For $500-odd, I would expect a *teeny-weeny* bit more than 8 ounces of even the best steak in the world, a couple of scallops and a cup of coffee. Obviously they exist on that sort of “less is more” cachet that some restaurants get away with. Me? I would have been sweeping dishes off the table, standing up drunkenly and saying “Take a look at the last bad guy!” à la Al Pacino in Scarface.

To put it mildly, that’s ridiculous. I went to Kintetsu in Nara and hand-picked a very nice steak (see the post here) and, having a very primitive setup, just fried it up in butter and some slices of garlic and it was heavenly. For about $45.

I’m very surprised that the supposedly “most expensive restaurant in the world” was such a spartan joke.

I lived in Japan for five years and I had many memorable meals but I would never have had the money to spend on meals like that. I would have gone ballistic. For that money they should have given you a bottle or two of Louis Roederer ’57 and paid for the taxi to and from your hotel. Too bad for your wallet. But at least you can say you went.

One of the most famous restaurant for matsusaka beef is Wadakin in Matsusaka. They are most famous for sukiyaki but their sirloin is also great. Costs 10000yen for 2 thin slice of beef for the sukiyaki but well worth it. 200gram sirloin was 15000yen. Not the most expensive but probably the best wagyu steak there is. The beef literally melts in your mouth. The steak was so tender that I didn’t have to cut it all the way, just tear it with the fork. Note: they only take cash…
http://www.fodors.com/world/asia/japan/nagoya-ise-shima-and-the-kii-peninsula/review-448200.html (sorry this is the only english ref i can find on the web)

As the area qualified for raising Matsusaka beef was expanded a few years back, many places which are currently selling matsusaka beef are not considered “the real thing” as they are from the newly expanded area. Wadakin has their own ranch which guarantees that they are the original thing. If you have access to a kitchen in japan (or can get a restaurant to grill the steak for you), you can call wadakin and order the steak and sukiyaki beef shipped to you. (ordering top grade beef from their meat counter is actually better quality beef then you get from the restaurant at 30% of the price.)

As for the most expensive steak restaurant, Otawaragyucho in Tokyo is probably it. USD2500 for a 200gram steak and it’s not a typo. Never tried it as I don’t like steak THAT much. ^_^

http://www.otawaragyucho.com/steak0426frame.html

I agree about the doneness of the beef. I enjoy my steaks rare to med-rare (at most), but kobe and wagyu require that extra time under heat to heat up all that extra fat (otherwise its like eating chunks of non-aged and greasy tasting fat). I know that when I’ve purchased it from fine butchers (wagyu up here in Canada) I’d also been instructed to take it past medium – the fat is very forgiving. This also explains why the beef almost disintegrated in my mouth the first time I tried it shabu-shabu style in Tokyo years ago. I won’t mention the slick of oil on the top of that pot (although I did wonder if it was the best preparation method for such pricey meat).

Too bad they can’t aged the marbled beauties. Can you imagine the combination of texture and flavour?

nevertheless, based on your review, i will probably not consider Aragawa for my Japanese trip.