Nihon Michelin Tire Co., Ltd （Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan） Managing & Representative Director Paul Perriniaux is pleased to unveil the Michelin Guide Kyoto Osaka + Okayama 2021. The addition of the Okayama selection is limited to this year’s guide only. The Guide will go on sale on 9th October. Prior to that, the Okayama selection will be announced today, on 2nd October.
Okayama is the 25th area in Japan and our full-time inspectors has covered the prefecture searching far and wide before making the following selection: 193 restaurants, 5 ryokans & 6 hotels making it a total of 204 establishments.
As a world leader in sustainable mobility, this year Michelin will shed light on the efforts of restaurants at the forefront of practicing sustainable gastronomy in the MICHELIN Guide. On top of evaluating an establishment on the basis of gastronomic criteria relating to what is on the plate, our inspectors have also considered the entire ecosystem of a restaurant and have gathered information about chefs’ practices and their philosophy on sustainable gastronomy. To highlight the best and most innovative practices in the profession, we have introduced the Green Star. In addition, Michelin Guide Kyoto Osaka + Okayama 2021 also includes establishments that are making Positive Steps towards a Green Star.
Highlights of Okayama:
- 2 Two Star restaurants:
Kuikiri Ryori Happo (Japanese cuisine); a kappo restaurant in Okayama City whose cooking style is similar to that in Osaka, where kelp is used in carefully selected ingredients to serve salt-based dishes.
Sushi En (Sushi); using mainly fish from Seto Inland Sea, this sushi restaurant in Okayama City creates sushi rich in originality.
- One Star restaurants includes 10 Japanese cuisine restaurants, 3 sushi, 3 Italian restaurants, 1 Chinese restaurant and 1 French restaurant.
Among them is the Italian restaurant, Kashirajima Restaurant Cucina Terada. As a Green Star restaurant, it opened on the island in partnership with Bizen City to revitalise the area. It sources produce locally using seafood from Hinase fishermen and vegetables and rice grown in the neighbourhood.
- 28 Bib Gourmands were listed in 12 different cuisine types from 7 municipalities.
- There are 8 Green Stars and 6 restaurants taking Positive Steps towards sustainability. Among them are restaurants that actively source self-cultivated pesticide-free grains and vegetables, work on reduction of food waste, compost food waste, source produce locally and care about environmental conservation.
- Many restaurants listed offer a wide variety of local dishes using seafood from Seto Inland Sea like sardines, Sawara (Spanish mackerel), octopus, oysters, mantis shrimp and other dishes like bara-sushi, demi cutlet rice bowl, Hiruzen fried noodles, grilled innards udon and more. Octopus Cuisine makes its debut as a new cuisine type.
The Okayama 2021 Star Restaurant selection list
Two MICHELIN Stars
Kuikiriryori Happo 喰切料理 八方
Sushi En 鮨 縁
One MICHELIN Star
Aoi あおい
Ajisobo Mugi 味創房 麦
Acca アッカ
Uosho 魚祥
Essere エッセレ
Oryori Sugi 御料理 椙
Kaiseki Shoichiro 懐石 昇一楼
Kashirajima Restaurant Cucina Terada 頭島レストラン クチーナ テラダ
Kurashiki Ichie 倉敷 一会
Shoun 祥雲
Hasunomi はすのみ
Bricole ブリコール
Honami 穂浪
Matsuzushi 松寿司
Yamazato 山里
Yamamoto 山もと
Rakushunsai Sato 楽旬菜 佐とう
Lionni レオーニ
The full selection of the MICHELIN Guide Kyoto Osaka + Okayama 2021 will be released on 9 October 2020 at the retail price of 3,180 Japanese yen (excluding tax). As mentioned in previous press releases, there will be no publication launch party which usually precedes the release of the Guide. Instead the selection announcement can be streamed online. This year selection announcement will be released on 6 October 2020 on the Michelin Guide Asia YouTube channel.
