Michelin puts Hokkaido on the gastronomic map
The inspectors behind the Michelin restaurant and hotel guide have discovered the delights of Hokkaido, with four restaurants earning the coveted three stars in the inaugural edition of the guide to Japan's most northerly main island.
The guide will go on sale on April 20 and is in part designed to mark the fifth anniversary since the very first Michelin Guide to Japan was released.
The guides have caused a degree of controversy since their launch, with Japanese chefs asking whether foreigners are fully able to appreciate traditional Japanese cuisine, while eyebrows have also been raised over the amount of stars dished out to restaurants here. Some 36 restaurants in Japan have been awarded three stars, compared to 26 in France, 10 in the United States and four in the UK.
The Michelin Guide 2012 for Hokkaido lists 699 restaurants and hotels, sampling everything from simple noodle restaurants through establishments that specialize in curry dishes, meat serves on skewers, pork "ramen" and seafood, as well as Spanish, French and other Western cuisine.
The four venues declared worthy of four stars are the sushi restaurants Nukumi and Sushi Tanabe, which are both in Sapporo, the biggest city on the largely rural island. Moliere, which serves French cuisine, is also in Sapporo -- which is synonymous with the brand of beer -- while Michel Bras Toya Japan, in the town of lakeside Toyako, also specializes in French dishes.
A further 12 establishments were awarded two stars, while 50 hotels and restaurants received one star -- with Michelin enthusing over the prefecture's "treasury" of food.
With a great deal of its land given over to agriculture and the waters off its coastline known for their rich harvest, Japanese have long been aware of Hokkaido's impressive heritage of high-quality cuisine.
Sapporo was recently identified as the fifth-best city in Asia for food and wine by Tripadvisor Travellers' Choice, putting it ahead of Tokyo and Osaka.
JR
