Produced by: Manoj Kumar
Each grain of Japan’s Kinmemai Premium rice is handpicked like a diamond—aged for six months, buffed to perfection, and sold for a jaw-dropping ₹12,500 per kilo. It’s not food—it’s craftsmanship in edible form.
Inside Toyo Rice Corporation’s secretive labs, engineers have turned humble rice into a luxury artefact using “rice buffing,” a process so delicate it preserves the nutty soul while stripping away indigestible wax.
Grown in the mineral-rich folds of Japan’s Echigo-Komagatake mountains, these plump grains draw purity from snowmelt streams. Locals swear you can taste the mountain air in every bite.
Six times richer in lipopolysaccharides than regular rice, Kinmemai Premium promises immunity-boosting powers. Japanese nutritionists call it “rice with a heartbeat.” Skeptics call it gourmet marketing.
Despite its sky-high cost and cult following, creator Keiji Saika admits the rice isn’t profitable. So why persist? “To remind the world what Japanese rice can be,” the 91-year-old visionary told CNN Travel.
Every grain is individually inspected for “vital energy.” Workers claim they can sense a rice’s liveliness by touch—a meticulous ritual that borders on spiritual devotion.
Unlike typical rice, Kinmemai is matured for months like fine wine. The slow flavor-deepening process coaxes out notes of umami and sweetness that chefs call “liquid silk on the tongue.”
From Michelin-starred sushi bars in Tokyo to elite collectors in Dubai, this rice has become a status symbol. A bowl of it costs more than a month’s worth of groceries in much of Asia.
Forget washing. This “artisanal rinse-free rice” undergoes an advanced polishing process that eliminates starch and dirt before packaging. Japan turned a daily kitchen chore into high-tech luxury.