About The Fuji Butcher

We started this business because we are passionate about the products we make, most of which are otherwise not available in Japan, not made locally, or not of a high standard. Our aim is to provide the people of Japan with a range of locally made products of a quality to rival any in the world.

We dedicate a lot of time to making the best products we can, at all times prioritising quality over efficiency or profit margin. Our sausages and ground meats are not made with trimmings and gristle, but with cuts that are roast-worthy in their own right, and which have been carefully selected for the perfect flavour and texture.

Unfortunately animal welfare is not what it could be in Japan, so we only work with farms which we have confirmed are of a suitably high standard of welfare. We regularly visit the farms that we buy from, and have ensured that the farmers we work with share our belief in the importance of animal welfare, not only in terms of ethics, but also in terms of the resulting quality of the meat.

Another priority for us is respecting the animal by using all of the parts that we can. While quite a lot of organ meat is eaten in Japan, there is little popular demand for certain parts of the animals, meaning a surprising amount of meat is simply thrown away. We feel that this is not only wasteful but disrespectful to the animal. Avoiding any such wastage will be very much in our minds as we expand our product lineup.

We source our ingredients from as locally as possible; all of our meat is bought directly from farmers in Yamanashi, many of our herbs and spices are home-grown, our salt is 100% Japanese sea salt, and even the water we use is from a spring 10 minutes away. The only ingredients we use that come from outside of Japan are those which are not produced here, such as certain spices which can't be grown in the Japanese climate. 

It is also very important to us to keep our products as natural as possible. The farms we buy from do not use hormones, prophylactic antibiotics, or any other unnecessary medication or enhancements. We avoid using preservatives or additives of any kind in our products, including any dry ingredients such as panko which are also all additive free.

Being located in both a National Park and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we are particularly conscious of our impact on the environment:

Using local ingredients while unfortunately not always minimising costs, does minimise unnecessary shipping and logistics. 

Using natural ingredients minimises the chemical junk that enters our bodies and ultimately the environment. 

Avoiding wastage of meat is not only more respectful to the animal, but also reduces the amount of burnable trash that our business generates.

As much as possible we use environmentally-friendly packaging, including recycled and recyclable paper and cardboard, though using plastic packaging for our products is unfortunately unavoidable at present.