The world's best sushi restaurant seats just ten people and is famously housed Online Cigarettes Store USA in a Tokyo metro station.
But despite its cult following, the famously exclusive restaurant has lost its listing in the Michelin Guide, not because the quality of the food has dropped, but because it is no longer open to the general public.
Sukiyabashi Jiro, run by the renowned nonagenarian Japanese chef Jiro Ono, has been recognised Newport Cigarettes Shop with three Michelin stars each year since the culinary guide launched a Tokyo edition in 2007.
But this year’s Tokyo edition of the Michelin Guide declined to include it within its pages, saying it is “out of their scope” because of its decision to only offer reservations VIPs and return customers.
“We recognise Sukiyabashi Jiro does not accept reservations from the general public, which makes it out of our scope,” said a spokeswoman for the Michelin Guide after the decision was announced on Tuesday.
She added that “it was not true to say the restaurant lost stars but it is not subject to coverage in our Cheap Newport 100s cigarettes guide," rather that the guide's "policy is to introduce restaurants where everybody can go to eat.”