Tokyo >> Tokyo has once again been hailed as the culinary capital of the world, holding on to its coveted spot as the city with the most Michelin-starred restaurants on the planet.

Japan’s capital, which in the 2019 Tokyo Michelin Guide boasts 230 restaurants with the prestigious stars, has held on as the world’s preeminent culinary destination, even when compared to the likes of Paris.

While 10 three-star restaurants are located in the French capital, Tokyo has 13.

Paris has 16 and 92 two- and one-star restaurants, respectively, to Tokyo’s 52 and 165.

Among new entries in the guide’s Bib Gourmand category, given to eateries that offer “quality food at affordable prices” of about $44 or less, is Onigiri Asakusa Yadoroku in Taito Ward, making it the first restaurant with a focus on rice balls to be included in the Tokyo Michelin Guide.

“Our mission to provide high-quality information that allows people to enjoy mobility and travel has not changed since the Michelin Guide was first published in France in 1900,” said Paul Perriniaux, Michelin’s Japan and Korea regional director, during a news conference. “To go further, to have more fun, to experience new things.

“With these things in mind, we have chosen restaurants, eateries and food establishments to be included in the selection of our 2019 Tokyo Michelin Guide.”

A total of 484 restaurants have been selected for the 2019 Tokyo Michelin Guide, including 254 establishments that were awarded a Bib Gourmand.

Gwendal Poullennec, Michelin Guide International Director, said that Tokyo has “come to lead the world in gastronomy” since the guide was first published in the city in 2007.

“Tokyo’s restaurant scene is unique in having a richness of culinary variety seen nowhere else,” Poullennec said.

“Here in Tokyo, we tend to forget how incredible it is as a gastronomy destination because the city has so many three-star restaurants.”

Yoshikazu Ono, son of Jiro Ono, the owner and operator of famed Sukiyabashi Jiro Honten, attended an announcement party following the news conference along with other three-star restaurant owners and chefs.

Sukiyabashi Jiro Honten became a world-renowned sushi restaurant after the 2011 release of the documentary “Jiro Dreams of Sushi.”