Processed Cheese Was All We Knew<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
When I was growing up in Japan, \"cheese\" basically meant processed cheese (\u30d7\u30ed\u30bb\u30b9\u30c1\u30fc\u30ba). That was it. I'm not even sure I knew natural cheese existed back then \u2014 it just wasn't part of everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n About ten years ago, I traveled to France, and that trip completely changed how I think about cheese. I tried so many different natural cheeses (\u30ca\u30c1\u30e5\u30e9\u30eb\u30c1\u30fc\u30ba), and since baking hearty, rustic bread is one of my hobbies, I fell completely in love with Comt\u00e9. It pairs so perfectly with a good crusty loaf. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Ten years ago, the selection of Japanese natural cheese was pretty limited, and honestly, not much of it really impressed me \u2014 so I kept going back to imported Comt\u00e9. But then the yen started weakening, and the price of Comt\u00e9 nearly doubled. That's when I thought: maybe it's time to give Japanese natural cheese a proper try. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fromage de Biei (\u30d5\u30ed\u30de\u30fc\u30b8\u30e5\u30c9\u7f8e\u745b) \u2014 from Biei, Hokkaido<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n TURUI Gold \u2014 another one that leans into that nutty, aged flavour<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kuromastu-nai Blue Cheese (\u304f\u308d\u307e\u3064\u306a\u3044 \u30d6\u30eb\u30fc\u30c1\u30fc\u30ba) \u2014 from Kuromatsunai, Hokkaido<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n All three are worth seeking out if you're curious about where Japanese cheesemaking is heading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Did You Know Japanese Cheese Has Come a Long Way? Processed Cheese Was All We Knew When I was growing up in Japan, \"cheese\" basically meant processed cheese (\u30d7\u30ed\u30bb\u30b9\u30c1\u30fc\u30ba). That was it. I'm not even sure I knew natural cheese existed back then \u2014 it just wasn't part of everyday life. My First Real Encounter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":349,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Japanese cheese - A Japanese Life","description":"Did You Know Japanese Cheese Has Come a Long Way? Processed Cheese Was All We Knew When I was growing up in Japan, \"cheese\" basically meant processed cheese (\u30d7\u30ed"},"sns_share_botton_hide":"","vkExUnit_sns_title":"","_vk_print_noindex":"","sitemap_hide":"","_veu_custom_css":"","veu_display_promotion_alert":"","vkexunit_cta_each_option":"","_lightning_design_setting":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-102","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food"],"veu_head_title_object":{"title":"","add_site_title":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=102"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":351,"href":"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/102\/revisions\/351"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=102"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=102"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=102"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Homemade](\"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/homemade-campagne-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Homemade](\"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/homemade-campagne-cut-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Natural](\"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/natural-cheese-on-campagne-1024x576.jpg\")
My First Real Encounter with Natural Cheese<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
I was so taken with it that I brought back a whole kilogram of Comt\u00e9 \u2014 plus several Camembert-style cheeses \u2014 in my suitcase on the way home. Completely worth the extra weight.
Back in Japan, I actually found a shop in Sapporo that imports French cheese directly, so whenever I visited the family house in Hokkaido, I'd make a point of stopping in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Comt\u00e9](\"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Comte-cheese-I-bought-in-Japan-1024x768.jpg\")
![\"European](\"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/European-natural-cheese-bought-in-Ja-1024x576.jpg\")
What's Happening with Japanese Natural Cheese<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
I did some research, and I was genuinely surprised by how much the variety has grown. And more than that \u2014 there are actually some that I find really delicious now. They've come a long way.
Japanese natural cheese isn't yet something you see in everyone's fridge, and the prices aren't dramatically lower than imported cheese. But the progress is impressive. Japanese people tend to have very high standards when it comes to food, so I have a feeling \u2014 maybe with a little more time \u2014 Japan could start producing cheeses that hold their own on the world stage. At least, I hope so!<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"Woolden](\"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Woolden-and-Japanese-cheese-1024x576.jpg\")
Japanese Natural Cheeses Worth Trying<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
Comt\u00e9-style<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
![\"Fromage](\"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Fromage-de-Biei-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Fromage](\"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Fromage-de-Biei-on-campagne-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Turui](\"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/turui-gold-1024x576.jpg\")
Blue Cheese<\/h6>\n\n\n\n
![\"Kuromatsunai](\"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/kuromatsunai-blue-cheese-case-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Kuromatsunai](\"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/kuromatsunai-blue-cheese-in-plastic-wrap-1024x576.jpg\")
![\"Kuromatsunai](\"https:\/\/en.bita-d.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/kuromatsunai-blue-cheese-whole-1024x576.jpg\")