How easy/convenient is it to be a vegetarian in Japan?

Question

I'm currently a vegetarian (no meat or fish) and i'm hoping to go to Japan in a about a year or two. I was just wondering if anyone can give me lets say on a scale from 1 to 10 of how easy/convenient it is to fit in and stay a vegetarian. If anyone has spent enough time in Japan or is a Japanese native and can give me an in depth answer, that would be very helpful. Thanks.

Answer 1

2 out of 10. I am not vegetarian but I don't eat very much meat and I don't eat any sea food so I am pretty aware of the difficulties in Japan of this kind of restrictive diet.

Most Japanese tend not to be picky about what they eat. When you eat out it is not acceptable to have a dish custom ordered to your needs like you can in the U.S. You can't request something made without meat if it is not that way on the menu. You can only order the items as they are on the menu. Most menu's do not offer many selections made without meat or sea food. If you can find an item on the menu you can't really be guaranteed it does not have animal products in it only that they are not a main part of it. Take Miso soup as an example. This is a part of breakfast for many Japanese and they don't think of it as having meat but it has a fish base. Most Japanese won't think to tell you something like that even if you ask. You will also find lard and other things used while cooking veggies too. The vegetarian lifestyle is just really rare in Japan so people don't think about those kinds of things.

I have seen a couple of vegetarian restaraunts but very few of them. They are mostly in larger cities like Osaka, Kobe, Tokyo etc. I have never tried them so I can't comment if they are good or not.

Of course you can have better luck if you shop at the grocery stores but unless you can read Japanese this can be a challenge for you in some ways too.  

Answer 2

I can answer this question from my point of view as a healthy eater which similar to being a vegetarian.  

In terms of going to restaurants and eating out it is difficult to be a vegetarian or vegan.  On a scale of 1 -10, 10 being the most easy/convenient, I would rate eating out in Japan as a vegetarian a 2 or a one if you cannot speak Japanese.  Even though you may order a vegetable dish, sometime you will find they put in small pieces of bacon in the mix.  Another point, sometimes the cooking grill or teppan where your food is cooked lard is used to instead of vegetable oil.  Small things like this make it very difficult in Japan.

On the other hand, if you live in Japan, I give vegetarianism a rating of 10.  You are in control of your environment and you make the coices.  There are many soy, vegetable and non animal based products in the stores, you can shop and eat as you please.  I ask my wife to buy lost of tofu, soy beans, fresh veggies and fruits all the time.

Answer 3

depends on where you come from. i'm from india which is a 10/10 very very easy. i've been pretty much everywhere in the world. i wouldn't rate half the places above 5. japan is pretty much the same.. there is veggie sushi but then again if your very strict your going to find it hard if they use the same knives they use on the fish and the same cutting board and things like that.

japan would be another 5. if your living there its different from just visiting. you'll have a kitchen and it'll be really easy to make a pasta or something qick and easy as opposed to staying in a hotel and having to use that water kettle to make cup noodles you brought from home.

i would say 5/10 like other places.

supermarkets are the best bet for you. especially if you have a kitchen and can make yourself sandwhiches,noodles,pasta and those quick things

Answer 4

1 out of 10. It would be 10 out of 10 if you lived in a temple, but that's not really practical. Think about all the foods that contain meat or fish products even if it's not obvious. That nice big bowl of ramen has been flavoured with a soup bone even if you ask them to skip the slice of pork. Lots of people put a little fish paste in their "secret" kimchee recipe. Everything from tofu to okonomiyake is served with katsuboshi on it. You have no idea what the chef is doing in the kitchen with beef bullion, fish paste, animal fat, etc., even if a given dish seems vegetarian. Wuzaracer is right, a teppan is usually greased with lard. In just about any commercial kitchen the philosophy is that what the customer doesn't know won't hurt them. In expensive places it may be even worse because of the chef's ego.

Aside from all the "hidden" meat and fish products in Japan, Japan just does not accomodate people who are different very well-"the nail that sticks up gets hammered down". That's not a good thing but that's just how it is. Company and school cafeterias do not have alternative meals. Restaurants are not into fufilling special requests-think soup n**i. In a home stay situation you are expected to eat what is put in front of you. Japanese people just don't "get" vegetarianism so they are always going to be like "just try it, you'll like it", or telling you that your health is in danger. Trust me-guys who smoke and drink are going to be telling you that you had better have a Big Mac for your health. I'm not saying you can't be a vegetarian in Japan-just that it is not easy from either a practical or social point of view.

Answer 5

I'm native Japanese and not a vegetarian . I've been to Hawaii 5 times so I know that who is vegetarian is . I've a friend who is vegetarian from NY

In terms of a convenient , I'll give it 2/10 . Let me explain that . Actually , compered with people in the U.S ,  most of Japanese is not vegetarian and is not used to eating vegetable only I think , Japanese is good at eating vegetable and meat with well-balanced though . However , Supermarket provide you many good food to vegetarian  . You can cook something by yourself .

In terms of a easy , I'll give it 1/10 . It sounds kind of too much bad , but I guess there is no big restrauran only for vegetarian . It's hard to find that my hometown , Fukuoka . I think Tokyo has a little bit  more . In the U.S , subway and janbajuice have a menu for vegetarian , right ? Sad to say , Japan is opposite . We don't have that kind .

Overall , Japan is no good at vegetarian by my personal impression since we are good at a healthful diet . However If you will go to Japan , You can get many choices . So plz Don't worry about that . You can buy anything for your-own diet . The word "vegetarian" is getting to know in Japan .

I hope it is going to be help-full for you .