According to the Japanese National Tourist Organisation, the newly published 2009 Michelin Guide to Tokyo has confirmed Tokyo as the world’s culinary capital.

Tokyo was also awarded 36 further Michelin stars in next year’s guide, which makes its total number of Michelin recognised venues a grand 203. This consists of thirty hotels and 173 restaurants.

Nine of the restaurants in Tokyo now have 3 Michelin stars, which is the same as Paris has, whilst 36 have 2 stars and 128 have the award once.

Now that Tokyo has 227 stars in total, it has apparently been recognised by Michelin more times than any other city in the world.

Jean-Luc Naret, director of Michelin Guides, said: ‘Tokyo’s gastronomy has improved and evolved in the course of the year and the rise in stars shows that. There is great potential in Tokyo and it can get even more stars.’

Michelin publishes new guides each year through evaluating restaurants and hotels anonymously. It re-evaluates those already included as well as new places.

In its 2009 Guide to Tokyo, Michelin also offers a more detailed guide to the city bu including 5 additional wards, or ‘ku’, of the city than previously detailed in their 2008 guide.

The National Tourist Organisation in Japan has announced that travellers will be able to get a quicker transfer from Tokyo’s Narita international airport and central Tokyo from 2010.

This is because the Keisei Skyliner, the predominant form of transport from the airport to the city and vice versa, along with the Narita Express, will be shortening the travel time to approximately 30 minutes.

The current journey takes more than 45 minutes, so this represents a reduction of around 15 minutes.  This reduction is possible because of the planned introduction of new rail cars capable of operating at 160km/h on high speed tracks.

Aside from the Shinkansen bullet train, this will make these tracks the fastest in the country.

Another new development is a new terminal that is schedule to open in Nippori, just ten minutes from Tokyo station, which will give more convenient access.

These improvements are not all about speed though, because Keisei Railway has approached Kansai Yamamoto, one of the most famous fashion designers in Japan, to help them improve the design of the train in terms of luggage space, comfort, appearance and functionality.

Finnair is set to boost flight connections between the Far East and Europe in 2010 as they have announced their intention to launch daily flights to Tokyo.

Finnair claim that this will be ‘an important milestone’, and will be increasing its number of flights on a weekly basis from Finland to Japan to 24 per week.

Earlier this month, the two countries reached an agreement that will allow Finnair to increase its number of flights to all its Japanese destinations, including Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo.

Mika Perho of Finnair said:

‘Even in financially difficult times, we must also look purposefully towards future earning opportunities. Receiving additional flights to Japan shows that Finnair’s Asian strategy is moving forward.  Our goal is to establish daily connections to all of our Asian destinations, and in this we have now succeeded with regard to Tokyo and Nagoya. We can now offer our customers more efficient flight connections than in the past and better service.’

He added that operating a daily flight to Tokyo had been the goal for the airline for the last twenty years and the development will mean further cooperation is required between Finnair and their oneworld alliance partner, Japan Airlines.

It was on this date, 20th May, when Tokyo Narita International Airport first opened its doors and today, it celebrates its 30th anniversary.

In those thirty years, Tokyo Narita airport has had 680 million passengers and handled 41 million tonnes of cargo.  Tokyo Narita competes with other major airports in Japan, including Tokyo Haneda, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka.

Tokya Narita Airport’s first runway is over 4,000 metres in length and yet the full length has still to be used.  Development is still under way and should be completed in 2010.   By then, the airport will be able to handled approximately 220,000 flights per annum.

To celebrate the anniversary, Singapore Airlines operated the first flight to to Nakira on the Airbus 380.  Next year, Air France will also be running a service to Nakira using the Airbus 380.

Prices of flights to Japan are competitive, with flights offered by European airlines such as British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, KLM and Lufthansa.

Tokyo makes a great city break as a stopover or as a holiday destination on its own, with plenty to attract the tourists.

Mount Fuji, also known as Fuji-san to the Japanese, is one of Japan’s most recognisable features.  It is located approximately 60 miles west of Tokyo.

The Japanese say Fuji-san is their most sacred mountain.  It is actually a volcano and is dormant, not extinct.  It hasn’t erupted since 1707 and is a great tourist attraction.

If you wish to take the climb, it is traditional to set off from the small town called Fuji-Yoshido and it takes 11 to 12 hours to reach the summit!  Most people prefer to be at the summit for dawn and at night, you can see a line of torches looking almost like lava down the side of the mountain. (more…)

Think of Tokyo and chances are you’ll be picturing a bright, bold and bustling city. You’d be absolutely right, but Tokyo is a place where pop culture and ancient temples exist together. It’s a balance between towering skyscrapers and little wooden huts. You don’t have to go far outside of Tokyo to really feel like you’ve hit the country.

Things to do

Don’t miss the Imperial Palace Garden East, especially if you visit in the spring or summer. It’s located In Chiyoda

Whilst you’re there, next door is one of Tokyo’s oldest and most prestigious department stores, Ginza. Smaller shops also stock local designers clothes if you want a little upmarket shopping.

The Metropolitan Museum of Contemporary Art holds the world’s largest collection of Japanese art

Don’t leave without eating at one of Tokyo’s noodle bars or trying Kaisekiryori, one of Japan’s more traditional dishes

Flight times are eleven to twelve hours, but it’s well worth it. English is widely spoken so don’t worry about the translation issues. They’re nine hours ahead and the weather is hot and humid in the summer and mild in the winter.