For its first venture into Asia, the MICHELIN guide offers a selection of the best hotels and restaurants in the center of Tokyo, a total of 178 establishments, of which 28 are hotels and 150 are restaurants.
Available in English and Japanese versions, the MICHELIN guide Tokyo 2008 has one particularity that sets it apart from other guides in the collection: All the restaurants in the guide have been awarded stars. The initial selection includes 8 restaurants with three stars (***), 25 with two stars (**) and 117 with one star (*). With 191 stars in all, Tokyo has become the world leader in gourmet dining with more "stars" than any other city. And to honor its outstanding cuisine, the unrivaled quality of the products used, the cooking techniques employed, its rich heritage and its culinary traditions, which are passed on from one generation to the next, the selection in the MICHELIN guide Tokyo 2008 is comprised exclusively of "starred" restaurants.
One star (*) means a very good restaurant in its category.
Two stars (**) mean excellent cooking, worth a detour.
Three stars (***) mean exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.
A restaurant that receives one or more stars is not only one of the best in its country but also one of the best in the world.
In Japan, as in the 21 other countries covered by the MICHELIN guide, a consistent selection is ensured by awarding stars based on the same criteria: product quality, preparation and flavors, the chef's personality as revealed through his cuisine, value for money, and consistency over time and across the entire menu. The criteria are adapted to each type of cuisine, notably Japanese cooking styles.
In the first edition of the MICHELIN guide Tokyo, the focus is clearly on Japanese cuisine, which is served in more than 60% of the selected restaurants. The major culinary styles are represented, including kaiseki, kappo, fugu, soba kaiseki, sushi, tempura, teppan yaki and unagi. The remaining 40% is comprised of French, Italian, Spanish, Chinese restaurants, etc.
In this first edition of a MICHELIN guide devoted to Asia, each hotel or restaurant is presented on a double-page spread. The left-hand page features pictures of the establishment, its classification and the number of stars received, while the right-hand page provides the reader with a description of the restaurant and its cuisine, a photo of the entrance and an access plan.
Thanks to a rigorous selection process that is applied independently and consistently around the world, the MICHELIN guide has become an international benchmark in gourmet dining. The selection is prepared by anonymous and experienced inspectors, Michelin employees, who pay their hotel and restaurant bills in full. This first selection was made by a team of five Japanese and European inspectors. In a city with some 160,000 restaurants, they pre- selected around 1,500 establishments and, after more than a year and a half of anonymous meals, narrowed down their selection to 150 restaurants.
The first MICHELIN guide was published in France in August 1900. Today, 108 years later, the collection comprises 21 guides covering 22 countries. In addition to 20 countries in Europe (since the addition of the first MICHELIN guide Austria in 2005), the collection also includes North America, which is covered through four guides: New York City (with the third edition released in early October 2007), San Francisco, Bay Area & Wine Country (a second edition released in late October), and Los Angeles and Las Vegas, whose first editions were released just a few days ago.
In Europe, the collection includes 16 guides, the most recent being the English versions of the MICHELIN guide France and the MICHELIN guide Paris, both aimed at the some 70 million people who visit France each year.
Two versions of the MICHELIN guide Tokyo 2008 are available -- a standard edition and a special boxed set that includes the Saga of the MICHELIN guide, a small volume filled with anecdotes relating the history of the guide from its origins in 1900 to the present.
The MICHELIN Guide Tokyo 2008 goes on sale, in France, at the beginning of February at the price of 14,50 euros.
MICHELIN Guide Tokyo 2008: the selection
Total
number of One star Two stars Three stars
restaurants (*) (**) (***)
150 117 25 8
Award Category Type of cuisine
of Comfort
***
Hamadaya Japanese
Joel Robuchon French contemporary
Kanda Japanese
Koju Japanese
L'Osier French
Quintessence French contemporary
Sukiyabashi Jiro Japanese sushi
Sushi Mizutani Japanese sushi
**
Aimee Vibert French
Cuisine(s) Michel Troisgros French contemporary
Daigo Japanese
Esaki Japanese
Fukudaya Japanese
Hishinuma Japanese
Ichimonji Japanese
Ishikawa Japanese
Kikunoi Japanese
Kogetsu Japanese
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon French contemporary
Le Mange-Tout French contemporary
Pierre Gagnaire French contemporary
Reikasai Chinese
Ristorante Aso Italian contemporary
Ryugin Japanese contemporary
Sant Pau Spanish contemporary
Sawada Japanese sushi
Sushi Kanesaka Japanese sushi
Taku Japanese sushi
Tsukiji Uemura Japanese
Tsukiji Yamamoto Japanese fugu
Twenty One French
Usukifugu Yamadaya Japanese fugu
Wako Japanese
*
Abe Japanese
Ajiman Japanese fugu
Aragawa Steakhouse
Arai Japanese
Arbace French
Argento Aso Italian contemporary
Aroma-Fresca Italian contemporary
Asagi Japanese tempura
Au Gout du Jour Nouvelle Ere French
Banrekiryukodo Japanese
Beige French contemporary
Benoit French contemporary
Chemins French contemporary
Chez Inno French
Chez Matsuo French
Chez Tomo French contemporary
Chikuyotei Japanese unagi
China Blue Chinese
Chugoku Hanten Fureika Chinese
Cogito French
Coucagno French contemporary
Crescent French
Cucina Hirata Italian
Dons de la Nature Steakhouse
Fukamachi Japanese tempura
Fukuju Japanese
Gastronomie Francaise Tateru Yoshino French contemporary
Ginza La Tour French
Ginza Sushiko Honten Japanese sushi
Hanasanshou Japanese
Harutaka Japanese sushi
Higuchi Japanese
Hinokizaka Japanese
Hiramatsu French
Hirosaku Japanese
Keyakizaka Japanese teppan yaki
Kikumi Japanese
Komuro Japanese
Kondo Japanese tempura
Kosetsu Japanese soba kaiseki
Kyubey Japanese sushi
La Bombance Japanese contemporary
La Cave Hiramatsu French
L'Alliance French contemporary
L'Anneau d'Or French
La Primula Italian contemporary
La Table de Joel Robuchon French contemporary
La Tour d'Argent French
La Tourelle French
Le Jeu de l'Assiette French contemporary
L'Embellir French contemporary
Les Creations de Narisawa French contemporary
Les Enfants Gates French
Le 6eme Sens French contemporary
Les Saisons French
Maison d'Umemoto Shang-hai Chinese
Maison Paul Bocuse French
Makimura Japanese
Minoichi Japanese
Miravile French
Momonoki Chinese
Monnalisa French
Morimoto XEX Japanese teppan yaki
Muroi Japanese
Mutsukari Japanese contemporary
Nadaman New Otani Japanese
Nadaman Sazanka So Japanese
Nakajima Japanese
Narukami French
Ogasawara Hakushakutei Spanish contemporary
Ohara et Cie French
Ohara's French
Ohno Japanese
Okina Japanese soba kaiseki
Ozaki Japanese
Piatto Suzuki Italian
Ristorante Hamasaki Italian contemporary
Ristorante Honda Italian contemporary
Sakuragaoka Japanese
Sakuragawa Japanese
Sankame Japanese
Sasada Japanese
Sazanka Japanese teppan yaki
Sekihotei Japanese
Shigeyoshi Japanese
Shin Japanese sushi
Shofukuro Japanese
Signature French contemporary
Sugawara Japanese
Sushi Nakamura Japanese sushi
Sushi Ohno Japanese sushi
Sushi Saito Japanese sushi
Sushisho Saito Japanese sushi
Suzuki Japanese
Tahara Japanese
Takeyabu Japanese soba kaiseki
Tateru Yoshino French contemporary
Tatsumura Japanese
The Georgian Club French
Tofuya Ukai Japanese
Tomura Japanese
Toyoda Japanese
Uchiyama Japanese
Ukai-Tei Japanese teppan yaki
Umi Japanese sushi
Uotoku Japanese
Waketokuyama Japanese
Yamane Japanese fugu
Yamasaki Japanese
Yebisu Japanese teppan yaki
Yokota Japanese tempura
Yonemura Japanese contemporary
Yoneyama Japanese
Yotaro Japanese tempura
Yukicho Japanese
Yukimura Japanese
Yuta Japanese sushi
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