Eating A5 Wagyu Beef at Jiromaru in Shinjuku, Tokyo

A good friend of mine from high school Chris, visited me last December, 2016, while I was in Tokyo. It was his first time in Japan and wanted to meet up for drinks and dinner. Being a resident I thought I knew the city well and could show them around, but I was about to learn even residents don't know all the gems the city has to offer. In order to keep this short though I won't go into the whole night of visiting Bar Five, one of the top bars in the world, but instead just focus on the delicious dinner. We'll save the Bar Five visit for another time.

Chris was traveling with a business partner Cameron, who visits Tokyo about twice a year cause he loves it so much. It also helps that he usually has enough air miles to fly for free. Must be nice huh. As we were finishing up at Bar Five we were contemplating where to go for dinner. Cameron insisted on taking Chris and I to a hidden gem in Shinjuku called Jiromaru. It's a counter style yakiniku place that serves only the highest grade Japanese beef. Anyone who's had high quality Japanese beef knows, there really isn't any comparison so it was a no brainer and we let him lead the way.

Located in Shinjuku across the street from the Shinjuku Prince Hotel, it's about a 3 minute walk from the station. When we arrived on a Friday night we were lucky to only have 1 couple in line ahead of us. Within a few minutes we were seated and ready for an dining experience to remember.

We ended up ordering several pieces of the A5, スーパースネ, as well as A4 brisket, sirloin, rib, shoulder roast, some other cuts that I don't know how to translate yet, lots of beer, cabbage and other forgettable vegetables. Each piece ran about $3.00 and that was the best $3 each I've ever spent on food. The pieces melted in your mouth and the flavor was perfect. One piece, I think the larger one, was a bit chewy and we made sure not to order it for the second round. For the next 30 min it was melty beef heaven.

We each ended spending about $60 a person which included 3 beers each, as much beef as we could eat and plenty of vegetables. I brought my wife back there the following week (picture with grill above) and spent about the same amount. This place is a must visit if you are in Tokyo. You can eat here for cheaper if you can resist the bliss of that marbled goodness, but why not splurge?

Jiromaru is located at:
Japan, 〒160-0021 Tokyo, 新宿区Kabukicho, 1 Chome−２６−３
Phone: +81 3-6380-3292