Shinohara’s arrival in Tokyo was for many people the opening of 2016. After a decade in the hills above Lake Biwa in Shiga Prefecture, chef Takemasa Shinohara’s restaurant had become a place of gastronomic pilgrimage where diners indulged in his creative takes on traditional cuisine featuring local wild ingredients such as bear, boar, and other game. His move to the capital has been near-seamless, and seats at his counter are now among the most prized reservations in the city.

It was only a matter of when, not if, avowed Japanophile chef Thierry Marx brought his Michelin-two-star Parisian expertise to Tokyo, and he’s made up for lost time by opening two places at once. His eponymous compact fine-dining restaurant is the showcase for his modernist chops, but it’s the bistro next door that really has the city buzzing. The hottest tables are those on the open-air terrace that boast views (weather permitting) down over the iconic crossing in the heart of Ginza.

The progeny of the always-excellent Esquisse, Argile is in the same Ginza building (two floors down) but its look is very different: textured clay walls, lots of timber, and little natural light. The man in charge is Teruki Murashima, who worked under chef Lionel Beccat at Esquisse from the outset. The menus are simpler and the prices more affordable. What’s not to like?

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Before opening his superb little ramen counter, Hidenori Ohata worked for a while at nearby Kagari (a chef favorite), but his ideas at Kazami are all his own. Just try his warming, umami-rich sake kasu (sake lees) ramen, or his fragrant shio (salt) noodles, to which he adds a dash of Noilly Prat vermouth to offset the seafood flavor he derives from five kinds of dried fish. Tucked away down a narrow Ginza alley, there is no finer or classier ramenya in the city right now.

Chef Masamichi Amamoto has pedigree aplenty. He spent nine years as second in command at Umi, the superb sushiya in Aoyama. He has also spent time in the kitchens at two of the most revered traditional Japanese restaurants, Shinohara in Shiga (which has now relocated to Ginza) and Gion Sasaki in Kyoto. So there was huge anticipation when he opened his self-named restaurant in Higashi-Azabu, combining the two aspects of his training. The two Michelin stars he won in only a few months are a testament to his skills.

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Even in the hierarchical world of traditional Japanese cuisine, few chefs pay as many dues before striking out on their own as Noboru Miyasaka did. He spent 11 years apprenticing in Tokyo before moving to Kyoto for another decade at the legendary three-Michelin-star Mizai. When he finally returned to open his own restaurant in Aoyama last November, he launched it with such discretion that it flew under the radar. One year in, he has two Michelin stars to his name, and these days seats at his minimalist eight-seat counter are at a premium.

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Japan’s national drink, green tea, can be frustratingly hard to find in Tokyo. That makes Shinya Sakurai’s specialist tearoom, Sakurai Japanese Tea Experience, such an essential port of call. Book a seat at his beautiful counter and sit back as he or one of the other resident tea masters whisks up sharply bitter powdered matcha, steeps delicate sencha leaf tea, or brews aromatic roasted hojicha. It’s far from a traditional tea ceremony, but the effect is both energizing and wonderfully calming.

Omotesandō Koffee is dead: long live Koffee Mameya. Coffee guru Eiichi Kunitomo’s much-loved espresso counter disappeared when the old building was torn down. Now, a year later, it’s been reincarnated in the same spot, but with a new name, a sharp new look, and a new approach. These days Kunitomo curates beans from a range of roasters, most in Japan but some as far afield as Melbourne or Hong Kong, and the focus is less on espresso and more on hand-drip.

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Leaving his iconic Jimbocho address behind, dynamic chef–owner Zaiyu Hasegawa has moved his essential Japanese restaurant to the Jingumae district. The look is very different — much brighter, more spacious, and more open — but the welcome is as warm as ever. Hasegawa’s innovative cuisine remains both complex and satisfying, with ideas and influences that are audacious and humorous. Expect foie gras in your appetizer and ants in your salad, along with his signature “Dentucky Fried Chicken.”

Chef Shinsuke Ishii is back. After a year in limbo following the sudden demise of Bacar, the hugely popular super-bistro in Shibuya where he made his name, he finally has a place worthy of his skills. Sincere is a major step up in terms of both scale and style, with more tables, a larger kitchen, and a bigger team working under him. And while he still keeps many of his signature dishes on the menu — from his brilliant seafood cocktail to his trademark cubic brioche breads — his Japanese-inflected French cuisine is even better than ever.

“Our passion for ramen makes the town a better place.” Muginae more than lives up to its (English) slogan: everything about this newcomer on the southern side of the city shouts quality. Homemade noodles, free-range chicken broth, a blend of artisan soy sauces, and zero chemical flavor enhancements — it all adds up to a superb ramen that more than justifies the train ride out from the center of town and the inevitable hour-long lines.