Travel - Is Japan vegan and plant based friendly?

Back in April, we spent two weeks in Japan, visiting Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. Whilst there are some tricky things to navigate as a vegan e.g. Dashi, it turns out there is quite a thriving scene of vegan and plant based cafes and restaurants. Plenty of research before hand definitely helped so that between social media, internet searches and Happy Cow app, I had a long list of potential options. This did of course mean we had to plan in advance and couldn't always be spontaneous. Language is of course a hurdle but whilst not always expected in popular tourist areas, the Japanese were super friendly, helpful and English language menus were often available. I am forever grateful to those who do accommodate tourists. 

So what and where did I eat on travels in Japan.

Tokyo

Almond Days (drink stand in Tokyo station)

Hatoya's Vegan fruit sandwiches

Komeda Is

T's (bento box)

Good Luck Curry

Tokyo Vegan Ramen Center

Ippudo

Plant More Café

Osaka

Pivot Base

Paprika Shokudo

Folk (café & bakery)

W Retreat Café

Genji-Soba (vegan & coeliac options available)

Kyoto

Bassanova Koyoto

Mumokuteki 

Unoyukiko Ramen

In Arashiyama - I stumbled upon vegan/plant based mini onigiri & strawberry daifuku mochi

Snacks from stores e.g. Daiso, Natural Lawson, 7-Eleven etc. - Soy Joy bars, Sweet Potato chips, Edamame, Rice crackers (be mindful of fish extract check the ingredients), dried peaches

Theme Parks - options are limited in Disney Tokyo & Universal Studios Japan but there are details online which you can review ahead of time. At Disney I only ate an ice lolly and in Universal it was pizza. I definitely recommend taking snacks. 

I can honestly say that I ate some of the best plant based food of my life in Japan. I'm sure like many countries around the world, it could be trickier in rural locations so that is something to be mindful about.

Sarah x