Tokyo's Ramen Restaurants Lose All Michelin Stars
Tokyo no longer has any Michelin-starred ramen restaurants, after the prestigious food guide published its 2024 edition.
In fact, TimeOut noticed that there isn't a single Michelin-starred ramen restaurant anywhere in the world this year.
Since Tsuta in Tokyo's Sugamo area was given a Michelin star in 2015, three of the city's other ramen restaurants were able to earn stars in later editions of the guide.
But although Tokyo is still the city with the most Michelin stars in the world, it now has just 240 in total, down from 263 in 2023.
The number of Tokyo restaurants with at least one Michelin star has also fallen, from 200 in 2023 to 183 in 2024 — with none of the city's ramen restaurants being given any stars at all.
However, 19 ramen shops can be found in Michelin's Bib Gourmand list, which recognizes restaurants that offer excellent food at reasonable prices.
Restaurants with Michelin stars attract tourists from around the world, but not all restaurant owners think those stars are important.
After all, there are lots of different ways to recognize quality.
Hiromitsu Mizuhara runs six ramen shops in the Japanese capital, and he says the list that matters to him is the Hyakumeiten.
The Hyakumeiten lists the most popular restaurants in Japan in different categories, based on reviews on restaurant-finder app Tabelog.
"Entering the Hyakumeiten is important when running a ramen restaurant," he told South China Morning Post. "It is even more important than being included in the Michelin Guide."
There are more than 50,000 ramen shops on Tabelog, and the ramen Hyakumeiten has separate lists for the best restaurants in Tokyo, Osaka, East Japan and West Japan.
Tabelog also gives bronze, silver and gold awards to the country's restaurants — similar to Michelin's system of giving one, two or three stars.
