Luxury Foods Featured on Year-End Gift Lineups in Japan

Tokyo, Oct. 26 (Jiji Press)--Major Japanese department store operators are offering luxury foods, such as wagyu high-end domestic beef, on their lineups of "oseibo" year-end gifts, expecting brisk demand amid the trend to stay home due to the novel coronavirus crisis.

The lineup of Takashimaya Co. <8233>, which is set to open oseibo corners at its outlets in stages from Wednesday, will include 11,880-yen roast beef from luxury restaurant Chez Matsuo using meat from Japanese black cattle. A round of beef is covered with salt from the Seto Inland Sea in western Japan when roasted, to offer a restaurant-like taste for a dish at home, according to the company.

Sogo & Seibu Co., a Seven & i Holdings Co. <3382> unit, is selling assortments of "Kyo-yasai" vegetables from Kyoto, western Japan, which come with recipes, with prices starting at 5,940 yen. "We want people to enjoy cooking with specially selected foods," a Sogo & Seibu official said.

Matsuya Co.'s <8237> outlet in Tokyo's upscale Ginza district offers a 4,536-yen package of tiger puffer for sashimi directly delivered from Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, which is known as a major puffer fishing area, and a 5,200-yen set of eight rice burgers using "yakiniku" grilled meat from Jojoen, a famous barbecue restaurant.

The lineup of Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings Ltd. <3099> includes a package of canned beer with "ukiyo-e" Japanese woodblock print labels, with prices ranging from around 3,000 yen to 5,000 yen.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]