Article: Vegan Restaurant Recommendations for Tokyo

Asakusa Shrine

On a recent trip to Tokyo, I had the chance to eat some great foods. While I was expecting several decent vegetarian options, I was pleasantly surprised at the number of vegan options, particularly in the Tokyo area. Many of the websites are in Japanese only, so I recommend using Google Chrome's integrated translate feature if you don't read the language. Also, some restaurants have menus in both English and Japanese, but you may want to check ahead of time to confirm.

Shinjuku Area:

• Saishoku Kenbi - A vegetarian restaurant with set lunches. See the menu here or click here for more information here at Happy Cow.
• Doughnut Plant- A small stall with bagels. Supposedly, they are all vegan (except the chocolate bagels). They also offer iced and hot coffee. Located by Shinjuku Station's South exit.
• Tubu Tubu Cafe - An all-vegan cafe designed to have very healthy food. They have two locations in the wider Shinjuku vicinity.
• Loving Hut - An all-vegan cafe with mock meats and other tasty options. 

Hanada Rosso's Burger

Harajuku and Shibuya:

• Pure Cafe (official site) - All vegan cafe with many healthy options. They also have a small store and some vegan desserts. Mainly serve sandwiches, soups, and salads. Click here for my full review.

• Hanada Rosso - Vegan restaurant with really tasty plates and a lovely atmosphere. Click here for my full review or click to see more information on Happy Cow.

• Brown Rice Cafe - A vegan cafe with an organic, macrobiotic feel. Has juices, teas, rice meals, etc. and a nice atmosphere. Located in an eco-friendly building.

• Nagi Shokudo - Another vegan restaurant in the vicinity. Cozy atmosphere and humble feel. Click here for more information on Happy Cow or here for the official site. Located in the Shibuya area.

Ueno and Ryogoku:

• Genmaikoso - A more expensive restaurant with meat and vegan options. Lunch tends to be more affordable. Very close to the Edo-Tokyo museum, which I highly recommend.

Tokyo:

• T's Tan Tan - Vegan ramen! Need I say more? Located inside Tokyo station. See this post for directions. Click here for my review.

Ghibli Museum in Mitaka

Mitaka:
Mitaka is a beautiful area near Tokyo. We visited for the wonderful Ghibli museum, which I highly recommend if you enjoy any of the films (just be sure to buy tickets in advance). Vegetarian options are a little more limited. I did find this place, however, but it was only open for lunch and we didn't get a chance to try it.

• Sarasya - Appears to be a health center with a small vegetarian-friendly cafe. May only be open for lunch. Click here for information on an alternative site.

Eating out in Japan can get expensive and sometimes eating at a vegetarian restaurant can be inconvenient due to odd hours or the location. Fortunately, there are almost always a few options nearby at the ubiquitous convenience stores! From nuts for snacking to a light meal of vegetable onigiri, convenience stores are often a great budget option. Just watch out for hidden fish and other non-vegan ingredients. For a list of ingredients to avoid at convenience stores, check out this post on Veg Out Tokyo.

If you do want to make it clear that you're a vegan in Japanese, I recommend saying more direct phrases such as "Sakana wo tabererenai" ("I can't eat fish") and "Niku wo tabererenai" ("I can't eat meat") as opposed to using the term "vegan," which seems less commonly understood, particularly outside of vegetarian restaurants. For more vegan language tips, check out this post on Veg Out Tokyo.

For more ideas, check out this post from Time Out Tokyo or visit Happy Cow.

Disclosure notice: Please verify any claims with the restaurants and/or stores, especially if you have any allergies or concerns.

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Restaurant Review: Tokyo's T's Tan Tan

I have loved pasta and noodles for as long as I can remember. Before I was vegetarian, I remember getting into instant ramen when it became popular at my middle school. When I heard that there was real, fresh ramen, I was intrigued. I didn't actually get ot try "real" ramen until my latest trip to Japan, when we were sure to visit an all-vegan ramen shop.

Pros:

• English menu
• Fast service
• Location close to trains
• Reasonable prices
• Tasty options

Cons:

• Can be a little tricky to find

Summary:
T's Tan Tan is located in the bustling Tokyo train station. I only heard of it through a wonderful post by VegOut Tokyo, which provides very helpful directions. To note, it is located inside a paid area of station, but we were able to get inside with our JR passes. The restaurant was crowded and busy, but we were still seated relatively quickly. The decor is simple yet pleasing, and the place is lit well enough to make you forget that there aren't any windows. The menu offers a few simple choices, mostly ramen with soy meat. I opted for the "less spicy" option, and it still had a bit of a kick. The noodles were really tasty, and the servings were quite large (I couldn't finish mime). Service was fast a simple, and we didn't feel rushed. Vegan ramen is almost impossible to find, and T's Tan Tan made one of my dreams a reality. If you're in Tokyo, especially visiting the Imperial Palace, this is worth a stop.

Note: If you aren't going to Japan anytime soon, Dr. McDougall offers instant ramen that is pretty tasty for an instant food.

Product Ratings (out of 5)

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Performance (Taste)
Presentation
Purity
Value

Disclosure notice: This product was sent to me free of charge by the manufacturer for review. No additional compensation was accepted and the opinions are my own. Please verify any claims with the manufacturer, especially if you have any allergies or concerns.

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Recipe: Vegan Anpan

I have always loved bread. Desserts like Cheesecake never even came close.  When I discovered the Japanese treat Anpan, I fell in love.  It wasn't until a year after I went vegan that I realized that these delightful treats are often made with shortening or butter, making them not suitable for my vegan lifestyle. Fortunately, a website called Trout's Farm contained a recipe for these tasty treats.

The Recipe:

• Out of respect for the brilliant authors, please click here for the link.

Notes:
As you may have noticed, my Anpan look pretty different than those in the recipe.  I found the bread to be quite elastic and it was hard to get it to hold together at the top.  These turned out more like dinner rolls with bean filling in the upper portion, as opposed to pastry dough with a bean filling center. Both ways are delicious, but serve different purposes.

Also, be aware that the recipe calls for making a lot of extra bean filling. What can you do with it? Check back next week for another recipe idea.

Fun fact:
Anpan was developed as a Japanese version of British jelly doughnuts.  How cool is that?

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Restaurant Review: Tokyo's Pure Cafe

After reading this glowing review of Pure Cafe on VegOut Tokyo, it was one of my top choices for restaurants to try in Japan. Located near the trendy Harajuku area, this stylish restaurant is all-vegan and shares a building with a hip Aveda salon. Read on for my full review of Pure Cafe.

Pros:

• Includes a small retail shop
• Deli case with pre-cut baked goods and handmade chocolate
• All vegan
• Very fresh, healthy options
• Utilizes some organic ingredients
• Set meals available

Cons:

• A full meal can get expensive (drink, set meal, dessert)

Summary:
I really enjoyed my visit to Pure Cafe. It is a very relaxing restaurant. It really feels like an oasis where you can sit and relax and eat very healthy, fresh food. While there are several vegetarian options in Tokyo, this vegan restaurant focuses more on grains and vegetables, not fake meats or "comfort" foods. They use some organic ingredients, which is also unusual in Japan (and more expensive to do than the U.S.). Their foods were tasty but also felt very wholesome. When I visited, I had been walking all day, and eating half of my meals at convenience stores (edamame and onigiri). Pure Cafe really filled me up and felt like a very satisfying and healthy way to recharge.

Two of my favorite items at Pure Cafe were the unfiltered apple juice and the chocolate bars in the cold case up front. The apple juice was excellent, and it had been hard to find that quality of juice other places. I had been in Japan about a week and was desperate for some chocolate when I discovered the chocolate bars at Pure Cafe. They were very rich and dark, with pure ingredients. I rationed it out over the next few days, savoring just a couple of bites per day.

Pure Cafe isn't too difficult to find, and is relatively close to many popular site in the Harajuku area. I was impressed by the quality of the food, and the prices, although high compared to the U.S., were very reasonable for Japan. It was refreshing to find the vegan shop as well, where I knew I eat anything they sold, even in the retail area. If you're in Tokyo, I highly recommend a visit to Pure Cafe.

Product Ratings (out of 5)

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Performance (taste)
Presentation
Purity
Value

Disclosure notice: This product was sent to me free of charge by the manufacturer for review. No additional compensation was accepted and the opinions are my own. Please verify any claims with the manufacturer, especially if you have any allergies or concerns.

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Vegan Restaurant Recommendations for Kyoto

Image: Joi via Flickr

I had a wonderful trip to Japan last fall, which was originally planned to include stops in both Tokyo and Kyoto. The Kyoto portion of my trip didn't happen, but I still spent several hours compiling an itinerary, including several vegan and veg-friendly restaurants. Be sure to check out this guide first for some great tips for vegetarians. Also, special thanks to Happy Cow, which served as a great resource for vegetarian restaurants in a foreign country. When many of these restaurants had no website or a very limited website, review sites are invaluable (as was Google Translate). Most of the places listed below should have English menus, but please confirm with the restaurant if its absence would be an issue for you.

Central Kyoto:

• Obanzai - A veg-friendly buffet with several Western food options. It may be difficult to find, so consult the directions on the Happy Cow webpage.
• Morpho Cafe - An all vegan restaurant with burgers and other fun chioces. It appeared to be about a 15 minute walk from Nijo castle. Click here for the Happy Cow review page.
• BioTei - A veg-friendly place that also serves meat. It had good reviews and appears to be simple but can be busy. Name in Japanese: 自然派レストラン びお亭

Kyoto University Area

• Falafel Garden - As the name suggests, it's a falafel restaurant. Appears to have an airy and open feel. Click here for the Happy Cow review page.
• Cafe Proverbs 15:17 - This restaurant is highly praised by many, including Mika from Veg Out Tokyo. This appears to be a nicer, all-vegetarian restaurant that reminded me of Real Food Daily. Click here for the Happy Cow review page.
• Sujata - This tiny restaurant appears to be located on the north side of the road east of the Hyakumanben intersection. The focus is Indian food, with lots of curries.
• Tosca - Those looking for somewhere nicer (and willing to pay a bit more for it) may want to try this restaurant. It is organic and vegan, offering soups, burgers, sandwiches and more. Click here for the Happy Cow review page.

Gion Area:

• Sunshine Cafe - A veg-friendly restaurant apparently located on the fifth floor above Shakey's in shopping arcade beside Teramachi. They have limited food options, including some non-veg.
• Mumokuteiki Cafe and Foods - A cute all-vegan cafe that even serves desserts. They have several lunch set options and are reported to be busy on occasion. Click here for the Happy Cow review page.
• Cafe Matsuontoko - A trendy vegan restaurant that is open fairly late. They offer burgers, salads, wine, organic drinks, and soy ice cream. Click here for the Happy Cow review page.

Here is another link to an older post on another blog that lists several of these restaurants, complete with pictures! If you plan to head to the Kyoto area, let me know if you try and of these restaurants, and, if so, what you thought of them!

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Article: Green Tips from Tokyo

A Train in Japan; Ben Garney via Flickr

On my recent trip to Japan, I was amazed by some of the cultural differences, especially in regards to "going green." Japan is a relatively small island, taking up a smaller area in square miles than the entire state of California. It is no surprise, then, that eco-friendly habits would become a way of life. Read on for some of the fascinating differences I hope we will someday emulate in the U.S.

Conscious Consumption

• Reusable bags are fairly common and easy to use at stores. I brought one with me and really cut back on the number of plastic bags I had to throw out or bring home at the end of my trip.
• Secondhand Goods, such as books, music, and DVDs, are widely available at stores such as Book Off. I was stunned by the new or nearly-new condition of most of the "used" items. It seems that secondhand books, music, and DVDs are handled with more care than I often see here in the U.S., which helps extend a product's life. It should be noted, however, that other used items such as clothing are not very popular in Japan and, for cultural reasons, most other items are often purchased new.
• Recycling is convenient in many places in Japan.Whether I was in a coffee shop or a zoo, I often found recycling containers side-by-side with each garbage can. It was impressive, and makes the choice to recycle a very easy one.

Transportation

• Trains are incredibly clean and well-run in Japan. Trains are rarely late and are kept in good condition. Many cities have robust public transportation systems (though some cities, like Kyoto, also are largely dependent on buses). I was very impressed by the efficiency of the public transportation system. While waiting for a monorail to the Chiba zoo, I saw a monorail attendant pull out a ramp, help a child in a wheelchair onto the monorail, and load up the ramp in less than a minute. Everyone can utilize the public transportation system, because it is easy and convenient (at least in larger cities).
• Cities are built for walking, offering sidewalks, narrow alleyways, and other infrastructure that is essential for foot traffic. Whereas cities in the U.S. are often sprawling, cities in Japan have small hubs around train stations, which are often in easy walking or biking distance from residences. I rarely felt in danger from car traffic, a nice change from walking along the sidewalks of Austin, Texas and having cars zoom past.

Architecture

A small apartment in Tokyo; maridari via Flickr

• Small spaces are one of the hallmarks of Tokyo living, and New York living as well. I stayed in a hotel room that measured a mere 165 square feet, and yet I felt more comfortable than I did in many larger hotel rooms in the U.S. The difference lied in the design; a smaller space that is laid out efficiently and meets your need is, in my opinion, far superior to a larger space that is poorly designed and full of wasted space.
• Vertical spaces take advantage of the often-ignored space above our heads. Our hotel, for example, took up several floors of a building that also served as a train station and a multi-story shopping mall. It was an incredibly simple idea, and yet housing all those buildings under one roof was a very practical idea. I could take an escalator downstairs and have Starbucks coffee, or an elevator down and go shopping, all without leaving the building.
• Green spaces are very common, even in larger cities like Tokyo. It's easy to find yourself in a garden or a forest and forget that you are in the middle of a huge city. Green spaces also help to combat some of the smog and other negative effects of city life.

Restaurants

• Smaller portions of food are served in Japan than in many restaurants in the U.S. "Bigger is better" has become a common trend, especially in Texas, and it has had an unfortunate effect on our bodies. Despite the increased amount of physical activity, I never found myself feeling hungry after a meal. It was nice not to have to limit myself to half of my plate at every meal, and being served "just enough" was a wonderfully welcome change.
• Water was served upon request, but wasn't handed around the table as a policy. Some U.S. restaurants have instituted a similar policy in the interest of saving our drinking water. I was glad to see this was the norm at most Japanese restaurants, as it prevents restaurants from dumping gallons of clean, untouched water down the drain. 

Other

• Green cleaning at our hotel wasn't just an option; it was incentivized. For each day we chose to forego our normal changing of linens and cleaning, we received a 500 yen voucher to use in the hotel restaurant or gift shop. Giving customers an incentive to save resources is a fantastic way to help the earth and the hotel at the same time.
• Electricity wouldn't turn on without the hotel key. I had never seen this before, so initially I was confused, but then I thought it was brilliant. It makes it much harder to leave a light on when you leave, as you need to take the key with you if you want to get back into your room later.
• Auto-off switches were installed on almost every escalator or moving sidewalk. Instead of keeping them running during "business hours," busy places like train stations would often keep escalators running only when there was traffic and have them shut off automatically when they were not needed.
• Shoes are not worn inside homes and often not in hotel rooms, either. While some American homes also practice this custom, the idea of removing shoes helps keep building interiors cleaner. If dirt isn't tracked inside in the first place, there is less time and energy required to clean a home.

Although Tokyo has some undeniably consumeristic aspects, Japan has integrated some inspiring eco-friendly  practices into their culture. I would love to see more of these green ideas in the U.S., but it would require a cultural shift as well if we wish to see lasting change.

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Restaurant Review: Tokyo's Hanada Rosso

Veggie Plate

Of all the restaurants I visited in Tokyo, there was only one that I made a special effort to visit twice. This was Hanada Rosso, a wonderful vegan restaurant in the Harajuku area of Tokyo.

Pros:

• English menu
• Friendly, helpful staff
• Nice atmosphere and presentation
• Convenient location just a couple of minutes off of the main shopping street
• Fresh, tasty and all-vegan
• Relatively affordable for Japan
• Nice website (not always very common for Japanese restaurants)
  

Cons:

• A little hard to find initially

Summary:

Veggie Burger

Hanada Rosso won us over immediately, as they had an amazing veggie burger that we enjoyed two different ways: as a burger and on its own (in sauce and over spaghetti). Meals generally come in sets, so a complete meal is balanced, fresh and filling. I attempted to speak Japanese with the staff, and our servers were always extremely patient and helpful, even though I knew their English was likely far better than my Japanese. I learned a couple of new words from our waitress, and was very grateful for the help of the staff.

The restaurant was a bit difficult to locate initially, as it is easiest approached from the southeast but we were trying to access it from the northeast. Once found, however, it was quite easy to find for our second visit. I was happy to return for what I was sure would be another great vegan meal, and I was not disappointed. The quality of the food was great and it was relatively inexpensive compared to most of the other vegan, macrobiotic, and "health food" options in Tokyo. Another big plus for me was the English menu and friendly staff, which made our experience much more enjoyable.

Finally, it should be mentioned that there is a very nice website that even offers menus (in Japanese). I used Google Chrome to translate, and found a good deal of accurate information this way. Thanks for Happy Cow for tipping me off to this great restaurant, which I would never have known was just a few minutes away from the attractions of Harajuku.


Product Ratings (out of 5)

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Performance (Taste)
Presentation
Purity
Value

Disclosure notice: No compensation was accepted for this review and the opinions are my own. Please verify any claims with the restaurant, especially if you have any allergies or concerns.

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