23 April 2026
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On April 23, we announced the full selection of The MICHELIN Guide Kyoto Osaka 2026. This year, Kyoto welcomed a new Three-MICHELIN-Star restaurant for the first time in six years. Across Kyoto and Osaka, five restaurants newly received Two MICHELIN Stars and 19 newly received One MICHELIN Star. Twelve restaurants were also newly added to the Bib Gourmand selection, bringing the total number of restaurants in the guide to 479. This year also marks the first Sommelier Award for the Kyoto Osaka area, alongside the Mentor Chef Award and Service Award.
In Kyoto, the ryokan Miyamaso newly received Three MICHELIN Stars. It is the first new Three-MICHELIN-Star restaurant in Kyoto and Osaka since the 2020 edition, bringing the number of Three-MICHELIN-Star restaurants in Kyoto to six. First awarded One MICHELIN Star in the inaugural 2010 edition and Two MICHELIN Stars the following year, Miyamaso has also held a Green Star since the 2021 edition. The restaurant is known for cuisine that draws on the blessings of satoyama, including wild mountain vegetables foraged by the chef himself, river fish, mushrooms, and game. Its seasonal menu, crafted with nearby ingredients, is another defining feature, reflecting the changing moods of the seasons.
Five restaurants newly received Two MICHELIN Stars: four in Kyoto — Doppo, Higashiyama Yoshihisa, Muromachi Yui, and Tokuha Motonari — and one in Osaka, Teruya. The result once again highlights the depth of Japanese cuisine in the region. Nineteen restaurants newly received One MICHELIN Star, including 12 in Kyoto and seven in Osaka, bringing new additions to both cities.
Twelve new Bib Gourmand restaurants were also added, with three in Kyoto and nine in Osaka. This year’s selection marks the first Sommelier Award for the Kyoto Osaka area, presented to Miki Tanaka, owner-sommelier of LOUISE in Osaka. The Mentor Chef Award went to Hideaki Matsuo of Kashiwaya Osaka Senriyama in Osaka, and the Service Award was presented to Yuko Kuwamura of Kodaiji Wakuden in Kyoto.
Related: What is a MICHELIN Star?
Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of The MICHELIN Guide, commented on this year’s selection:
“the new selection is further proof of Kyoto and Osaka’s continued evolution. The dynamic results surprised our inspectors. Even as we mark 100 years since the MICHELIN Stars were first introduced to highlight outstanding cuisine, we continue to recommend restaurants through our distinctive, consistent methodology. At the same time, we offer a hotel selection recognized by MICHELIN Keys, and this year we are also introducing outstanding wine producers with MICHELIN Grapes. We will continue to evolve throughout this century, with the aim of becoming a one-of-a-kind digital platform that supports richer experiences for our users.”
The MICHELIN Guide Kyoto Osaka 2026 at a Glance
Total selection: 479 restaurants
Kyoto: 244 restaurants
Three MICHELIN Stars: 6 (including 1 promoted)
Two MICHELIN Stars: 19 (including 4 promoted)
One MICHELIN Star: 73 (including 5 promoted, 7 new)
Bib Gourmand: 47 (including 3 new)
MICHELIN Selected: 99 (including 14 new)
Green Star: 10
Osaka: 235 restaurants
Three MICHELIN Stars: 3
Two MICHELIN Stars: 12 (including 1 promoted)
One MICHELIN Star: 66 (including 3 promoted, 4 new)
Bib Gourmand: 59 (including 9 new)
MICHELIN Selected: 95 (including 16 new)
Green Star: 3
Starred Restaurants
Twenty-five Starred restaurants have joined the selection. Here is an introduction to them.Miyamaso Kyoto
Three MICHELIN Stars / Japanese, Promoted
Swaying trees, the murmur of a stream, and birdsong set the scene. Miyamaso reflects the changing seasons through the foraged cuisine of Ohara. Sprouting wild herbs and mountain vegetables, river fish full of vitality, mushrooms, and game all express the blessings of satoyama. It is a place to savor the gifts of the countryside.
Doppo Kyoto
Two MICHELIN Stars / Japanese, Promoted
Guests are welcomed into a sukiya-style space adorned with hanging scrolls and flower vessels collected over many years. Care is taken to create harmony with the tableware, and the simple presentation leaves a lasting impression through its sense of space.
Tokuha Motonari Kyoto
Two MICHELIN Stars / Japanese, Promoted
The cuisine expresses both rusticity and refinement. One signature example is a grilled dish cooked upright on skewers, like food prepared over an irori hearth. Through the chef’s perspective and technique, deep, nourishing flavors are drawn out.
Higashiyama Yoshihisa Kyoto
Two MICHELIN Stars / Japanese, Promoted
The menu changes every month and is entirely the chef’s own creation. Guided by the idea of shu-ha-ri — preserving the fundamentals, breaking from form through creativity, and opening a new path — the restaurant expresses a cuisine that is both rooted and original.
Muromachi Yui Kyoto
Two MICHELIN Stars / Japanese, Promoted
The omakase reflects the changing seasons and the customs of each month. Hassun is always included to convey these monthly traditions and events. Freshly prepared dishes are central to the restaurant’s philosophy, and the meal concludes with freshly cooked white rice.
Higashiyama Tsukasa Kyoto
One MICHELIN Star / Japanese, Promoted
Unbound by the conventions of Japanese cuisine, the chef places the guest’s pleasure above all else. Driven by free-ranging ideas, the cooking draws diners in with a flow that resists easy prediction, while making use of essential elements such as dashi and miso.
Miyagawacho Hotta Kyoto
One MICHELIN Star / Japanese, Promoted
Set along a stone-paved lane lined with ochaya teahouses and okiya geisha houses, the restaurant is filled with an elegant atmosphere. Its menu follows a path that is anything but cliché, and the cooking is free from rigid formality. The proprietor’s assured handiwork adds to its appeal.
YOKOI Kyoto
One MICHELIN Star / Japanese, Promoted
The chef expresses individuality through combinations of ingredients and the structure of the menu. Fish and vegetables are paired with fruit, creating contrast through sweetness and acidity. With a flexible, guest-centered approach, he pursues a style of his own.
Sokkon Fujimoto Kyoto
One MICHELIN Star / Japanese, Promoted
The chef pursues tea ceremony, flower arrangement, and calligraphy as disciplines of self-cultivation. Sokkon, a Zen phrase that calls for clearing away distractions and valuing the present moment, reflects his spirit. In the cuisine, the setting, and the hospitality, care extends to every detail.
Germoglio Kyoto
One MICHELIN Star / Italian, Promoted
The chef honed his craft in both northern Italy and Kyoto. Building on regional Italian recipes, he incorporates Kyoto ingredients in pursuit of his own style. He reconstructs the flavors he encountered in Italy while embracing Japan’s four seasons.
KOGA Kyoto
One MICHELIN Star / French, New
The chef values the combination of flavor and aroma. The “Warm Salad” brings together his experience and ideas. By preparing vegetables in a variety of ways, he draws out their flavors.
MUBE Kyoto
One MICHELIN Star / Japanese, New
Incorporating the fermented foods of Omi is part of what defines the chef’s style. He also prepares narezushi, fish sauce, and miso himself. While keeping fermentation’s distinctive character in check to suit modern tastes, he seeks a synergy between its umami and dashi. It is a cuisine that carries food culture shaped by the wisdom of earlier generations into the future.
Higashiyama Ogata Kyoto
One MICHELIN Star / Japanese, New
Ogata opened this branch as a place for his disciples to shine. Behind a counter made from a single slab of wood, the chefs work in unison to welcome guests. The cooking, marked by an untamed spirit, reflects the influence of the master.
Manjuji Hakuran Kyoto
One MICHELIN Star / Japanese, New
The omakase weaves in the flavors of Nagasaki. Fish from the chef’s hometown appears in sashimi and soup dishes, while Hatoshi, a Nagasaki specialty of shrimp paste sandwiched between slices of bread and fried, and Goto udon reflect the local foods he grew up with. With kappo technique, he elevates familiar flavors into something more refined.
ima Kyoto
One MICHELIN Star / French, New
This is counter-style French cuisine set in a machiya townhouse with a stone oven. The name reflects the idea of the present moment. Every dish is shaped by the effect of wood fire, with the chef focusing on the instant when the flavors of the ingredients are at their fullest.
Korean Restaurant Byeoleeya Kyoto
One MICHELIN Star / Korean, New
The chef brings her own creativity to royal court cuisine learned in Seoul. The course is based on the principle of yakshikdongwon, the idea that food and medicine share the same source. Namul and kimchi made with Kyoto vegetables bring together ingredients from Japan and Korea.
LURRA˚ Kyoto
One MICHELIN Star / Innovative, New
Themed around a showcase of seasonality and culture, Japan’s four seasons are combined with food cultures from around the world and expressed through a creative sensibility. The diverse pairings are part of the experience.
Teruya Osaka
Two MICHELIN Stars / Japanese, Promoted
The chef pays close attention to harmony in dashi, keeping the flavors delicate to bring out the character of the ingredients. Though understated in appearance, the unseen work behind each dish gives the cuisine its individuality. Guests are invited to savor the seasons while admiring antique and contemporary tableware.
Tosara Osaka
One MICHELIN Star / Contemporary, Promoted
A single book, Ten Dishes, became a guidepost in the chef’s life. Moved by the author’s view of life and values, he expresses the appeal of the natural world and its producers through a ten-course menu.
Numata Sou Osaka
One MICHELIN Star / Tempura, Promoted
Tempura is a simple technique of coating ingredients in batter and frying them. That is precisely why it is so deep and so difficult. Here, the batter plays the role of steam, concentrating both umami and moisture. Through the work of tempura, flavor is drawn out and intensified.
atelier HANADA Osaka
One MICHELIN Star / Chinese, Promoted
The chef has cultivated his creativity through numerous culinary competitions. The result is a style of Chinese cuisine that is distinctly his own. With its sounds and aromas reaching the guests, the dining room is truly worthy of the name atelier.
Ukitacho Ima Osaka
One MICHELIN Star / Japanese, New
The chef honed his skills over many years at a Japanese restaurant in Hozenji Yokocho. While remaining true to what he learned there, he pursues a cuisine of his own. He has trained relentlessly under the belief that knife work can change the flavor of sashimi. Bringing together the full range of his experience, he expresses the cooking of a personal “now”.
Empathie Osaka
One MICHELIN Star / French, New
The chef aims to create dishes that leave a clear impression of what has been eaten. Preparations are kept simple to let the ingredients stand out. The counter allows him to convey, in his own words, the message behind each dish.
Sushi Shigenaga Osaka
One MICHELIN Star / Sushi, New
The signboard was written by the proprietor himself, and the Satsuma kiriko, traditional cut-glass sake vessels from Kagoshima, reflect his roots there. Fish is sourced mainly from Kyushu, while some is selected at Tsuruhashi and Kuromon, two well-known markets in Osaka. At times, even fatty tuna is shaped with salt to leave a strong impression, and the craftsmanship extends to the omelet as well.
Hachi Osaka
One MICHELIN Star / Japanese, New
Set in a refined, modern sukiya-style space, the restaurant expresses individuality while honoring tradition. Sashimi showcases the chef’s knife skills, while grilled dishes make effective use of bincho charcoal. Even the handmade soba conveys a sense of the season.
Special Awards
Mentor Chef Award
Kashiwaya Osaka Senriyama — Executive Chef Hideaki Matsuo
The MICHELIN Mentor Chef Award is presented to chefs whose work and careers serve as a model for others. It honors those who are committed to nurturing the next generation, offering guidance with passion, and contributing to the advancement of the restaurant industry.
At Kashiwaya Osaka Senriyama, a Three-MICHELIN-Starred and Green Star restaurant in Osaka, Executive Chef Hideaki Matsuo has trained many young chefs. He also welcomes trainees from overseas, sharing both the techniques and the essence of Japanese cuisine. Beyond the restaurant, he is committed to supporting the next generation through a study group of local chefs and through his work at culinary schools. His continued efforts, grounded in a long view of the future of Japanese cuisine, led to this year’s award.
Sommelier Award
LOUISE — Owner-Sommelier Miki Tanaka
The MICHELIN Sommelier Award is presented to specialists who demonstrate outstanding wine knowledge and service skills, with deep expertise in pairing wine and food and offering precise advice to guests. Their role is to make every dining experience truly memorable through wine.
Miki Tanaka was selected for the first Sommelier Award in the Kyoto Osaka area. As owner-sommelier of LOUISE, a MICHELIN Selected restaurant in Osaka, she welcomes guests with constant care and pairs wines with dishes that make use of spice aromas and the acidity of fruit. Her deep understanding of French wine and attentive service bring a clear sense of satisfaction to those who dine there.
Service Award
Kodaiji Wakuden — Yuko Kuwamura
The MICHELIN Service Award is presented to staff who excel in hospitality, creating comfort for guests and ensuring that each dining experience feels truly special. Professional and engaging, they embody the spirit of omotenashi that defines Japanese service.
Yuko Kuwamura leads the Wakuden group, including Kodaiji Wakuden, a Two-MICHELIN-Starred and Green Star restaurant in Kyoto. Born and raised in Kyotango, she began working in the ryotei world alongside her mother while still a student. After graduating from university, she lived at a sub-temple of Daitoku-ji, where she learned humility and gratitude through cleaning and work in the fields. She later joined the family business after being entrusted with the opening of Muromachi Wakuden. Since then, she has led service at several restaurants and has also worked to restore forests through tree planting in Kyotango, the company’s birthplace. Her approach, attentive to people, nature, and the future, led to this year’s award.
