An American cheese shortage has Tokyo’s cheesesteak lovers in a bind

“American cheese is all gone from Japan,” read Nihonbashi Philly’s frustrated post to Instagram on May 30. Going forward, the restaurant would be using Whiz and provolone only.

Tomomi and Kosuke Chujo own and operate Philadelphia’s unofficial embassy in Tokyo’s Nihonbashi neighborhood, a restaurant named Philly that serves cheesesteaks, house-made pretzels, and Tastykakes. They’re ambassadors of the cheesesteak and have become semi-regular fixtures in Philadelphia’s dining scene since their first trip to Philadelphia in 2020.

Their post was met with hundreds of comments of support, ranging from “American cheese is terrible anyway” to offers to smuggle in Cooper Sharp for them.

But while Cooper Sharp has become the preferred cheese on American cheesesteaks (at least, those that aspire to the level of Angelo’s) in recent years, the Chujos have long had a love for the Kraft-esque Kirkland American cheese they found at Japan’s Costcos.

American cheese has long fallen out of favor for cheesesteaks, and the Costco version has even been named among the “Biggest Kirkland Signature Flops in Costco History” by the Takeout.

For the Chujos, Kirkland brand Deluxe American Cheese has been their go-to cheese since 2021. When they did taste tests before they opened the restaurant, it won by a large margin over any other cheeses available to them, (though when Craig LaBan went to visit last year, the cheese was his only complaint, writing, “It was a satisfying cheesesteak, even if the cheese was not quite right — slices of American cheese that lacked the creamy flow and piquant savor of the now-standard Cooper Sharp, currently unavailable in Japan.“)

Nihonbashi Philly normally goes through 60 pounds of American cheese every week. Despite it being a relatively stable product, it still requires refrigeration. Tomomi Chujo has never been able to stock up in large quantities because of how small her restaurant is, and because she does not have a walk-in cooler.

So when Tomomi went to restock, she was startled to find the cheese missing.

“I went to Costcos in three other prefectures and bought what they had,” she said. “I check every day now, but they don’t have any more,”

The Inquirer reached out to Costco Japan and was told in an e-mailed statement that “this item has been discontinued and is no longer available at Costco locations in Japan.” The company declined to provide a reason for the change.

There are other options — Japan has a specialty dairy culture of its own, headquartered in Hokkaido, which is world-renowned for its milk. And Kraft cheese is also manufactured in Japan by Morinaga, a dairy conglomerate.

“The Kraft cheese made by Morinaga costs much more and it’s not that tasty,” explained Tomomi Chujo, who also e-mailed photos of Kirkland and Kraft Morinaga blocks illustrating their extreme differences in size and color. The Kirkland cheese melts better and costs significantly less.

“Cheese from Japan tastes like dairy and cream. It’s milkier and bland,” said Tomomi Chujo.

Morinaga American cheese in bulk is about half the size of the Kirkland package but twice the price. The Chujos say using Japanese cheese would make their cheesesteaks, which currently cost about $18, far too expensive for the average Japanese consumer.

With the American cheese gone for now, they Chujos are still committed to making Japan’s best cheesesteaks. And they’re open to other cheeses.

The Chujos occasionally bring Cooper Sharp back to Japan to use at Nihonbashi Philly.

“But there’s nothing like Cooper Sharp [for sale] in Japan,” she said.

On the Chujos’ most recent trip to Philly in May, they served their version of the cheesesteak at the Philly Opener and to the Eagles.

They flew with Japanese flour, Tomomi baked the loaves at Lost Bread’s bakery, and they made their cheesesteak with Cooper Sharp cheese, which is readily available in Philly.

The Chujos should be able to restock their Cooper Sharp supplies and make a few Costco runs for American cheese again this summer when they’re in Philly, though of course, they can only bring so much back to Japan.