10 Best Tried and True Wiener Sausages in Japan 2022 (Prima Ham, Nippon Ham, and More)

Nippon Ham's Schau Essen is a sausage made with scientific control standards to ensure that it is crispy and tasty all of the time.

When you bite into it, the skin is crisp, and the meat is plump. It is known for being succulent and juicy, and its strong pork flavor is full of rich umami. They are also light and bite-sized, so it is a versatile sausage that can be good for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for both children and adults!

Prima Ham's Aroma Kaoru Coarse Pork Sausage is created by the brand's proprietary blend of 11 spices. Among our testers, it was well-received for its deep smoky flavor. The meat flavored with spices gave it a well-balanced salty and sweet taste. The more you chew, the deeper the flavor becomes, making each bite more addictive.

It also has a great texture, being crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside. The sausage has a lot of juice but is not overly greasy, so you can eat it without feeling heavy afterward. Its spices give it a great flavor profile, so we recommend mixing it with stir-fried vegetables as well.

Yonekyu's "Gotemba Kogen Arabi Pork" is made from coarse ground meat and natural sheep's intestines. Not just that, but it's been enhanced by a special salt to offer richer umami.

Despite its simple appearance, this Arabiki sausage is very juicy, with juices overflowing when you bite into it. The skin is crispy and the inside is chewy, making for great texture. The pork flavor is also solid and meaty, and the tangy pepper is also a nice accent that doesn't overpower the taste of the sausage. It is perfect for lunch boxes or as an accompaniment to drinks.

Ito Ham's Bergerwurst Basil is a sausage that focuses on three key elements: aroma, coarse texture, and umami. It's also marketed more for adult palettes.

The skin on this sausage is soft rather than crispy which balances well with the tightly packed meat. The basil flavor adds a refreshing accent to the sausage and never got old. It is recommended for dinner as it adds a colorful touch of freshness to your meal. 

Ito Ham's Grand Alto Bayern is a sausage with a blend of spices and seasonings made using Itoh Ham's traditional 72-hour aging process to deepen its umami. 

These sausage links are a bit thicker, making them chewy and juicy. The skin is also very snappy for an added crunch of texture. It also has a spicy pepper flavor and aroma that gives a lot of dimension to its flavor. This sausage was filling enough to be the main dish for dinner and is great for a barbecue as well.

Nippon Ham's Entier Lemon & Parsley Weiners is a Western-style sausage modeled after European links.

While the sausage lacks a bit of plumpness and crispiness in the skin, its flavor was great. Our testers said, "The refreshing and crisp lemony flavor goes well with beer", and "It tastes mature and elegant!" The sausage's lightness was highly praised as well, as it was not too greasy.

These sausages are a bit thinner and whiter, making them a good item to add to your dinner plate for color variation. 

Shinshu Ham's Karuizawa Aged Arabi Pork Sausage is an authentic sausage made using traditional German methods and aged for at least three days.

The skin was so crispy that it made a snappy sound when bitten into, exactly like in TV commercials. However, this sausage wasn't as juicy as others, which was a bit disappointing. Nonetheless, it has a meaty flavor that's mildly salty and smoky taste and makes a perfect accompaniment for beer and cheese.

Nippon Ham's Houjun Arabi Sausage is a sausage specifically made to be the juiciest it could possibly be. They focused on juiciness by cherry-picking specific ingredients and incorporating a meticulous manufacturing process.

This sausage has a thin casing that bursts with juice when you bite into it. However, since it is a thinner sausage, there is not much bite to the meat itself. That being said, the simple flavor makes it great for children as well.

Marudai Shokuhin's Smokehouse Aged Arabi Pork Sausage is seasoned with rock salt from the German Alps and aged slowly for 72 hours to fully bring out the meat's umami flavor.

This sausage has a rich texture that is so crispy that it snaps and crackles every time it is bit into. It also retains the flavor of pork as you chew, releasing a deep aged smoky taste after every bite. On top of that, it is seasoned with various spices that make it perfect for breakfast.

Seijo Ishii's Homemade Pork Sausage is made with a commitment to high-quality ingredients, using only Japanese pork and natural sheep intestines for the casing.

The sausage had a slightly strange texture with crispy skin and chunky meat. The meat inside looks like fish paste and did not feel very meaty when eaten. Due to a lack of any meat juices, there was no noticeable meat flavor either. However, it has a smoky taste and a good chew, so we think that it would be delicious when used in hot dogs.