vegetarian
Just how far can plant-based meat go in terms of taste and texture? Our Japanese-language reporter tests it out in Tokyo.
Brand new menu offers a variety of sakura-inspired drinks and meals for vegan and vegetarian diners.
Looking for a quick, take-out vegan meal option in Japan? Here’s a new twist on a Japanese bakery favorite.
From the same creative kitchen that brought us No-Face yakisoba and Jabba the Hut shepherd’s pie, come another cute, delicious vegan recipe for all the Final Fantasy fans out there.
With a choice of meat or soy patty fillings, vegetarians and meat lovers alike will fall in love this healthy fast food option.
Coco Ichibanya rolls out a new curry roux in select locations to better serve its health-conscious and non-Japanese clientele.
Popular Japanese fast food chain Mos Burger has opened a new restaurant that serves gourmet meals, alcohol and a special vegetarian burger made from a whole tomato.
Vegetarians traveling to Japan may find it difficult to find food that fits their dietary lifestyle. Fish seems to be in everything including the soup stock used to make miso soup. To make matters worse, many foods in convenience stores, bakeries or even Starbucks have misleading labels, and that “vegetable sandwich,” or “vegetable pizza” may actually have meat in it too! You can order foods like okonomiyaki or monjayaki with no meat, but you still can’t be sure it won’t come with shredded fish flakes on top that there isn’t fish lurking in the dashi-based sauces.
I always recommend to my vegetarian friends that rather than asking Japanese restaurants to make something special for them, it’s better to just order food that doesn’t have fish or meat (or dairy) in it from the beginning. Fish has always been a staple in the Japanese diet, but the eating of wild and domestic game was banned for over 1,200 years in Japan, and Buddhist tradition gave rise to a special vegetarian cuisine called shojin ryori. Even now, the traditional Buddhist meal called ozen (rice, miso soup, pickles, boiled/simmered vegetables and beans), is still served at funerals in Japan.
So traditionally, there is a lot of vegetarian food in the Japanese diet. You just have to discover it. And RocketNews24 is here to help! In this article we’ll introduce you to common Japanese dishes that can be ordered at almost any Japanese restaurant that have no meat, fish or animal products in them, so, let’s jump into Japanese vegetarianism 101.
If you’re vegetarian or simply not a fan of raw fish, a visit to a sushi train restaurant with friends isn’t exactly going to fill you with joy. While the touch panel screens and the treat of watching your orders arrive on a conveyor belt is always entertaining, wouldn’t it be nicer if there were a few more fish-phobic options on the menu?
That’s exactly what a new chain of restaurants in Japan is offering, with vegetarian sushi, made with fresh, seasonal vegetables, and a host of other meat-based dishes, including ham and pork-topped sushi options, available for customers.
We paid a visit to Sushi Nova at their brand new location, the first of a hundred to hit Japan by 2019, and were incredibly impressed with what they had to offer.
Popular conveyor belt sushi chain Kappa Sushi (pronounced Kappa Zushi) is known around Japan for its tasty morsels, starting at 108 yen (US$0.90) per plate, and its family-friendly setting, with cosy booths and a cute logo featuring an animated kappa, or water sprite (think Sandy from the TV series Monkey Magic, only tinier, rounder and a thousand times cuter).
Now the well-known chain is moving things up a notch, with the September 18 opening of a new type of conveyor belt restaurant called Sushi Nova. Featuring fashionable, modern interiors and a salad sushi menu that uses seasonal vegetables in place of fish, the company plans to open 100 of these new restaurants in Japan by 2019.
Unlike in some countries, where even a steak restaurant will offer at least one vegetarian option, it can be difficult to find meat-free meals in Japan. There are, however, some vegetarian restaurants to be found in the capital, and I’m making it my mission to go around trying them all.
Today I’d like to introduce Karan Koron Shokudo, located right next to Yoyogi Uehara Station.
Okonomiyaki is one of the most popular foods cooked at home in Japan. One of Japan’s Top 10 Comfort Foods, the dish is fun to make with family or friends and best of all, it’s easy! Okonomiyaki is also popular with foreigners who when visiting Japan can sample the dish at any of the myriad specialty restaurants dedicated to this vegetable-rich meal.
So, what exactly is okonomiyaki? And how do you make it? Glad you asked!
Read on to find out more about this simple dish: watch a how-to video showing you how to make it, check out photos that show you some unusual ingredients, and get inside tips from Kazuko who regularly makes the dish for her seven grandchildren.
Yoshinoya, Japan’s most ubiquitous domestic fast food chain, is known first and foremost for its beef bowls. So strong is the mental connection between the restaurant and gyudon, as beef bowls are called in Japanese, that Yoshinoya’s nickname among fans is Yoshigyu.
So we were surprised to hear that Yoshinoya’s newest menu item is not only beef-free, but doesn’t contain any meat at all! A vegetarian option at the king of beef bowl restaurants? Not only does it exist, but we’ve tried it.
Japan is filled with excellent food, but one of our absolute favorites is ramen. There’s just something (possibly everything) about it that’s absolutely delicious. That said, it does present a problem for vegetarians and vegans, since even the broth uses a fairly copious amount of animal products. Now, you may not care about that, but maybe you have a few friend who do. Or maybe you’re just looking for new takes on traditional food. If so, T’s Tantan, a vegetarian ramen restaurant, is just what you’ve been looking for.
We recently sent one of our Japanese writers to check it out, and now you can read his report below and then go try it out for yourself! Or at least tell all your vegetarian friends about it. We promise they’ll love you if you do!
MOST POPULAR
Now
Japan’s cheapest hotel charges just 130 yen (US$1.20) for a room, with a huge, no-privacy catch
Starbucks Japan releases more limited-edition mugs, cards and travel bottles for Christmas 2019
Crazy-cheap Japanese apartment for less than 140 bucks a month comes with headaches every day
Is 150,000 yen (US$1,389) a month enough to live on in Tokyo? Depends what kind of life you want
Kyoto yakitori restaurant earns Michelin rating with one of the best value-for-money deals in Japan
How many hours a month do anime artists work in Japan? Survey finds crazy number, unhappy workers
One last visit to Japan’s craziest, scariest video game arcade: Warehouse Kawasaki【Photos】
Weightlifting is Japanese salarymen’s newest hobby, report says, since “Muscles won’t betray you”
Beautiful kimono-cloth Pikachu doll is latest creation from century-old Tokyo doll maker【Photos】
Is Japan’s biggest “boys” manga magazine really being read by little boys?
Weekly
- Japan’s cheapest hotel charges just 130 yen (US$1.20) for a room, with a huge, no-privacy catch
Uniqlo’s shockingly sexy new clothing item inspires selfies and anime-style fan art- One last visit to Japan’s craziest, scariest video game arcade: Warehouse Kawasaki【Photos】
Tokyo’s amazing 2D Cafe looks like an illustration, but it’s an actual restaurant you can eat in!
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure memes are the signature seasoning at this ramen restaurant in Japan【Vid】
Jackie Chan spotted cuddling a puppy at a Japanese home centre【Video】- Is 150,000 yen (US$1,389) a month enough to live on in Tokyo? Depends what kind of life you want
Otaku dances like a Japanese idol in front of J-Pop idol at live event in Tokyo【Video】
Anime fan gets maybe the nicest letter of noise complaint ever from his neighbor- Crazy-cheap Japanese apartment for less than 140 bucks a month comes with headaches every day
Monthly
Microsoft Japan’s experiment with 3-day weekend boosts worker productivity by 40 percent
Five reasons not to live in Japan (as chosen by Switzerland’s perviest otaku)- Japan’s cheapest hotel charges just 130 yen (US$1.20) for a room, with a huge, no-privacy catch
Why do Japanese toilets have double hooks on their doors?
Post-meal waste at Japanese sushi restaurant sparks controversy online- Uniqlo’s shockingly sexy new clothing item inspires selfies and anime-style fan art
Japanese women categorise male friends by levels of intimacy, from hugging to bathing
Shinkansen announcer shares moment her mother hears her voice on bullet train for the first time
Kyoto’s popular tourist spot Gion to forbid photos on private roads, 10,000 yen fine to violators
“Otaku” YouTuber confronts Tokyo tough-guy litterers, who’ve got no idea who they’re dealing with
Yearly
- Microsoft Japan’s experiment with 3-day weekend boosts worker productivity by 40 percent
- Five reasons not to live in Japan (as chosen by Switzerland’s perviest otaku)
- Japan’s cheapest hotel charges just 130 yen (US$1.20) for a room, with a huge, no-privacy catch
PewDiePie buys house in Japan, calls it “a dream come true”
Naruto’s author Kishimoto reveals what characters’ names would’ve been if editor didn’t intervene
We asked a Niantic insider 30 questions about Pokémon Go, learned a lot of useful information
Why do Japanese recycle bins have two openings but dump everything into the same compartment?
Japanese Mame Shiba Inu banknote design pays homage to nation’s beloved dog- Why do Japanese toilets have double hooks on their doors?
Japanese Phantom Cheesecake: A sweet so popular 2,000 sold in ten minutes
RECOMMENDED STORIES
How many hours a month do anime artists work in Japan? Survey finds crazy number, unhappy workers
One last visit to Japan’s craziest, scariest video game arcade: Warehouse Kawasaki【Photos】
Weightlifting is Japanese salarymen’s newest hobby, report says, since “Muscles won’t betray you”
Beautiful kimono-cloth Pikachu doll is latest creation from century-old Tokyo doll maker【Photos】
Is Japan’s biggest “boys” manga magazine really being read by little boys?
Do you know shabu shabu? Salt Bae thinks he does but he clearly doesn’t【Video】
Microsoft Japan’s experiment with 3-day weekend boosts worker productivity by 40 percent
Anime fan gets maybe the nicest letter of noise complaint ever from his neighbor
Cosplayers find a way to enjoy Japan’s love hotels while staying fully clothed: Photo sessions
W.T.F. Japan: Top 5 most offensive Japanese swear words 【Weird Top Five】
Sonic the Hedgehog’s creator still doesn’t like one part of his much-improved movie redesign
Japanese model home provides model wife and model daughter so you can feel the joy of family life
Starbucks Japan unveils new Nutty White Chocolate Frappuccino for Christmas 2019
-
