Vegan in Japan?

Question

I'm pretty sure a lot of people here want to visit Japan one day, right?

I saw something on a vegan food blog once about eating vegan food in japan and from what I remember they seemed to find enough to eat although they were saying that it took them a while to find places that sold stuf without fish in it. They also said that Japan was one of the hardest places to be vegan. Is this true?

Answer 1

I have heard it is pretty easy. From what I've read you do need to watch out for fish, they stick it in alot of foods.

Answer 2

The first girl is right, besides the Shinto and Buddhist people eat no animal product and there a large part of the population, in fact in japan you more likely to get pure vegan dishes, I am a former chef and worked there in the 1980's for a hotel chains western "french" kitchen, and I love all the Japanese veggie cuisine, Natto was my favorite.

Answer 3

Not true.  Not true at all!

I lived there for a year.

It was just about 100 times easier to eat vegan in Japan than it is in N. America.  Very very easy.  Japan is like Italy, they are really into good food.  Food is big there, unlike in N. America, where junk food is king.  You can literally find some really healthy vegan stuff just at the regular corner store, no problem.  7-11 in Japan has lots of healthy stuff in there, unlike the 100% junkfood versions in N. America.  Of course you need to be able to read the ingredients, or at least know how to ask the right questions.  Moss Burger (restaurant chain) even has veggie burgers and other items.  I could go to just about any chain restaurant, and they have some healthy Japanese food on the menu.  I went to Nuffy's Doughnuts and had Miso Soup.

At restaurants, just about every restaurant is already at least 50% vegan to start with  -- just as the regular Japanese diet is actually mostly vegetarian (and all dishes are served separately, so the meat dish is separate from the noodles, rice, veggies, etc.).

In the cities, there are lots of vegan/vegetarian restaurants, I even had a healthy food restaurant guide book and checked out as many as I could... there are fully organic restaurants, Indian, french, italian, vegan, vegetarian... and shojinryori (temple food) at temples and restaurants.  There are tofu restaurants, noodle restaurants, sushi restaurants, ... I had the time of my life trying all the different food in Japan.  You just have to tell the servers that you are wanting vegetarian food, no sea food, no animal products, no msg, etc.  Some know exactly what you are talking about and even know the word vegan, but often they have no idea if fish is included or not or whatever... just like in N. America.

Answer 4

I'm am a Meat-eating american living in Japan temperaily and I think that is bull. It's almost hard to get meat here like in America. It's also as simple as asking for Tofu instead of meat or asking for them to keep the meat out.

I'm not an expert but really, eating ramen and rice is easy without meat. I think that's a myth you have heard.

Answer 5

nar no way...uv got ur rice dishes noodle dishes soups and stir fries all with out meat fish egg all that and japanese ppl r prity mello they will make u up a dish prity much 2 order ay...so i dont think japan is a hard place to b a vegan take it easy piece out and hope this helps :)