KPT

Not that close, but not far either via Marunouchi Line @ Yotsuya 3chome:

http://lovinghut.jp/

It's a global franchise serving up unique vegan food at each location; it's a shame there's only one in Tokyo. They're so good at vegan food that some have apparently planned trips around stopping by these locations around the world.

weegiewife

Anyone have any firsthand experience of vegan dining in Okinawa? Bringing my sister to Japan - her first visit, and she is vegan and eats a gluten free diet.

jib71

That might be challenging. I don't have first hand experience of vegan dining, but ... Check out lists on these sites:
http://vegmag.org/search/pref/47/
http://vege-navi.jp/?okinawa_vege_map&l=1

Those are vegan friendly restaurants, and I expect you will find that the owners know about gluten free diets too - or at least you can trust that they'll be scrupulous about letting you know what their dishes contain.

Outside of those places, you may find it necessary to spend a long time inquiring about ingredients and ensuring that it's compatible with your diet. If you order a vegetable dish in a non-veggie restaurant, you'll typically find that it's mixed up with egg, and some sausage or ham. Don't expect the owner to twig that his veg. dish isn't a vegan dish.

That said, the markets are full of good, fresh ingredients... so if you find accommodations where you can cook for yourself, that might be an option to consider.

weegiewife

thanks jib71! That gives me a good starting point.

LapLap

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/200.../#.UoX90rIgGSN
Asahi
4-32-26 Kitazawa, Setagaya-ku
http://r.gnavi.co.jp/9nvzbrs90000/

I've not been, but the place is still in business.

Seems to be a one of those very elusive contenders for the best vegan hand made soba destination for visitors who prefer not to eat dashi.

The nearby whole grain bakery, Levain, looks like it would make an interesting stop off point also.

LapLap

The vegan ramen (and curry) cafe within Tokyo station - T's TanTan - mentioned by hailstorm is still there.

Kept going past it but was always in the company of omnivores/had to hurry to get train and the place was always closed on our late returns so never got a chance to eat there.

http://www.justonemorespoon.com/vega...tokyo-station/

lettezilla

I found this thread helpful when researching where to eat as a vegetarian (not vegan) in Japan, so wanted to update based on my experiences.

NB: I'm a vegetarian for "ick" reasons rather than ethics, so I probably consumed some fish stock along the way, but didn't mind as long as it wasn't blatant. I know that is a different decisions for everyone, but hopefully this is helpful anyway.

TOKYO
** Matsugen Soba (4* out of 5)
After reading a positive review on a blog, we got a cab to the Ebisu
location. With a bit of difficulty finding it even with a printed map
in Japanese and GPS, we were still among the first to arrive for lunch
at 11:30. They had our reservations, and provided English menus. Our
concierge let them know I'm a vegetarian when they booked, and they
checked what was OK and what wasn't, which was nice. We tried three
mains including hot and cold soba options, and all were excellent. The place was full by 12:30, but we were the only Westerners. Really great meal at a
reasonable price.

** Chabuton (4*)
I know this isn't the top ramen spot in Tokyo. BUT, they actually do
both a vegetarian ramen and veggie gyoza, so they get 4* from me. We
used the machine (put money in, make your selections, take your ticket
to the counter), and ordered one port and one veggie ramen, plus the
gyoza. Gyoza were tasty but nothing amazing, but the ramen was really
delicious. Large portion, tasty broth and plenty of interesting
vegetables meant I was one happy vegetarian.

** Itasoba Kaoriya (4*)
They must use dashi for the soba soup.
Price: Apx. 2,000JPY per person
We particular enjoyed the popped buckwheat smoked miso paste, pickles, soy and sesame soba (thick cut) Lovely place - nice jazz, nice atmosphere, very good food..

** Sorano (Sorano Niwa) tofu (4*)
Price: Apx. 4,000JPY per person
We had avocado tofu, cheese tofu (both great), and tofu made at the table, which was fun and good. The agadashi tofu was fantastic, and the misu wheat gluten lollipops were good, but not as good as other similar things on the trip. The deep fried wheat germ wasn't as good, not our thing really, neither was the salad which also wasn't great. We ordered way too much food but it wasn't crazy expensive so enjoyed trying a lot. This place has several meat options if you are a "mixed" group, and is very fashionable feeling.

** Kondo Tempura in Ginza (4*)
Price: Average spent for per person is around 10,000JPY

We had the 6000 yen menu plus extra order of carrot (which was fantastic) and sweetcorn (which didn't arrive, so we didn't end up paying, but confused them). It was good, but maybe not worth £45/head. (NB we didn't order sweet potato, as it wasn't in season.) Highlights were pumpkin, carrot, shitake mushroom. Some other vegetables slightly bland. Overall it was very good tempura - the best we've ever had by some distance - and interesting to watch, but we wouldn't go back, probably, as it got slightly same-y by the end.

KYOTO
There are a ton of amazing tofu places-- Kyoto is truly a vegetarian's paradise! Here is where we ended up eating. We ended up cancelling a couple of reservations because many menus are so similar, and we wanted a bit more variety.

** Shorian (5*)
We had a lot of worries about finding this place but there are enough
directions online that it was fine. We walked from the station to the
main road, then to the river, turning right and walking down the river
(not crossing the bridge). Stay along the river for about 10 minutes
until the path is closed off with a rope. There are rough stone stairs
to your right, go up and then follow the path to the left, and you've
found it.

We got a very warm welcome, and they were expecting a vegetarian, as
it had been mentioned when making the booking. The room is stunning, a
classic tatami setup overlooking the river. We had selected the
biggest menu in advance, which was a lot of food! The food kept coming
out, which we were to learn in subsequent meals is the way these
things are done, not that we were being rushed out as we had a late
lunch reservation.

Much of the meal is based around the very traditional vegetarian
shojin ryori, "monk's food," but with several contemporary
elements. There were fish and seafood elements for the non-veg diner,
including a dish of wagyu beef which was apparently delicious. This
was one of our favourite meals of the trip, and well worth the trip.

** Okutan (3*)
This is a classic temple vegetarian/ shojin ryori restaurant. There
was only one menu offered, which was pretty much delivered all at
once. The room and gardens are beautiful, and the food is the standard
Kyoto tofu multi-course meal. All of the food was good, but
paled in comparison to our meal at Shorian the day before -- similar
menu, but more creative, better executed. Okutan had a "turn and burn"
feel, where we had all of our food within 10 minutes of sitting down
and were out the door in under 45. Service was friendly but perfunctory and definitely not a warm welcome. If you only do one tofu/monk's lunch, I would recommend Shorian or Shigetsu instead of Okutan, which are priced similarly. If you're in the area and want to try this type of meal in a quick and easy way, it's not a terrible option, but it is definitely not the best example of what it does.

** Uzuki cooking school with Emi (5*)
We both really loved the class with Emi at Uzuki cooking class. It was just the two of us and Emi, and lasted about 3.5 hours for 5000 yen each, for four dishes which we helped cook and then ate (which was easily enough for an early dinner)

She was well prepared with printed out recipes for each of us, a little glossary of Japanese vegetables, and some of the grunt-work kitchen prep done in advance. It felt like a good balance of hands-on, and also her moving things along if/when it felt like things were too slow.

I was a bit nervous in advance because I'm rubbish at small talk at the best of times, and trying to make conversation with someone that isn't a native speaker for 3 hours sounds like torture. But it wasn't like that at all. She was happy to talk to us about the dishes, asked a few questions, but also seemed fine when there was a lull in conversation while we each got on with our bits of cooking. Basically not awkward at all.

Our four vegetarian dishes were gorgeous and delicious, and totally unlike anything I'd made before. I would definitely recommend the school. It felt like a bit of a bargain, considering that's what we paid for a 6 or 7 course veg meal at a few temples, but without learning to do it as well.

I asked, and she also does classes focused on meat, fish, or even desserts. Definitely would check in to see if she's available when you're there.

** Shigetsu (5*)
This is inside the popular Tenryu-ji Temple, which is a large and
lovely site. I would suggest booking ahead as they are only open a few
hours and were turning people away when we were there. Two of us had
an enormous tatami room to ourselves, which was nice but odd!

Food was traditional shojin ryori, "monk's food," so all vegetarian. The dishes come out one after another, and you can eat at your own pace. We ordered the middle menu which included an extra tray of food, including some really excellent aubergine with miso paste, and a tasty mushroom dish. It was filling without leaving you feeling stuffed, and a very pleasant experience.

** Omen Nippon (4*)
We were slightly worried about ordering here as I'd seen conflicting
reports about whether English was spoken. It was not a problem -- they
have a limited English menu available. We got the house speciality of
the Omen Udon noodles, both cold as it was very hot outside. It came
with a load of interesting vegetables to stir into the noodles, and
was very tasty. Service was OK but not particularly warm or friendly,
and they were clearly very keen for us to turn the table as it was a
busy Friday night.

KOYA
** Bon an Sha, Koya (3*)
We'd read that there were limited food options in Koya-san, and had
high hopes for Bon an Sha. And there isn't anything actually wrong
with Bon an Sha, the food was tasty, it just wasn't what we were
expecting. The restaurant is run by an international couple, and we'd
read tons of reviews of the warm atmosphere, but we were greeted with
a mild "hello," menus, and no other conversation. We got the lunch
menu, which was a veggie dal, brown rice, sag paneer and a few other
side salads, all on one plate, which tasted good if not amazing. It
definitely felt closer to the home-cook end of things. We weren't
offered drinks beyond water until after the food was gone. Lunch
special was 1200 yen, which doesn't seem much by London prices. I
think if you want a quick and hearty lunch that probably isn't
Japanese food, I'd recommend it, but not worth a diversion.


OSAKA
** Mizuno Okonomokyi in Osaka (5*)
I was very worried about the twin disadvantages of being a vegetarian
and not speaking or reading Japanese. I'd read that this was a top
Okonomiyaki place in Dotonbori. It was easy enough to find with google
maps and GPS, although it was in a street off the "main strip" of
restaurants, which confused us at first. We arrived early as it
arrived and were shown upstairs. No English menu, but our server spoke
enough to communicate with, and had no problem doing a veg version,
even checking whether an egg was OK. Both my veg and my partner's meat
were delicious and well worth a visit.

HAKONE
** Hakone Bakery (2*)
Review pending. Not good, and expensive! Would not recommend. We ended up eating dinner in the Hyatt hotel, which was good, had a few veg options, and was reasonably priced.

sfvoyage

In general, people who consume dashi will have little problem in Japan, contrary to challenges that vegetarians/vegans face in avoiding animal derivatives. Soba & ubon broth is invariably made from katsuobushi (made of dried bonito flakes). Dashi, in liquid or powder form, is often added to many other food items, including tamago (thick omelette), senbei crackers, etc. And always stay away from ramen, whose broth is made from meat and animal bones.

At non-vegetarian restaurants, you can try asking the chef to use kombu dashi instead, but most often they would not be able to do so.

Also, ingredients may not always be fully disclosed in products. Once I purchased a lunch box of what appeared to be tofu cakes, after having scrutinized the ingredient labels (in Japanese) that had no mention of any meat or meat ingredients, including gelatin, only to find out later that it contained chicken.

emma69

I agree, if fish stock doesn't both people, I don't think it is too hard, but as it does bother me, I did find it quite hard to eat in restaurants in Japan (including Kyoto) when I asked detailed questions about exactly what was in dishes - didn't find any ramen that was ok, only one soba dish that was veggie (and it actually wasn't very good at all), and several other 'in any other place this would be fine' dishes (like the omelets, a dish simply listed as 'rice with egg' (made with chicken broth) and even some breads) were not veggie friendly. I was very lucky to stay in a couple of great hotels where the F&B managers were very switched on and happy to cook some Japanese dishes to my vegetarian requirements - not the norm at regular restaurants where changes are not normally accepted IME.

However, I survived, and I found that people (both restaurant staff and strangers in grocery / convenience stores) were happy to help answer my questions, and were amazingly aware of veganism (they would point out, unbidden, if things contained cheese or egg, as well as the meat, broth, fish bits I had asked them about).