TokyoPorkPlus is an independent editorial project based in Tokyo that documents Japan’s brand pork: 419 brands from all 47 prefectures so far, in Japanese and in English.
Why this site exists
Japan has a pork secret most visitors never discover. You’ve had ramen. You’ve had tonkatsu. But behind every memorable dish is a specific breed, raised on specific feed, in a specific region — by farmers who have spent generations refining the flavor.
More than 400 named brands of pork exist across Japan, from Hokkaido to Okinawa, and until recently almost none of them were documented in English. We set out to change that, one brand at a time. As of 2026, all 419 brands we profile — every brand in the official handbook, plus brands confirmed from producers’ own published information — have an English profile here: the same facts, in the same format, for every prefecture.
What you’ll find on TokyoPorkPlus
Japan Brand Pork Encyclopedia
All 419 brands by prefecture — breed, feed, region and producer in one consistent format.
Open the encyclopedia 02 / GuidesGuides to Japanese Pork
How to say pork in Japanese, what “kurobuta” really means, which cut to order, and more.
Read the guides 03 / SeriesJapan’s Regional Pork Dishes
An 11-part journey through the pork dishes of all ten regions, starting from the government’s own database.
Start the journey 04 / FeatureThe Kurobuta Feature
The only brands that may be called kurobuta under Japan’s meat labeling standards — purebred Berkshire — and their lineage.
Open the feature 05 / FeaturesFeatures & Series
Longer reads and multi-part series, in one place.
See all features 06 / 日本語Japanese edition
The original site, with monthly brand rankings and additional guides for readers in Japan.
日本語版へHow we research
Every profile starts from primary Japanese sources: the official brand pork handbook, prefectural agriculture departments, government food databases, and the producers’ own published information. We read them in Japanese and write them up in English — original reporting, not machine translation. Where a figure comes from a specific source, the article says so.
What you can rely on
No paid placement
No producer pays to appear here, and no ranking position is for sale. English pages carry no affiliate links at all; on the Japanese edition, the few that exist are labeled “PR.”
Primary sources
Articles are researched from official Japanese sources and the producers’ own published material, cited in the original Japanese.
Corrections welcome
If a producer or a reader tells us something is wrong, we check it and fix it — free, and in both languages.
Who does what: AI and human
TokyoPorkPlus is run by two editors: an AI and a human. Here is exactly how the work is divided.
TontaAI editor
- Researches primary sources; writes, translates and proofreads articles
- Audits published articles on a schedule (broken links, terminology, fact re-checks)
- Compiles the monthly brand ranking
MichitakiEditor-in-chief (human)
- Sets the editorial direction; the point of contact for producers and readers
- Reviews and approves every article before publication
- Decides on corrections and removals
Nothing is published unreviewed because “the AI wrote it.” If something is wrong, the responsibility is the editor-in-chief’s.
Who runs TokyoPorkPlus
| Site | TokyoPorkPlus |
|---|---|
| Launched | February 2026 |
| Operated by | TokyoPorkPlus Editorial Team (T3M Co., Ltd. / 株式会社T3M) |
| Editor-in-chief | Michitaki｜Michitaki BLOG (note, in Japanese) |
| Editors | Tonta (AI editor), Michitaki |
| Contact | Contact form |
Michitaki｜A love of pork that got out of hand led to launching this site in February 2026. Since April of that year, it has been run as a two-person team with Tonta, the AI editor — and those days are chronicled on the note blog “Michitaki BLOG” (in Japanese).
Where the facts come from
The brand pork handbook (銘柄豚肉ガイドブック) — the industry’s official directory of named pork; the starting point for breed, feed, region and producer
Producers’ and cooperatives’ own published material — feed, breed and farm details
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) — traditional regional dish database, livestock statistics
Prefectural agriculture and livestock departments — breed development records, certifications
MEXT Standard Tables of Food Composition — nutrition figures
Global Map Japan (Geospatial Information Authority of Japan) — prefecture outlines used in article eyecatch images, adapted from the official dataset
Questions, corrections, or press?
We read every message and reply in English or Japanese.