【1/4】Japanese Natural Cheese, Tasted and Reviewed (Hard & Semi-Hard Cheeses)
KeikoAs I mentioned in an earlier post, baking hearty, rustic bread is one of my hobbies, and ever since my trip to France, I've been on a mission to find Japanese cheeses that pair well with it. My personal benchmarks are Comté and Edam — cheeses I fell in love with abroad — so keep that in mind as you read my impressions below.
This post rounds up my notes on every hard and semi-hard Japanese natural cheese I've tried so far. These are honest, personal tasting notes rather than professional reviews, but I hope they're useful if you're exploring Japanese cheese yourself.
- PLATZ（プラッツ）
- Petegari（ペテガリ）
- Jersey Gouda Cheese（ジャージーゴーダチーズ）
- Hajime no Cheese（はじめのチーズ）
- Fromage de Biei（フロマージュ・ド・美瑛）
1. PLATZ（プラッツ）
Maker: Yonemura Farm | Purchased: June 26, 2026 | Price: ¥1,247 | Website
This one leans closer to hard than semi-hard. Aged 12 months, and you can really taste it — the umami comes through beautifully. I put it on bread with ham, and the cheese held its own without getting overpowered. The balance between saltiness and umami is spot on, and the salt isn't overwhelming at all. Once you cross the ¥1,200 mark, the quality really shows.
2. Petegari（ペテガリ）
Maker: Karin Farm | Purchased: June 26, 2026 | Price: ¥950 | Website
I paired this with beetroot bread, and it worked really well together. The saltiness is mild, but there's genuine umami depth. It's a gentle, quiet cheese — not assertive at all, with a nice milky character. It's a bit understated on its own, so I'd say it's best paired with something rather than eaten solo.
3. Jersey Gouda Cheese（ジャージーゴーダチーズ）
Maker: Tokachi Kato Farm | Purchased: May 23, 2026 | Price: ¥864 | Website
There's umami here, but it needs more salt. It reminds me of a refined processed cheese. Delicious with ham, but a bit lacking on its own — better paired with something. The umami is fairly strong, though it can't compete with a good yeasted, hard-crust bread. Put it on plain sandwich bread with ham, and it's a perfectly ordinary sandwich. Eaten on its own, though, it's actually quite good.
4. Hajime no Cheese（はじめのチーズ）
Maker: ASUKA Cheese Workshop | Purchased: May 23, 2026 | Price: ¥810 | Website
Nicely salted, but not in a "too salty" way. Goes really well with bread — reminds me a bit of a Comté-style cheese. The texture when you cut it feels more like processed cheese than true semi-hard. Delicious, and reasonably priced too.
5. Fromage de Biei（フロマージュ・ド・美瑛）
Maker: Biei Farm Co., Ltd. (Biei Grazing Dairy Farm) | Purchased: November 6, 2025 | Price: ¥1,674 | Website
I told the shop staff I love Comté, and this is what they recommended. It really does taste remarkably close to the real thing. Genuinely delicious.
This channel is run by a Japanese woman living in Japan, sharing a look at everyday Japanese food and culture. I hope it gives you some fun souvenir ideas and a few useful tips for everyday life along the way.
