Tokyo: It's the world's greatest dining city. Twenty years ago this assertion — one I delighted in dropping into conversations whenever possible — would have been met with bemusement if not ridicule, especially among the gourmets of Paris or New York. These days, few seriously dispute it. In terms of both quantity and quality — the sheer number of restaurants and the depth of Japanese food culture — nowhere else comes close.
So what happened to change perceptions on a global scale? First, thanks to the sushi boom of the '80s, Japanese cuisine is no longer considered exotic. Even seaweed has gone mainstream.
Second, there were the stars. The word was already out among chefs and adventurous gourmets in the know, but it was the first Michelin guide to Tokyo, published in 2007, that eventually triggered the wave of gastro-tourism to Japan.