MICHELIN Guide Kyoto Osaka Kobe Nara 2012: 15 restaurants with three stars, 61 with two stars (include 2 ryokans), and 224 with 1 star (include 2 ryokans)

Michelin is pleased to announce today the MICHELIN guide Kyoto Osaka Kobe Nara 2012, which offers a selection of the best hotels and restaurants in these four cities. The guide introduces a total of 385 establishments of which 296 restaurants, 48 hotels and 41 ryokans. Available in Japanese and English version, the MICHELIN guide Kyoto Osaka Kobe Nara 2012 goes on sale in Japan on October 21st.

In the MICHELIN guide Kyoto Osaka Kobe Nara 2012 selection:-

• 15 restaurants earned three stars (7 in Kyoto, 5 in Osaka, 2 in Kobe and 1 in Nara)

– Wa Yamamura from newly added, Nara, has gained three stars

– Two restaurants from Osaka, Fujiya 1935 and Koryu, have been promoted fromtwo to three stars.

• 59 restaurants earned two stars (29 in Kyoto, 15 in Osaka, 12 in Kobe and 3 in Nara) and 2 ryokans (all in Kyoto)

– 7 restaurants (1 in Kyoto, 2 in Osaka, 1 in Kobe and 3 in Nara) join the selection with two stars.

– 11 restaurants (7 in Kyoto, 3 in Osaka and 1 in Kobe) are promoted from one star to two stars.

• 222 restaurants earned one star (70 in Kyoto, 88 in Osaka, 43 in Kobe and 21 in Nara) and 2 ryokan (1 in Kyoto and 1 in Kobe)

– 61 restaurants join in the selection with one star (11 in Kyoto, 19 in Osaka, 10 in Kobe and 21 in Nara)_

-1 Korean Restaurant has newly joint our selection with one star (Osaka).

From the new area, Nara, 1 three stars, 3 two stars and 21 one star has been selected.

And 2 new three stars join the MICHELIN guide Kyoto Osaka Kobe Nara 2012 selection.

With this, the total number of three stars restaurants in the world has been raised to 101 (2) and 15 of them are in this guide. (2) As of October 18th and including MICHELIN guide New York City).

In the MICHELIN guide Kyoto Osaka Kobe Nara 2012 the selection has been enriched by the addition of a Korean restaurant with one star. In this year’s guide, 90% of the selection is made up of Japanese restaurants and includes traditional Japanese, soba, kushiage, Japanese contemporary, teppanyaki, sushi, yakitori, tempura, fugu, sukiyaki, oden, obanzai, shojin, yuba, and beef specialties, chicken specialties. The remaining is comprised of Steakhouse, French, French Contemporary, Fusion, Italian and Chinese.

Michelin updates the MICHELIN guides every year in order to provide most reliable information possible to our readers. All the restaurants and hotels selected in the previous edition are reexamined, and establishments which are not selected and which could be interesting for our readers are also inspected. Just after the launch of 2012 edition, Michelin inspectors, employees of Michelin, who have professional knowledge of hospitality industry and pay all their bills in full, have been anonymously evaluating restaurants and hotels for the next year’s selection.

In Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe and Nara, as in the 22 other countries covered by the MICHELIN guide, a consistent selection is ensured by awarding stars based on the same criteria. Stars in the MICHELIN guides have same value in all over the world meaning that a one star restaurant in Nara has the same quality as a one-star establishment in New York or Paris. The same five criteria are used for awarding stars whatever the country or the city: 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.

Stars apply only to “what’s in the plate,” meaning the quality of the cooking.

• Three stars mean exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey.

• Two stars mean excellent cooking, worth a detour.

• One star means a very good restaurant in its category.

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.  The comfort of restaurants, such as beauty of interior/exterior and hospitality, is classified by fork-and-spoon symbols.  Pavilions mean the comfort for hotels and the comfort for “Ryokan”.

Bernard Delmas, President of Nihon Michelin Tire expressed, “We are very pleased to present today the new MICHELIN guide Kyoto Osaka Kobe Nara 2012. This year we have discovered new stars in the newly added area, Nara, as well as in Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe which were already covered in 2011 edition. Japan is a unique country where many cities have a very high level cuisine. This is why, even though we have reached the 5th year anniversary of Michelin guide in Japan, we continue to discover new stars to introduce to our readers. We hope that this guide will bring wonderful times to the readers and that they will, in turn, discover the charm of Kansai area.”

The first MICHELIN guide France was published in August 1900. Distributed free of charge (until 1920) and originally intended for chauffeurs, the guide contained a wealth of practical information, including tips on using and repairing tires, city street maps, and lists of gasoline outlets, hotels and mechanics. For the Michelin brothers, the objective was to speed the development of the automobile, and consequently the tire market. They wanted to promote and improve travel by making it safer and more enjoyable—in other words, by enhancing mobility, which is still today the common goal of Michelin’s maps, guides, at lases and other publications.

Every year, in more than 90 countries around the world, Michelin publishes some 10 million maps, atlases, tourist guides, and restaurant and hotel guides—always with the same focus on quality. Last year, more than 1 million copies of the MICHELIN guide were sold worldwide.