Hida beef
飛騨牛Ingredient
Hida beef is Gifu's wagyu brand, and Takayama is the place to eat it as nigiri, steak, yakiniku or grilled with miso on a magnolia leaf.
Where to eat Hida beef · 10 places
Hida-gyu is the name for beef from Japanese Black cattle raised in Gifu Prefecture for at least 14 months. The Hida Beef Brand Promotion Conference confirms it, and the Japan Meat Grading Association must grade it A or B for yield and 3 to 5 for firmness and texture. Beef from the same cattle that misses those grades sells as Hida wagyu. Takayama traces today's herd to a bull called Yasufuku that a farmer came across in 1981, and the city says he sired 39,000 calves.
In Takayama the cheapest way in is nigiri. Sakaguchiya in Sanmachi sells Hida beef nigiri from ¥800 and a steak bowl for ¥1,950, and Kotte Ushi nearby makes its sushi with A5 beef. JA Hida's own Ajikura Tengoku grills it as yakiniku a minute from the station, with lunch from ¥1,980. In Gero, the takeaway counter Yushima-an sells a three-piece set of Hida beef and Gero pork sushi.
Quick answers about Hida beefよくある質問
What makes beef Hida beef?
It must come from Japanese Black cattle raised in Gifu Prefecture for at least 14 months and graded A or B for yield and 3 to 5 for firmness and texture. Lower grades from the same cattle are sold as Hida wagyu.
Where can you eat Hida beef cheaply in Takayama?
Try the nigiri in Sanmachi: Sakaguchiya sells Hida beef nigiri from ¥800. JA Hida's Ajikura Tengoku near the station serves yakiniku lunches from ¥1,980.
How do you order Hida beef?
Ask for Hida-gyu nigiri for a taste at a counter, or a hoba miso steak, where the beef cooks with miso on a magnolia leaf at your table. Many menus give the grade, often A4 or A5.
When is Hida beef in season?
Hida beef: All year.