In 2024, There Are No Longer Any Michelin-Starred Ramen Restaurants
When Michelin released its 2024 Tokyo guide, fans of the city's food scene were left in shock. Restaurants in the Japanese capital were awarded 23 fewer stars than in the previous year's guide, and a full 17 restaurants were dropped from the guide altogether, bringing Tokyo's total number of Michelin-starred eateries down from 200 to 183. This loss included three ramen restaurants that happened to be the only Michelin-starred ramen restaurants in the world: Ginza Hachigou, Konjiki Hototogisu, and Nakiryu.
Despite its rich history and broad appeal, ramen has historically been overlooked by the Michelin Guide. Aside from the three restaurants that just lost their stars, only one other ramen shop has ever received such an honor from the Michelin Guide: Tokyo's Tsuta, which became the world's first Michelin-starred ramen restaurant in 2015, eight years after Michelin first began reviewing restaurants in Japan.
Tokyo has ranked as the most affordable city for Michelin-star dining for a number of years now, but the recent cuts from the Tokyo guide won't be doing anything to help counter Michelin's controversial reputation for favoring expensive restaurants. With sushi typically falling in the high price bracket, noodle shops have historically anchored the affordable end of the Michelin Guide in Tokyo. Michelin is notoriously secretive about their selection process, and it's unclear why Ginza Hachigou, Konjiki Hototogisu, and Nakiryu lost their stars; but they will still be featured in the guide, just under a different section.
Michelin honors a handful of ramen restaurants with the Bib Gourmand
The three ramen restaurants that lost Michelin stars this year are still highly-regarded, and in fact, they're still featured in the Michelin Guide as winners of the Bib Gourmand, an award that singles out quality dining options for those on a budget. While it's good to see these masters of their craft honored in any capacity, changing these three noodle houses from Michelin-starred eateries to Bib Gourmand winners reinforces the idea that Michelin stars are as much about fitting within a certain economic bracket as they are about the food itself.
As the Michelin Guide continues to fluctuate, Ginza Hachigou will continue serving its iconic broth, made with a unique combination of chicken, duck, pork, and scallops. Konjiki Hototogisu will keep dishing up what is arguably the city's best soba, bathed in an umami-rich seafood broth. And Nakiryu will continue to dazzle diners with its tan tan ramen, an adaptation of the famous Sichuan dan dan mian — a noodle dish in a spicy chili broth. All three restaurants will serve you a meal for around $10, and perhaps now the infamously long wait times (typically over two hours) will ease up a little.