Kobayashi City, Miyazaki Prefecture (Part 1)2018.12.14

Kobayashi City is located in the southwestern part of Miyazaki Prefecture. Nestled between the Kirishima and Kyushu mountain ranges, it enjoys a mild climate that has made it a treasure house of agricultural produce, and Japan’s largest producer of Miyazaki Beef, renowned as the finest in Japan. Much of the beef served at Restaurant Hiramatsu Hiroo comes from this area. We went to Kobayashi City to explore this sourceof outstanding foodstuffs.

The farm both breeds and fattens calves

Kurazono Farm’s Miyazaki beef maintains high standards

Miyazaki beef, renowned throughout Japan, comes from black-haired wagyu cattle. There’s a reason why Chef Hiramatsu insists on sourcing beef from Kurazono Farm in particular: most wagyu beef farmers either breed or fatten calves, but Kurazono Farm is unusual in doing both. The great advantage of this approach is that the farmer is able to closely monitor the entire cattle raising process from breeding to fattening.

The cattle eat organic fodder

Kurazono Farm uses organic hay imported from Australia as fodder, and the cattle are not given antibiotics or nutritional supplements, but reach maturity unaided. This approach to livestock raising is much harder work, and only a few farmers have adopted it. But despite these issues it is time, from a food safety standpoint, that we gave serious thought to the importance of raising cattle under natural conditions.

Mr Tadashi Kurazono, owner of Kurazono Farm

Raising safe beef takes time and hard work

Raising wonderful beef cattle without the help of antibiotics or supplements, is hard work.First, you have to make sure the conditions in the cattle shed are right, that the animals can move around easily, and clean it regularly to ensure that it’s sanitary. It’s a huge amount of work every day — hard, unglamorous work — so it’s difficult to find people who are prepared to do it. Kurazono Farm is no exception to this rule: it’s an almost entirely family-run business. The whole family, parents and children, are involved in looking after the cattle. That is how the farm is able to produce such wonderful Miyazaki beef, with the depth of flavour you expect from black-haired wagyu cattle

Takahiro and Yujiro Kurazono explain how Kurazono Farm operates

“You can’t take a day off, and it’s really hard work, so the whole family is involved. It’s the only way we can deliver delicious meat that won’t shame the Miyazaki beef brand,” says Mr Kurazono. Kurazono Farm stands on a small hill overlooking the spreading farmlands of southern Kyushu. “Eventually, we’d like to develop this land and run a fully free range farm.” The day when that dream comes true may not be so far off.

Restaurant Hiramatsu Hiroo’s Chef Hiroki Hiramatsu and Manager Takahiro Goto listen intently to Mr Tadashi Kurazono

Truly delicious wagyu beef is not just a matter of grade. You need to look at the conditions in which it is raised, and the passion that the people who raise it put into their work.Behind the scenes at Restaurant Hiramatsu Hiroo, this quiet but steady work continues.

Mr Tadashi Kurazono with his wife Kaeko, younger son Yujiro (left) and elder son Takahiro (right)

Beef Cook Miyazaki Kuroge Wagyu:

a restaurant operated directly by Kurazono Farm that serves outstanding Miyazaki beef

http://beefcook.web.fc2.com/index.html

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Backstage
Kobayashi City, Miyazaki Prefecture (Part 1)
Words :
Paragraph Ltd.
Photography :
Masashi Nagao
Keywords :
beef
Miyazaki