Hi everyone! I'm interested in trying to bring back some A5 Wagyu from Japan to the US. Coming back to the US, I will be flying on Delta, departing from HND.
As best I can tell, per US customs, it should be acceptable to bring back up to 50lbs, as long as it is declared and has a all the necessary paperwork:
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/traveling-with-ag-products/meats-poultry-seafood
What is super unclear to me is how to actually do that, and I'd love to give it a shot. There does seem to be a recent commercial service (Zipair) that helps you through the process, but a quick look at it and it doesn't seem to make much sense for me (it's very expensive, requires flying on zipair, and requires flying out of NRT).
I want to try the DIY route, maybe just with a small amount in case things don't go to plan.
Ironically, the best resource I've found so far is a marketing infographic from zipair: https://imgur.com/a/lbCjJkZ
Does anyone have any tips for:
1) places in tokyo to buy wagyu that are able to provide the needed documentation for clearing US Customs
2) if any places will pack the meat for air travel (eg, with dry ice or ice packs)
3) if the purchase needs to clear any export process leaving Japan (and where to go at HND for this if so?)
4) anything else I might be overlooking?
Thanks in advance for any advice!
by aimfulwandering