[/floatr]There's a lengthy piece in the Asahi (Japanese) about how the Michelin Guide is finding some resistance in Kyoto. Michelin won't reveal their precise plans but a spokesman did confirm the company's intention to compile more guides to Asian cities in the future and the article claims that they have been working on one for Kyoto. Apparently, the researchers are not getting the co-operation of restaurants they wish to include. The report tells of how Michelin asked one well-known restaurateur for permission to photograph his place. He refused, saying that his establishment wasn't just about the food, it also was about the way he sprinkled water in his entranceway and tended to his garden which was all part of a culture and traditions the French investigators couldn't appreciate. Kyoto Kitcho's head chef, Kunio Tokuoka, was receptive to the idea of being rated, saying that people increasingly want to make global comparisons and he would be happy to get a star. Nevertheless, his restaurant also turned down the photographers to keep solidarity. Since the restaurants have co-existed for some time, some owners are reluctant to break ranks by agreeing to be included in the guide. Association board chairman Satake says that many places have established their reputations over hundreds of years but Michelin's inspectors want to assess them year by year. In sports terms, he says they are running a marathon relay (ekiden) while the Michelin people want to judge them in a 100m sprint. One food critic notes that there were three Japanese cuisine selections among the eight top-ranked Tokyo restaurants and speculates that Kyoto should have as many as fifteen by the same standards. Some Tokyo restaurants also did not give their permission to be included in the guide but, overall, they were not especially missed. However, another critic says that a Kyoto guide without all these top restaurants would be almost meaningless. He believes the unofficial boycott goes against the mood of internationalization and efforts to promote Kyoto as a tourist attraction. On the other hand, the Asahi piece quotes a Kyoto journalist who thinks the refusal of the restaurants is very typical reaction for the city. He says that the one of the charms of many of these places is that they don't accept first-time customers. Instead, you have to be introduced by a regular customer before you are allowed to come by yourself or bring your own guests. Prime Ministers have even been refused entry on those grounds before (which might say as much about the status of that office as it does about the exclusivity of the restaurants). The journalist argues that this means that the Michelin guide is not appropriate because not just any customer can get in.See also FG Thread: Michelin Guide Unveils Top Tokyo Restaurants
