Name: Behind the Counter at a Japanese Wagyu Texas BBQ Restaurant
Uploaded: 2025-09-27T17:57:29.000Z
Duration: 14 min 41 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

This is Texas barbecue, but it's made with Wagyu beef here in Japan You ever wonder if Japanese could ever barbecue better than Texans?

Well, I'm traveling all the way to Karuizawa, Nagano to get the answers.

A two-hour door-to-door trip from Tokyo to go behind the counter at Smokemanship, a unique Texas-style barbecue restaurant.

Apparently, after years of study in this remote mountainous area, a local man developed his own way to blend Texas barbecue techniques with select cuts of Japanese beef.

Wagyu, known for its richness and tender marbling, a one-of-a-kind experience that locals swear is undeniable.

And today I get to find out firsthand if the Japanese man running this shop has taken barbecue to the next level.

Apparently, Masa-san drives to the farm in the morning to get it himself.

This morning, he starts with repairing their pulled pork since his Wagyu brisket has been cooking through the knife.

After working in Tokyo, he decided to settle down here 13 years ago in Karuizawa.

Once in the area, Texas barbecue turned into a small passion hobby.

But over time, as he honed his craft, it grew into an obsession, which led him three years ago to sell his barbecue online, eventually building enough success where he could finally open up this shop a year ago.

Now, he carefully seasons the meat before placing it into the smoker.

He says that he happened across a brisket video by Aaron Franklin and it sparked a curiosity inside of him.

Living in Japan, he wondered how it tasted and if he could make it himself.

He started to barbecue in his free time while reading books on Texas barbecue, watching more videos, and consuming whatever materials he can get his hands on.

One of the first lessons Masa-san quickly learned about Texas barbecue is that he's not in Texas.

The weather here is extremely humid in the summer and the winters are snowy and dry, forcing him to adapt.

And as they say, everything's bigger in Texas.

Well, it's just the opposite in Japan, as he's had to work with a smaller smoker.

Instead, it's helped focus him as he diligently refines his barbecue skills.  Masa-san refines the process for this country, including how he adjusts the fire throughout the day and even the night.

First, as is, and then later, it's wrapped in foil.

His Wagyu brisket is also cooked at low heat, but for 16 hours.

The process is long, but wait until you see the results from last night.

Now, he moves on to trimming their Wagyu brisket.

So, traditional Texas barbecue is made with U.S. beef and seasoned with a dry rub of salt and pepper, sometimes also with mixed spices for added flavor.

But as touched upon earlier, since Masa-san crafts his brisket with Wagyu beef, known for its rich umami, the delicate sweetness of its marbled fat, an exceptional tenderness, and packed with flavor, his rub only consists of salt and pepper.  Hey, so what was your dream when you were a kid?

He says he played football in university, too.

I wasn't that fast, but I was a D.B.  He says that he owes a lot of his current success in business to football, as he learned when playing how important it is to game plan to make adjustments when situations change.

He also carries with him the mindset that no matter how difficult things get, he's able to get through it.

I spent my childhood in Canada, the last 18 years in Taiwan, and I arrived to Nagano at the beginning of this year.

Well, my wife is Japanese, and we wanted a new environment for the kids.

When he moved here, he came across a job opening and, with his love for barbecue, decided to give it a try.

Masa-san says that his experience in other fields, along with his skills, has been a big help to the team.

Well, for me, coffee sauce goes best with brisket, but I also like eating pork with hot and sour sauce.

It's been cooking all through the night, and it's been cooling down since the morning, but it's finally ready.

Subtitles ListPlay Video

Behind the Counter at a Japanese Wagyu Texas BBQ Restaurant

authentic

process

apparently

subtle