Michelin Guide 2015 in 3 minutes

The unveiling of the Michelin Guide's Tokyo edition is always a hotly anticipated event in the foodie universe, and with good reason – the Eastern Capital has ranked number one in the world for most three-star restaurants since 2009. We're happy to report that the streak holds: the guide for 2015 was unveiled on December 2, and 12 restaurants were awarded the top rating – three more than the nine found in Paris. Still, for the second year in a row, Tokyo dropped one three-star, and the heady heights of 17 back in 2012 are starting to look like an anomaly. The 2015 guide also lists 53 two-star joints (down from 59 last year) and 161 one-star places (208 in 2014).

The happiest chef in Tokyo this year just might be Akio Makimura, whose eponymous kappo establishment in Omori was the sole new restaurant in the three-star club, up from two stars last year. On the other hand, Ginza's Mizutani and Koju had the misfortune of falling down to two stars. Two completely new two-star places were recognised, namely Ginza's Ichigo and the second coming of L’Osier (inside the renovated Shiseido building), while Nishi-Azabu's L'Effervescence, Spanish-Japanese gem Zurriola and masterful sushi hideout Harutaka were promoted from the one-star to the two-star category. More interestingly for budget-conscious diners, the popular Bib Gourmand section doubled in size for this year, now listing 325 restaurants serving excellent-value Japanese, French or Italian cuisine for under ¥5,000 per head.

The printed guide will, once again, only be available in Japanese, but fear not: marking a first for Tokyo, all of this year's listings can be accessed online in both English and Japanese at this site: http://gm.gnavi.co.jp/home/.

Here's the complete list of restaurants that have been awarded three stars in the Michelin Guide Tokyo 2015:

Japanese Azabu Yukimura
Modern Japanese Esaki
Japanese Ishikawa
Modern French Joël Robuchon
Japanese Kanda
NEW Japanese Makimura
Modern French Quintessence
Modern Japanese Ryugin
Sushi Sukiyabashi Jiro Honten
Sushi Sushi Saito
Sushi Sushi Yoshitake
Fugu Usukifugu Yamadaya