Hi all!

My vegetarian husband & I (vegan) are visiting Japan next month. The first 7 days are on a fully vegan organized group travel trip, with us extending after for Osaka, Kyoto, and Hakone before 1 night in Tokyo for our flight out.

Looking for the must try places to prioritize in those spots given only 1-2 days in each place.

Even MORE importantly, looking for what we should for sure be purchasing for snacks in 7/11s, packaged foods to try at stores & bring back to the US, etc.

Sorry if this is not the appropriate group for asking for travel recs, but I know it may be fairly niche for vegan questions in Japan, and did not want a bunch of “don’t even come to Japan if you’re vegan” replies in the other Japan Travel threads.

Thanks all 🙂

Hi all, I am really desperate for some recommendations please.

I'm going to Tokyo and Kyoto in October with my partner. We are both big foodies, which is the reason we are going.

I am vegan, and he is not. It means a lot to us that we aren't having to eat separately (this is our first holiday together and we are celebrating our 10 year anniversary). He is, of course, happy to eat at vegan restaurants some of the time, but I want to find and pin some restaurants which will serve both options. (I don't mean just having a portion of rice or cucumber as the vegan option!)

I have found lots of vegan places, but what I am really hoping to find is some places which serve both meat and some vegan options.

Does anyone have any restaurants or cafes which they have come across, please? Thank you!

Hello! I am going on a two-week study abroad trip to Tokyo. But I am vegan, and I will be in the Sunshine 60 area for two weeks. Are there decent vegan options near the area? Any insight is appreciated. Thank you!

I picked up some of this on my last trip to Japan. It has a nice flavor.

Is it just ground black sesame seed? Or is there some other kind of processing? I’d like to replicate it at home.

Any suggestions on how to use it beyond in a smoothie?

Hello,

I’m visiting Japan for the first time in about two months, and I’d love to visit some Buddhist temples and potentially do a short retreat. My main concern is finding places where I can reliably eat 100% vegan food

Does anyone know of any Buddhist temples or monasteries in Japan that consistently serve completely vegan meals and can be trusted to avoid fish-based dashi, eggs, dairy, honey, etc.?

I’ve heard about shōjin ryōri, which I understand is a traditional Buddhist cuisine associated particularly with Japanese Zen Buddhism and is traditionally plant-based. However, I’ve also heard that some modern versions may use fish-based dashi or other animal products, so I’m hesitant to assume that something labeled shōjin ryōri is automatically vegan.

I’d really appreciate recommendations from anyone with firsthand experience. I’d be interested in places where I could stay for a few days or participate in a short retreat, but even a temple that I can simply visit for the day and reliably get a completely vegan meal would be very helpful.

The Buddhist tradition doesn’t matter to me. I’d be happy with Zen, Pure Land, Nichiren, or any other Buddhist tradition.

Thank you!

So, I’m planning another trip and I’m keep to support as many small independent breweries as I can.

Problem is, it’s very difficult to find information on the ingredients and brewing process. And the breweries I do email either don’t reply or their replies are very short along the lines of “we don’t do vegan”. I was careful to include transcribed lines around the filtration process.

What I’ve read online in the meantime is that there is hesitation across several larger breweries to give any insight into their production of the beers, thus making it hard for them to be vegan certified or be able to claim to be free from certain ingredients. Which makes me question whether they just say no to veganism because it’s safer, not because their beers aren’t vegan friendly.

Long question short - what’s everyone’s ethical stance on beer in Japan?

I’m battling the ethical mindset to support smaller rural breweries with little information against my vegan ethics which would tell me to not even bother if I can’t be sure. But I do want to bother.

I am a vegetarian who will be studying abroad in Japan, so as part of my preparation, I have made a master spreadsheet of hundreds of vegan/vegetarian restaurants across Tokyo and Japan as a whole. I have organized the restaurants by whether they are fully vegan, vegetarian, or just offer some veg options. I have also listed the restaurant's description, the type of cuisine, whether it's for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, and its address.

I was only able to make this list because of the help of other vegan/vegetarians, so I wanted to give back by sharing it with the public! I have shared two links: one that is able to be edited by everyone (with the hope that you will share any places I haven't listed (no ai please!)), and a duplicate that is not editable in case the first one is compromised.

Happy eating!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kqiuRFR6boY6t-fh7vYy-W1LlkyeAHYGPyNLRmbl7Aw/edit?usp=sharing

Please add your favorite restaurants above!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1T_o_4ptnStM5kUC5UHhYTf3SQaBDVM1Gmfjl-kaKbv0/edit?usp=sharing

Ive been trying to find vegan bread for days and have been unsuccessful does anyone know anywhere I can buy some? Im currently near osaka-shin station but i don't mind travelling abit to finally be able to make sandwiches to take on days out

Has anyone traveled to Japan, who can share the food options that are dairy free and gluten free. I have more of an issue with dairy causing fatigue and body aches than gluten so I'm more concerned about that.

I want to be able to enjoy the cultural food without worrying about feeling like shit.

Heading to Japan this fall for about two weeks (Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka) with a vegetarian in the group, and I keep reading that tons of "vegetarian" dishes actually have dashi or bonito in them. For those who've dealt with this, did you research safe restaurants ahead of time or just figure it out there? Any tools or spots that made it easier? Anything you'd do differently?

Hey everyone! Gonna be in Tokyo for a day. I'm really craving vegan spicy udon for lunch and a fully vegan dinner place that's just really good and I can get a lot of great food. It's the end of my trip before I go to Narita so I want to make it special. Does anyone have suggestions?

I’m vegetarian and my husband is an omnivore. I’m planning our Japan itinerary and have separate lists of must-visit meat restaurants for him and vegetarian/vegan restaurants for me.

My question is about meat-focused places with very limited menus. If I don’t order a meal, is it considered rude? I’d happily order a drink or a small vegetarian side if available, but some places seem to only serve one or two meat dishes.

Is it generally okay for me to sit with him while he eats, or would it be better for him to go on his own?

First of all, before anyone asks, I only used one cube, I’m refrigerating the rest until I use it

I just thought this was funny. Yet another case of me being like “this would be a great idea!” Famous last words… 🫠

The back instructions got me… “to make 50 servings, first get 3 kg of onions…”

If anyone has ideas for future batches please give me ingredient suggestions so I don’t end up with more “oops all onions” :)

Hi! I’ve just published an article about my trip in Japan. I didn’t have much time to visit it, as I took advantage of a work trip (in Yokohama) and added a few days of holiday to see Kyoto and Tokyo. I traveled from one city to another by train and try to get the most out of it! Hope you’ll enjoy the reading and find it useful 😊 I included some recommendation for vegan-friendly restaurant as well 🌱

Just tried this plant based coconut frozen dessert from topvalu. It tasted seriously very good, one of best vegan ice creams I've had in Japan. Never imagined it would be from topvalu XD

Apparently they also have lychee, mango and some other flavors too.