Wagyu Heaven at Kameya Meat Shop
Published: November 17, 2017
Traditional butcher’s shops are an increasingly rare sight in this age of supermarkets, hypermarkets and drone deliveries. On a quiet back street a few minutes walk north of Kameido Station in Koto-ku is one such place, Kameya Meat Shop. Mrs. Kameya was the kindly guide to the world of meat.
“My husband’s father opened the shop in 1950,” says Mrs. Kameya, “We’ve been married for 40 years now, running the place together. It’s been a good life, serving the best quality meat at reasonable prices to the neighbourhood and beyond.”
As if to emphasize this point, Mrs. Kameya hefts an enormous block of rib steak from the freezer and expertly slices off a thick cut. “Right now we have a lot of Sendai beef because it’s top quality at a good price,” she says. “At other times it will be from Chiba or Hokkaido, for example.”
The blackboard shows the startling prices: A5 rank Sendai black-haired wagyu rib steak for 1,000 yen per 100g, rump steak at 880 yen and inner thigh also at 880 yen. This is exceptional value!
“We have many customers from all over Tokyo,” says Mrs. Kameya. “We have regulars from Takadanobaba, Choshi in Chiba, restaurants in Ginza and the like. There’s even one customer from Yamaguchi Prefecture who always drops in whenever they are in Tokyo.”
It’s not just steak. This roast ham, for example, is absolutely delicious; moist, richly juicy and slightly salty. It’s a far cry from the rather bland ham found in many places these days.
The roast beef is also strongly flavoured and cooked rare. “That’s our original sauce (“tare” in Japanese). We’ve been making it to exactly the same recipe for 67 years now,” says Mrs. Kameya. This is real roast beef, powerful and thick, liberally dosed with pungent mustard that clears the sinuses.
Kameya is also known for its burgers, made from 95% wagyu beef. At 450 yen each, you’ll be hard pressed to find such value elsewhere.
Speaking of incredible value, this roast ham is just 450 yen for 100g. “Go down to the smart supermarkets or shops in central Tokyo and you’ll pay 800 yen for that. We want to serve affordable meat to the many younger people who are finding it tough these days. They work hard but don’t earn high salaries anymore; top quality steak, beef or other meat is getting priced out of their pockets,” says Mrs. Kameya. The ham is great, slightly salty and very “hammy”, perfect for a sandwich.
Kameya Meat Shop also offers both Christmas and New Year specials. So, if you’re in the market for some A5 Ginza-quality meat at local Kameido prices, this is the shop for you. The charming Mrs. Kameya and dapper Mr. Kameya are ready for your custom!
Story and Photos by Stephen Spencer
