Japan's Wagyu Beef Looks To Conquer The World

In a lush field in the heart of the Japanese mountains, a herd of glossy black cows roam happily -- prime examples of the area’s Hida brand of wagyu beef.

With consumption of the famed meat known for its melt-in-the-mouth tenderness and marbled fat on the decline in Japan, producers are looking overseas to boost sales instead.

The Hida brand might not yet have the recognition of famed Kobe beef, but overall the international profile of wagyu is on the rise.

The value of exports has risen more than 200 percent in the last five years -- Hong Kong is currently the largest market.

About an hour from Takayama, a town that attracts tourists with its traditional wooden houses, dozens of cows owned by different farmers have free range across a 250-hectare plot leased by the local municipality.

They spend the warm summer months in the tranquil greenery and return to the warmth of the stables when the winter comes around.

There they give birth to calves that are the product of carefully organised breeding to protect the “purity” of each cow’s bloodline.

“It’s important to preserve the bloodline, because good genes guarantee good quality meat,” explains Koichi Maruyama, a local official in charge of the cattle rearing department. The quality also comes from the feed,

For cows bred for wagyu beef, that means 10 kilogrammes (22 pounds) of rice straw a day, to ensure the intramuscular marbling that gives the meat its characteristic look, and taste.

- WE NEVER REST

Each cow spends the 30 months of its life cossetted and pampered, reared stress-free and under constant medical watch.