Michelin named four new three-star restaurants in Tokyo on Wednesday, taking the total for Japan to 26, the same number as France, the home of the dining guide.
The Tokyo guide also includes the neighboring cities of Yokohama and Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, for the first time. The area is home to 14 restaurants with three stars, 54 with two and 198 with one. Last month, Michelin gave three stars to 12 establishments in western Japan.
"Japan has a wonderful legacy of chefs from one generation to the other," Jean-Luc Naret, director of the Michelin guides, said in Tokyo. "There's an incredible reservoir of talent. The large number of two-stars shows there are more chefs who will get to the top."