"Coming to Japan was not part of the plan," says Chef Lionel Beccat at the French restaurant Esquisse in Tokyo. Chef Beccat was born in Corsica but moved to Marseille with his family at the age of four. As a major port on the Mediterranean coast, the city of Marseille is a fascinating multi-cultural melting pot in its own right. "Marseille defines who I am," he says, with a calm, slightly melancholic temperament but his eyes shining stars of wisdom.

I have known Chef Hiroyasu Kawate of Michelin two-starred restaurant Florilège in Tokyo for many years. He is a champion of nature and connects his cuisine with it; even “Florilège” means a collection of beautiful poems like flowers. He is a master of using a single ingredient in a variety of ways, fusing simplicity with sophistication, and intuitively applying delicious flavour combinations to bring out the best in each ingredient.

Japan's only Michelin three-starred Chinese restaurant, Sazenka, aims to showcase the essence of Chinese cuisine with the splendid ingredients in Japan. The experience was truly flawless and full of pleasant surprises. The veritable three stars has made Sazenka the most convincing and worth-visiting restaurant on this trip to Tokyo.

When I returned to Tokyo as soon as Japan reopened after three years of Covid, I felt quite excited the moment my plane landed at Haneda Airport. To celebrate my other half's birthday, we decided to leave some time for catching up, but the stomach was reserved for the restaurant where we had wanted to go to for years.

After winning Asia's Best Pastry Chef in 2020 for her fashion-inspiredfruit cakes, Tokyo chef Natsuko Shoji took home the Best Female Chef of Asia’s 50 best this year. Her restaurant in Tokyo, Été, caters up to six people a day so getting the reservation is no easy feat. Expect thoughtful service, beautiful dishes, and an array of pleasant surprises brought by Été. It would be unforgettably romantic to make a marriage proposal here.