Tokyo tops 3-star restaurant count in Michelin guide

Tokyo, Nov. 18 Kyodo - Michelin said Tuesday it has awarded three-star ratings to nine restaurants in
Tokyo in the second edition of its culinary guide for the Japanese capital,
giving Tokyo and Paris the largest number of top ratings among the world's
major cities.

In the 2009 version of the Michelin guide for Tokyo, due to be released Friday,
Tokyo will also continue to boast the highest number of total stars in the
world with 227, as 173 restaurants in the city have been awarded stars in the
guide -- 36 receiving two stars and 128 one star in addition to the nine with
the top rating.
Ishikawa, a Japanese restaurant in Kagurazaka, Shinjuku, was awarded three
stars, up from the previous year's two stars, while eight others of the nine
retained the top rating.
The eight restaurants are Kanda, Koju and Hamadaya, which serve Japanese
cuisine, sushi restaurants Sukiyabashi Jiro and Sushi Mizutani, and French
restaurants Quintessence, Joel Robuchon and L'osier.
''The world's largest number of 227 stars shines in the sky over Tokyo in
2009,'' Michelin Guide Director Jean-Luc Naret said in French at a press
conference in Tokyo. ''This city has a selection that the world should envy.''
Naret noted that the current global economic slowdown makes the Michelin guide
more useful. People should be able to avoid the risk of visiting the wrong
restaurant by paying 2,415 yen for the guide, he said.
Michelin said it expanded the area of research this year, and also introduced
some guide marks in response to Japanese culture, such as a shoe mark that
shows a restaurant where customers need to take off their shoes.
More than 60 percent of the selected restaurants offer Japanese cuisine while
the rest are mostly French restaurants.
Hideki Ishikawa, chef of the new three-star restaurant Ishikawa, told reporters
that the news about the coveted award made him cry for joy.
''I was touched,'' the 43-year-old chef from Niigata Prefecture, said. ''I have
been doing my work diligently for about 20 years, and I am now completely happy
about that.''
Jiro Ono, 83-year-old Sushi master of Sukiyabashi Jiro, said the number of
overseas customers has increased since his restaurant received the top Michelin
rating last year. ''I will continue to work hard,'' he said, while expressing
thanks to the many customers who have visited his restaurant in Ginza.
The first Tokyo edition of the guide last year provoked criticism and sarcasm
among Japanese restaurant owners and food critics who questioned the ability of
French inspectors to judge Japanese cuisine.
Michelin said it increased the number of researchers who make anonymous visits
to check on food and services for its Tokyo restaurant guide from five last
year -- two Japanese and three Europeans -- to six this year -- five Japanese
and one European.
The first edition of the Tokyo guide sold around 300,000 copies after its
release in November 2007, with half that number selling in the first few days.
Naret said there will be more initial copies of the 2009 Tokyo guide available
than the previous year but added the number of copies may not be enough. Those
interested in the book should buy it if they find it at a bookstore, he said.
The Michelin Guide was first published in 1900 to offer useful information for
drivers, such as where to change tires and repair cars, and later expanded to
include where to eat and stay. The renowned restaurant guides now cover 22
countries with a U.S. version added in 2005.
China is set to become the 23rd country covered by Michelin when its guide for
Hong Kong and Macao is released next month.
The 2009 edition for Paris, which has nine three-star restaurants in the 2008
edition, will be released next year, Michelin said.
The Tokyo guidebook is available in both Japanese and English.
==Kyodo