Question: are wagyu and kobe beef the same thing?
Answer: Kobe, in short, is a variety of Wagyu. ... So “Wagyu” refers to any cattle that is bred in Japan or the Japanese-style. Kobe beef is comprised of a very particular strain of Wagyu called Tajima-Gyu that is raised to strict standards in the prefecture of Hyogo. (Hyogo's capital city is Kobe, thus the name).