the cattle. Ranch owners also make sure wagyu live stress free lives and care for them like children. They're very proud of the wagyu cattle.

THE PRINCIPLE OF ITADAKIMASU
But how do you love an animal like family - then eat it?
In Japan, people way ITADAKIMASU before eating - like saying grace at the dinner table with your family - and after learning about the deep meaning of the word, it makes sense why Japan in general has amazing food everywhere! Japanese really respect the food, the ingredients and show an amazing amount of respect and gratitude for the sacrifice required to cook to food. After 20 years, I had no idea just how deep the meaning of Itadakimasu was to people in Japan. Now, I have an entirely new way to see my food and I hope this segment of the video leaves a lasting impact on the way you see food too.

WAYS TO EAT JAPANESE WAGYU BEEF
★ Steak
★ Yakiniku
★ Sukiyaki
★ Nigiri Sushi
★ Shabu Shabu

KOBE BEEF vs TOTTORI WAGYU
I tried both and to be honest, I have to say that I didn't taste a really big difference between Kobe and Daisen Kuroushi beef in the taste, not enough to pay 300% more for dinner.
On the flip side, eating Kobe Beef is an experience in itself, trying the most selective beef in the world. If that interests you, the experience is worth it.

WHERE IS MT DAISEN and TOTTORI PREFECTURE?
https://goo.gl/maps/exgghYWyTTu

URL:
Daisen Kuroushi Kuoshotei Restaurant
http://www.kyoshotei.com/
https://youtu.be/B8FDP9ZNNPY

All Japanese wagyu have 10 digit number that you can use to track the origin of the beef.
JAPANESE WAGYU DATABASE:
http://www.id.nlbc.go.jp/