Tokyo wins 227 Michelin stars in a new edition of the culinary guide, cementing its status as the world’s highest-starred gastronomic capital, Michelin director Jean-Luc Naret said Tuesday.
The Tokyo guide, which will hit the bookshelves on Friday, widened its scope to 173 restaurants in 13 districts of the city. The first edition, published last year, awarded 191 stars to 150 eateries in eight districts.
About two-thirds of the restaurants,selected from a total of 160,000 in the Japanese capital, serve up Japanese cuisine.
“Tokyo is, and remains, the most starred city in the world,” Naret told a press conference. “Japanese cuisine is dynamic, diverse, rich and interesting.”
With nine three-star, 36 two-star and 128 one-star restaurants, Tokyo amassed more than double the number of stars given to Paris.
Three stars indicate “meals worth a trip,” two stars mean “meals worth a detour,” while one star promises an “excellent meal.”
Only one additional eatery was awarded the prestigious three-stars this year,the Japanese restaurant Ishikawa, which got two stars last year.
The 2009 guide lists 14 new entries in the two-star category and 35 new entries in the one-star section, including a restaurant run by British chef Gordon Ramsay, whose eatery in London got three stars.
French chef Joel Robuchon holds the highest number of stars, with a total of seven, one more than last year, for his three restaurants.
The 2008 guide for Tokyo sold 300,000 copies in a matter of weeks. This year, Michelin expects a first circulation of 300,000 copies of the famous red book, which will be published both in English and Japanese.