Hajime - Osaka
Some of the fine-dining world’s most stunning visual presentations - and they taste amazing, too
Taian - Osaka
A kaiseki-style meal with punchy flavors in a convivial counter setting. Maybe not quite meeting its three Michelin star level, but a fun experience nevertheless
Kikunoi Honten - Kyoto
Traditional kaiseki cuisine in a lovely setting with good service. Unfortunately the food didn’t live up to its three stars
Miyamaso - Kyoto
The beautiful and serene setting in the mountains is more compelling than the food at this three-Michelin-starred restaurant
Isshisoden Nakamura - Kyoto
Kaiseki-style cuisine with some outstanding signature dishes, but also several that fell far short of its three Michelin stars
Kahala - Osaka
Inventive, tasty dishes prepared by a chef who happily and liberally takes inspirations from many different cuisines
Hortensia - Tokyo
French cuisine with a menu structure that takes some inspiration from Japanese kaiseki. Some nice preparations, but also several dishes that felt too busy and somewhat uneven
Myoujyaku - Tokyo
A minimalist take on kaiseki cuisine, where most courses concentrate on only one or two ingredients
Hommage - Tokyo
Family-run French restaurant with Japanese ingredients. Great service, good main courses, weaker appetizers
Hanakoji Sawada - Sapporo
Kaiseki cuisine with local Hokkaido ingredients. Sadly nowhere close to the three Michelin stars it had in 2017
Moliere - Sapporo
French food with local ingredients was enjoyable, but didn’t quite live up to the three Michelin stars it once held
Sézanne - Tokyo
French cuisine with Chinese influences and Japanese ingredients. Consistently delicious and worthy of its three stars
Harutaka - Tokyo
Japan’s only current three-star sushi restaurant serves consistently delicious nigiri, but its appetizers are a bit more hit and miss
Gion Sasaki - Kyoto
Surprisingly bold flavors and inventive combinations of ingredients made for a stellar meal of Japanese Kaiseki. Watching the action in the large open kitchen was an additional treat
Makimura - Tokyo
One of the world’s hardest to reserve three-star restaurants was also one of its most charming. A cozy atmosphere akin to a mom-and-pop shop, and many excellent dishes made us almost forget the few letdowns
Maeda - Kyoto
Delicious, novel takes on traditional Japanese dishes. And even better, counter-seating with a wonderfully relaxed and friendly atmosphere.
Hyotei - Kyoto
An old-style tea house is the setting for a traditional Kaiseki cuisine that has very few nods to modernity. A pleasant dinner, but overall too light on flavors for three stars.
Mizai - Kyoto
Mostly traditional Kaiseki cuisine that is enjoyable, but didn’t include any real standout dishes. More impressive is the patience of the customers who made reservations over a year ahead of time
Azabu Kadowaki - Tokyo
Inventive Japanese cuisine full of non-traditional dishes, some of them better than others, but the successes were quite impressive. Even though the menu was pretty short, the restaurant still managed to rush us out
Sazenka - Tokyo
The world’s only Chinese three-star restaurant not located in a Chinese-speaking country. While the dishes might be familiar from “normal” Chinese restaurants, their execution and the ingredients are at a much higher level