Michelin Guide Tokyo 2020

The Michelin Guide has announced its selection for Tokyo 2020 and the Japanese city remains the city with the most Michelin starred restaurants in the world.

With 226 starred restaurants there is a wide range of cuisines, both Japanese and international to be found in the 2020 Michelin Guide to Tokyo, with the addition of one new three-star, three new two-star and 19 new one-star restaurants added to the guide.

Kadowaki (Minato-ku, Japanese cuisine) joins the ranks of the three-star restaurants in Tokyo, upgraded from two after 11 consecutive years in the second tier.

The other big news is that Sukiyabashi Jiro Honten, of Jiro Dreams of Sushi fame and which is the sushi restaurant of choice for visiting dignitaries, including President Obama in 2014, is no longer included in the Michelin Guide.

The restaurant, where the chef's selection starts at 40,000 yen ($360), is closed to public reservations so is therefore not eligible for inclusion. Sushi Saito, which held three stars in the 2019 edition also loses out for the same reason.

"We recognise Sukiyabashi Jiro does not accept reservations from the general public, which makes it out of our scope," said a spokeswoman from the Japanese branch of Michelin.

"It was not true to say the restaurant lost stars but it is not subject to coverage in our guide," she told AFP. "Michelin's policy is to introduce restaurants where everybody can go to eat."

Of the 11 three star restaurants on the Tokyo selection, three fo them have maintained their stars since the Guide’s first edition: Kanda (Japanese cuisine, Minato-ku), Quintessence (French cuisine, Shinagawa-ku), and Joël Robuchon (French cuisine, Meguro-ku).

Prisma, which first appeared in the 2019 guide, became the first Italian restaurant in Tokyo to be awarded two stars since 2011 and Iuna, a restaurant by Copenhagen’s Noma also gained a second star as did Ginza Shinohara (Japanese cuisine, Chuo-ku).