Matsuya Foods Co. put "gyudon" beef-on-rice dishes back on its menu Wednesday after a six-month hiatus.
Japan's second-largest gyudon restaurant chain said it is using a supply of mainly Chinese beef, though Australian and Japanese beef is also being added to it.
The dish disappeared from the menu in February, when the company ran out of beef due to a ban on U.S. beef imports imposed after the first case of U.S. mad cow disease was uncovered last December.
Medium-size dishes of "nami" beef are 390 yen, a 100 yen increase from before February.
Matsuya Foods imports the Chinese beef after boiling it in China because of Japanese quarantine requirements.
"I used to eat at Matsuya restaurants often, so I have come here to enjoy lunch at this time," said Megumi Yoshida, 35, the first customer at a Matsuya outlet in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.
