Japan has overtaken France for the number of restaurants with three Michelin stars, according to the latest guide to the nation’s western cities to be released on Friday.

Japan is now home to 29 establishments that hold the highly coveted three-star rating, against 25 in France.

The latest version of the Michelin guide to Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe this year adds the former capital Nara and will be available both in Japanese and English.

Michelin unveiled Tuesday its new guide to Japan’s western cities of Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe, with a novelty: a selection of 106 top restaurants that offer courses under 5,000 yen (60 dollars).

The guide, due to hit Japanese bookstores on October 22 in both Japanese and English, lavished the ancient capital of Kyoto with seven three-star ratings, all for Japanese cuisine, 22 two-star and 71 one-star ratings.

Kyoto is famed for the quiet sanctuary of its temples, shrines and Zen gardens, while the more boisterous, working-class Osaka has been nicknamed “Japan’s kitchen” and port city Kobe is famed for its premium beef brand.

Tokyo is the world’s most expensive city, according to Mercer’s 2009 Worldwide Cost of Living survey released today, with the cost of living up 13.1% from 2008.

Japan’s capital is followed by Osaka and Moscow, which held the top spot in last year’s rankings. Geneva comes in fourth.

The significant changes from last year are due to massive swings in exchange rates, with many currencies at their weakest in years against the U.S. dollar, during the March 2009 survey period.

An employee and a sales clerk of Takashimaya Department Store introduce a bouquet made of jewelry in Osaka on May 23, 2008.

The 1.5 million dollars bouquet consists of a 11.5-carat yellow diamond ring, seven yellow gold diamond brooches and 46 Mexican opal brooches with silver leaves, stalks and base.