If You Consider Yourself a Wagyu Expert, Itadaki Will Surprise You
gotowpHere is a number that might give even a seasoned wagyu enthusiast pause: there are approximately 500,000 wagyu cattle raised in Japan at any given time. Only 300 of them are Horai Wagyu. That is not a rounding error. That is a level of scarcity that most restaurants — no matter how prestigious — simply cannot access.
At Itadaki in Osu, Nagoya, those 300 heads are the foundation of the entire concept. But before any guest lifts their chopsticks, founder and owner Masayuki Goto has already been at work for hours — making sure that what arrives at the table is not only extraordinary in flavor, but completely safe to eat.
This article follows Goto through a typical service day, and along the way answers the question we hear most often from first-time visitors: "Is rare wagyu actually safe?"
Who This Is For
- ✅ Wagyu enthusiasts who have tried Kobe, Matsusaka, or Omi beef and want to know what comes next
- ✅ Travelers who are curious about rare-style wagyu but have concerns about food safety
- ✅ Foreign visitors planning a Nagoya itinerary and looking for a genuinely distinctive lunch experience
- ✅ Foodies who value the story and craft behind a dish as much as the taste itself
- ✅ Anyone who has heard the phrase "rare gyudon" and wondered how that is even possible
Before the Restaurant Opens: The Part Guests Never See
Goto's morning begins well before the 11:00 opening. For him, the day starts with the delivery checks — and this is where his 18 years of hospitality experience, including running MAX'S BAR since 2008, shows most clearly. Every ingredient at Itadaki is sourced from Aichi Prefecture. Not most ingredients. Every single one.
The Horai Wagyu arrives from Okumikawa — raised by one of just three farms in Japan that produce this breed, fed on sake lees from Horaisen Sora, one of Aichi's most respected sake breweries. The eggs come from Yamada Poultry Farm, a trusted producer of Nagoya Cochin eggs. The rice is Aichi no Kaori, grown in the prefecture. The white soy sauce base for what Goto calls the "magic sauce" comes from Hekinan City. Even the pickled radish — Atsumi Ichō-zuke — comes from the Atsumi Peninsula.
Each delivery is checked against a strict standard. Goto does not work with suppliers he does not know personally. "These are farmers who struggled during the pandemic," he has said more than once. "Itadaki exists, in part, because of them. That relationship doesn't end at the invoice."
This is also the moment when Goto confirms how many portions of Horai Wagyu are ready for service. The limit is firm: ten bowls per day. Not as a marketing device, but as a reflection of genuine scarcity and the need to maintain preparation quality at every step.
The Two-Stage Technique: Why "Rare" Does Not Mean "Unsafe"
This is the question Goto has answered more than any other in Itadaki's four years of operation — and it is one he takes seriously rather than deflects.
In the United States and across much of Europe, food safety guidance consistently advises against consuming undercooked beef. The concerns are legitimate: E. coli, salmonella, and other bacterial risks are real, and have shaped Western dining culture over decades. For many foreign visitors, the phrase "rare wagyu gyudon" raises an immediate flag. Is this actually safe?
The answer at Itadaki is both clear and verifiable: yes — and here is exactly why.
Goto developed a proprietary two-stage cooking technique that heats the beef to over 70°C at the core. That threshold is the standard set by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for safe beef preparation. The technique was designed specifically to achieve that internal temperature while preserving the texture and mouthfeel associated with rare-cooked meat. It is not a shortcut or a workaround. It is a culinary innovation — one that took real development time and earned Itadaki recognition on eight major Japanese television programs, including NHK.
Goto holds a Certified Food Sanitation Supervisor qualification from Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, and operates under a Licensed Restaurant Operator permit from the Aichi Prefecture Public Health Center. The food safety framework at Itadaki is not incidental to the concept — it is structural. Every member of the team is trained to execute the two-stage method according to Goto's precise standards.
The result is a dish that delivers the silky, yielding texture of rare beef, the deep umami of Horai Wagyu's distinctive marbling, and the confidence that comes from knowing the preparation meets the highest domestic food safety standard in Japan.
✓ Key Takeaways
- Itadaki's Horai Wagyu is heated to over 70°C at the core using a proprietary two-stage technique — fully meeting Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare food safety standards.
- Every ingredient comes from Aichi Prefecture, sourced directly from farms Goto knows personally — including one of only three farms in Japan that raises Horai Wagyu.
- The ten-bowl daily limit on Horai Wagyu reflects genuine scarcity, not marketing. Advance reservation via Tabelog is strongly recommended.
At the Pass: The Five-Step Experience, Executed Every Time
By 10:50, the kitchen is fully prepared. Rice is dialed in — Goto adjusts the cooker settings each year to match the new harvest's moisture content and texture. The magic sauce is ready: white soy sauce from Hekinan, blended with wine and seasoned to a profile that complements the wagyu without overwhelming it. The Nagoya Cochin egg sits beside each bowl, waiting to be separated at the table.
When the first guests arrive, what they encounter is a fully multilingual printed menu — available in English, Simplified Chinese, and Korean — with photographs, prices, and clear ingredient explanations. Most importantly, it includes a five-step visual guide titled "How to Enjoy Rare Gyudon." The guide walks guests through the experience sequentially: separating the egg white into the miso soup and placing the yolk atop the beef, tasting the wagyu on its own first, then folding in the yolk, then layering in the complimentary condiments — pickled ginger from Kimura Farm in Inazawa, chopped seaweed from Himakajima in Mikawa Bay, chirimen jako, Itadaki's original eight-spice blend — and finishing with a touch of wasabi.
One guest summed it up in a way that has stayed with the team: "The English menu with clear serving instructions made the experience stress-free." That, more than almost any other piece of feedback, reflects what Goto set out to create — not a restaurant that asks international visitors to navigate alone, but one that walks them through every step with genuine care.
"The English menu with clear serving instructions made the experience stress-free."
— Guest review, Itadaki
The five-step structure is not arbitrary. It reflects Goto's belief that Horai Wagyu deserves to be understood — that each stage of the meal reveals something the previous one could not. Eating the beef plain first allows you to register the flavor profile of a wagyu that is genuinely rare, one fed on sake lees rather than standard grain. Adding the yolk changes the texture. The condiments open new dimensions. By the time you reach the wasabi, you have been on a short but deliberate culinary journey.
After Service: What a Sold-Out Day Looks Like
On most operating days — Itadaki serves lunch only, on Saturdays, Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays from 11:00 to 15:00 — the ten Horai Wagyu bowls are gone before the midpoint of service. Guests who have reserved via Tabelog Online and noted 鳳来牛希望 (their request for Horai Wagyu) in the booking notes are protected. Walk-in guests who arrive close to opening often secure one of the remaining bowls.
For those who miss the Horai Wagyu, Mikawa Beef Rare Gyudon is always available — prepared with the same two-stage technique, using lean uchimomo cuts from cattle raised on okara feed in Aichi's Mikawa region, starting from ¥1,800. Guests who have tried both often describe them as distinct experiences rather than a hierarchy. Horai Wagyu carries a lighter, more complex marbling character shaped by the sake lees feeding. Mikawa Beef is cleaner and leaner, with a different kind of depth.
When the last bowl goes out and the kitchen closes, Goto's day does not end with service. There are supplier communications, recipe notes, and the ongoing process of quality review that comes with running a restaurant where every element — from the pickled radish to the spice blend to the rice cooker settings — is held to an exacting standard.
Goto is also a basketball fan and a committed traveler who has spent years exploring food cultures outside Japan. That perspective shapes how Itadaki receives international guests — not as visitors to be accommodated, but as people who have come a long way to discover something genuine. The multilingual menu, the five-step guide, the welcoming atmosphere: none of it is an afterthought. It is part of the same philosophy that gives the restaurant its name.
Itadaki comes from itadakimasu — the expression of gratitude spoken before every meal in Japan. It is a philosophy as much as a name: that food is a gift from farmers, land, and craft, and that every bowl deserves to be received with respect. For a wagyu expert who thinks they have seen everything Japan's beef culture has to offer, that philosophy — and the 300-head rarity behind it — is usually the beginning of a surprise.
Planning Your Visit to Itadaki in Osu, Nagoya
Itadaki is located on the 2nd floor at 4-1-20 Osu, Naka-ku, Nagoya — a four-minute walk from Yabacho Station Exit 4 on the Meijo Subway Line. From Nagoya Station, the easiest route is the Higashiyama Line to Sakae, then a transfer to the Meijo Line — approximately ten minutes in total. At street level, look for the sign reading 元祖レア牛丼 頂 and take the stairs to the second floor.
Service runs from 11:00 to 15:00 (last order 14:30) on operating days. Itadaki is closed on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. For the most accurate monthly schedule, including any irregular closures, check the official Instagram before your visit.
To guarantee a Horai Wagyu bowl, reservations via Tabelog Online are strongly recommended. When booking, please copy and paste 鳳来牛希望 into the notes field to request Horai Wagyu specifically. Reservations can be made in English on the Tabelog site.
For our complete menu, access details, and store information, visit our official page at https://itadaki8.com/english/.
We look forward to welcoming you — and to showing you something that even a seasoned wagyu traveler may not have encountered before.
