Lyon / France

  Lyon is the town where Saint-Exupery, author of "The Little Prince", was born. It is also home to the Lumiere brothers who in 1895 became the first in the world to charge money for viewing a movie. In addition, as a silk town from the fifteenth century, it is the sister city of Yokohama and also home to the first overseas branch of the Yokohama Specie Bank (predecessor to the former Tokyo Bank), which opened in 1900. This was where Kafu Nagai once worked. And finally it is also famous as a "town of gourmet delicacies".
 
  Strangely enough, though, Lyon is home to no Michelin 3-Star restaurants; whereas, Paris has nine and the country as a whole has 23. The same problem exists with the non-French restaurants. Italian spaghetti for example is limp (the French cut it with a knife and eat it), and the Chinese cuisine is made in the Indochina style. It just doesn't please the Japanese palette. Moreover, only a limited amount of Japanese food stuffs can be obtained. Where then is the gourmet presence? The answer is in the Lyon Central Market, known as 'Halle'.   Lyon has prospered since the Gaul-Roman era and has had an established road infrastructure from years ago. Transportation within France and with surrounding countries is convenient. The Central Market is a treasure trove of special food stuffs including cheeses from all over France, escargot, lobster, oysters, blue mussel and other seafood, Bress chicken, Charolais beef, breast fed lamb from Pauillac, seasonal gibier and other abundant types of meats; and the very luxurious food stuffs such as foie gras and caviar. The top French chefs in areas around Lyon (There are three 3-star restaurants and 10 2-star restaurants within 100km of Lyon) regularly come to buy their food stuffs and the market is a big success.
 
  Furthermore, Lyon is surrounded by Beaujolais and Cote De Rhone wine fields, and is close to Bourgogne and Provence. Consequently one can enjoy rare French wines that would almost never be seen in Japan.
 
  So this is why it is the "town of gastronomy". Lyon is only two hours from Paris by TGV. Food aficionados, why not travel to Lyon in the summer and immerse yourself in French cuisine.

Marubeni Group magazine "M-SPIRIT" VOL.9 (May,2002)

The Rhone and Saone Rivers cross in Lyon. Mont Blanc is also visible on a sunny day. Lyon the town of lumiere (lights). (Saint Jean Cathedral and La Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourviere lit up.) Special food stuffs are gathered at the Central Market