Big in Japan: Tokyo is world's top food city
Are you ready for today's Big in Japan trivia question?
Q: According to the Michelin Guide, what is the world's top city for good eating?
A: If you guessed Tokyo and not Paris, you are indeed correct!
Although for years Paris has won the coveted honor from the most highly respected food publication, this year Michelin Guide director Jean-Luc Naret decided to shake things up a bit.
According to Naret, himself a French man, "Tokyo is becoming the global city with the finest cuisine, the city in the world with the most stars."
So how badly was Paris bested?
Restaurants in Tokyo were awarded a total of 191 stars, nearly twice the amount awarded to Paris and more than three times the amount awarded to New York.
Tokyo's upstaging of Paris doesn't stop there.
Eight of Tokyo's restaurants won the maximum of three stars compared to six of Paris's restaurants. And, 25 restaurants in Tokyo were awarded two stars while a whopping 117 were awarded one star.
Still don't believe me that Tokyo has the best food in the world? Keep reading as the home of haute cuisine may no longer reside in France.
The final nail in the coffin came when Michelin Guide announced that three of the top eight restaurants in Tokyo serve French food.
Boasting a long love affair with French culture dating back over a century, Tokyo can now rest on its lau
rels as the city in the world offering the finest in French cuisine.
In case you were wondering, three of the other top restaurants in Tokyo serve kaiseki ryōri (懐石料理), which is a traditional multi-course Japanese dinner that is often compared to haute cuisine.
Kaiseki, which directly translates to "stone in the bosom," is a throwback to an ancient Zen Buddhist practice whereby fasting monks would stave off hunger by putting warm stones in the folds of their robes.
The term was later applied to the light vegetarian meals that were traditionally served after a tea ceremony, and eventually was attributed to the highly refined set-course meal that is today considered to be the pinnacle of the Japanese culinary world.
The other two of the top restaurants in Tokyo are traditional sushi houses, which specialize in the highest possible quality of fish that is selected daily f
rom nearby Tsukiji fish market. Both locales serve up the ocean's equivalent of Kobe beef, though sushi of this quality and grade doesn't come cheaply.
Since I'm a starving writer (quite literally!), I'm not in a position to review these restaurants. However, below is the complete list of Michelin three-star restaurants in Tokyo for anyone out there with more yen to burn than me!
Bon appétit! Or should I say - ittadakemasu!
Genyadana Hamadaya
Kaiseki
3-13-5 Nihonbashi Ningyo-cho Chuo-ku
03-3661-5940
Ginza Koju
Kaiseki
8-5-25 Ginza Chuo-ku
03-6215-9544
Joel Robuchon
French
Ebisu Garden Place 1-13-1 Mita Meguro-ku
03-5424-1347
Kanda
Kaiseki
3-6-34 Motoazabu Minato-ku, Tokyo
03-5786-0150
L'osier
French
7-5-5 Ginza Chuo-ku
03-3571-6050
Restaurant Quintessens
French
5-4-7 Shiroganedai Minato-ku
Sukiyabashi Jiro
Sushi
4-2-15 Ginza Chuo-ku
Sushi Mizutani
Sushi
8-2-10 Ginza Chuo-ku
Gettoing hungry? Check out the delicious food gallery below:
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dec 6th 2007 @ 1:11AM
Megano said...
dude, that's funny that 3 of the restaurants are french. still I'm glad I'm norwegian, somehow sushi looks really gross, ramen is much better looking
Reply
Dec 9th 2007 @ 2:39PM
vixen said...
Japanese food is the worst! Raw tuna with parasites crawling out of it! (True, seen at the best sushi restaurant in L.A.). Cruel food with sea animals killed at your table. Wasteful murderous food, with sharks getting their fins chopped off, and then thrown back into the sea to die slowly; baby whales getting murdered for food, etc. etc. etc.
Reply
Dec 9th 2007 @ 7:17PM
Art said...
Vixen, Sharkfin soup is Chinese cuisine not Japanese. How about calves and lambs being killed for food in this country? Peace.
Dec 9th 2007 @ 6:45PM
stella said...
I could not agree with you more
Dec 9th 2007 @ 6:28PM
Chris said...
Wow, vixen, good job demonstrating your ignorance to everyone on the web. Just because a food doesn't appeal to you, that doesn't make you culturally superior. While I agree that the extreme end of Japanese food creates excessive waste, the same can be said about practices found in nearly every other culture. It's unfair to dismiss a an entire culinary tradition because of your personal feelings towards it.
Reply
Dec 9th 2007 @ 6:40PM
stella said...
I totally and honestly doubt, having travelled extensively, in france and europe and tasting a variety of foods that JAPAN is now ranked as number one. Taken a trip to Italy or France lately? I reccomend you do, actually do that after you had "Haute Japanes Cuisine" if that even exists. N0t to mention, Sushi really is Very gross and lacks in variety, but besides that i mean how many ways can you really eat sushi.?Lets compare to the many European dishes that we have...hmmmm not too hard to decide which is better/
Reply
Dec 9th 2007 @ 6:54PM
hawg2005 said...
I am from louisiana, and if you think tokyo has the best food yall are all idiots!
Reply
Dec 9th 2007 @ 6:59PM
hawg2005 said...
japanese food sucks
Reply
Dec 9th 2007 @ 7:21PM
maliengus said...
Can you say: total lack of reading comprehension? Tokyo did not get this distinction because of
just "Japanese food." I guess you guys COMPLETELY missed the part about FRENCH food? Tokyo is an incredible melting pot, there are millions of people from every corner of the world that call Tokyo home. It is this very dynamic that singles Tokyo out as a mecca for world cuisine. There are five star restaurants in Tokyo that run the gamut -- from French, to Italian to Indian to Latin and beyond.
Reply
Dec 9th 2007 @ 7:39PM
Patrick W. Crabtree said...
NOBODY cooks better than ME!
Reply
Dec 9th 2007 @ 7:49PM
Cindy S. said...
I am also from Louisiana and I agree with hawg2005. I seriously DOUBT that Japan has the best food in the world. Most of their food is ALIVE and UNSEASONED for goodness sake!!!!!! Whoever voted for this place really needs to come down to Louisiana and get a taste of some food that will slap your momma, kill the cat, and throw the dog outside!
Reply
Dec 9th 2007 @ 7:56PM
A RODRIGUEZ said...
Yummy!
Reply
Dec 9th 2007 @ 8:42PM
Yves said...
Did "Les Francais" Ever viciously attack Pearl Harbor, and Can The Japanese make Champagne?
Reply
Dec 9th 2007 @ 8:48PM
YVES said...
Did "Les Francais" viciously attack Pearl Harbor? & Are they able to make fine wine or Champagne? NON!
Reply
Dec 9th 2007 @ 10:42PM
Mr. Natural said...
The number of points a city has in the Michelin Guide is by no means the decider as to which city is the best place to eat or has the best food. How can it be? Cities vary greatly by size, including those at the top of the list.
The best city in which to eat is New Orleans. Its small, relatively speaking, and has an inordinate amount of xlnt, outstanding and unbelieveable restaurants. Does it have more great places than a city 30 or 40 times its size? Does it have more Michelin Stars than a city 40 times larger? Who cares?
New York, Paris and the San Francisco Bay area are the next three best places to eat. Put them in whatever order you feel they belong. Their reputations speak for themselves. Any kind of food is available almost any time of the day. They are great places to eat.....I won't bother with the order in which you place them because I am .... off to New Orleans....sure hope it comes all the way back, but it doesn't look good at this point.
Reply
Dec 10th 2007 @ 10:56AM
Jennifer Mackesey said...
I wondered whether Tokyo restaurants were awarded points for Fresh Dolphin Meat?
I am sure the village of Futo profits with sales to some restaurants in their continuous slaughter of Dolphins.
I am only one individual however I will not be having dinner or recommend to friends any Tokyo restaurant until Japan stops the cruel torture of these highly intelligent animals.
Reply
Dec 10th 2007 @ 12:14PM
ruserious said...
Are you joking??? Or just plain ignorant???
First off, last time I checked, Louisiana was a state NOT a city. Second of all, NO place in the U.S has better restaurants than NYC!!!!!
Reply
Dec 10th 2007 @ 12:38AM
Ty said...
A third person here (from Louisiana). Noone ever said that Louisiana was a city. That, in itself, was an ignorant comment. It really doesn't matter who thinks what city, state, or country has the best food--it's all subjective anyway. But seriously, New Orleans, Louisiana (any city in this state counts) puts up some fierce competition as far as good food goes.
Mar 26th 2008 @ 8:28PM
Chris said...
San Francisco does.
Jan 23rd 2008 @ 10:25AM
Jin said...
you guys trip me out with this omg they kill animals Shit YOUR COUNTRY DOES TO SO STFU, wow such fucking hypocrites no wonder they call yall the most ignorant country
Reply