Tokyo trumps Paris as gastronomic capital of the world, according to French guide

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Michelin's Guide Tokyo 2011 has honored 95 restaurants for offering outstanding "value for money," the majority of which serve local cuisine.

The new guide, which surveys restaurants in Tokyo, Yokohama and Kamakura, designated these restaurants as both "affordable" and excellent, Michelin announced on November 24.

According to the company, restaurants distinguished for value are star-rated and offer a menu for lunch or dinner costing less than ¥5,000 ($60). More than 70 percent of selected Kamakura restaurants qualified for this distinction, and roughly half of Yokohama venues.

The total number of restaurants rated in the Tokyo guide was 266 - with 14 three-star rated venues, 54 two-star rated venues and 198 one-star rated venues. More than 70 percent of the featured restaurants serve Japanese cuisine. The guide will be released in Japan (in Japanese) on November 27, and in France (in English) in early February 2011.

Tokyo is now the city with the most Michelin three-star rated restaurants in the world - trumping Paris, once considered the gastronomic capital of the world.

If ¥5,000 ($60) is not your idea of affordable, "100-yen" (about $1) sushi and ramen noodles shops abound in Tokyo, a city with an estimated 160,000 restaurants.

Kappa Sushi is a kaiten-zushi (sushi served on a rotating conveyor belt) chain found all over Japan: http://www.kappa-create.co.jp/

Here is a guide to the cheapest lunch deals in Tokyo: http://www.eatingoutintokyo.com/Lunch/

A blog dedicated to Tokyo's ramen noodle shops: http://www.ramentokyo.com/