Vegetarian and Vegan Cuisine in Japan
Eating in Japan as a vegetarian or vegan may seem like a daunting task, but with good planning, it’s easy to “survive” without any issues. Thanks to the internet and dedicated websites like Happy Cow, finding options is now easier than ever.
When planning our trips, we always tried to schedule our visits to different neighborhoods while also selecting nearby vegetarian-friendly spots. A tip: always have more than one choice—sometimes we found a place closed.
An alternative to restaurants is the food department stores—large food halls located in the basement of shopping malls or stations. We visited the ones under Seibu in Ikebukuro and in Shibuya. You’ll find plenty of food to take away and enjoy in your hotel room.
All kaiten sushi places offer vegetarian or vegan options like cucumber maki, pickled radish, natto, or nigiri with avocado, eggplant, chives, or the classic Japanese omelet (tamago).
Here is a list of places where we’ve eaten in Tokyo during our previous trips:
Ts’ Tan Tan – vegan ramen located inside Tokyo Station in an area called Keyo Street. You must pass through the ticket gates or arrive by train to already be inside.
Rainbow Bird Randevouz – a small vegan restaurant in Naka Meguro. A bit out of the way but very tasty, especially the fried soy.
DEVA DEVA Café – located near Kichijoji Station. We had lunch there when visiting the Ghibli Museum. It’s a vegetarian place with Western-style food.
Tsuchiya – vegetarian okonomiyaki in Shinjuku, not far from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office.
Tendon Tenya Asakusa – the Tendon Tenya chain is widespread in Tokyo and offers a vegetable tempura with rice as a vegetarian option.
Sushi-Nova – we ate at various kaiten sushi places, but this one in Asakusa, right in Shin-Nakamise Dori (there’s another in Harajuku), had a decent vegetarian/vegan selection.
A place we didn’t manage to try but that offers vegetarian ramen is Chabuton. Unfortunately, it was closed due to renovations on the 8th floor of Yodobashi Akiba in Akihabara. As it’s a chain, you can find other branches in Japan, such as at Kyoto Station or in Shimokitazawa.
In Kyoto, we ate at these places:
Teppan Tavern Tenamonia (vegetarian options)
Worth mentioning in Hiroshima is Nagata-Ya – excellent Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki with vegetarian choices on the menu.
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Author and Photos
Gianluca Foglietta and Stefania Minni