Japan eats a lot of plant-based foods, perhaps more than most places in the world. However, that doesn’t make being vegetarian or vegan in Japan easy.

If you avoid animal products, you may come across unexpected hardship looking for places to eat out in Japan – but with enough information, you may also try some of the tastiest veggie dishes out there.

Today, we explore plant-based eating in Japan – foods that vegans and vegetarians in Japan will love, covertly animal-product-containing recipes to avoid, and the historic vegetarian cuisine of Buddhist monks.

On the Japanese Diet

With one of the world’s longest life expectancies, it’s well-known that the Japanese eat well.
Plenty of macro and micro nutrients, a variety of ingredients for exceptionally colorful plates[D1] , and smaller portions – Japanese cuisine strives to provide well-balanced, healthy, and tasty meals.

But even with plenty of plant-based ingredients, finding vegan and vegetarian meals can be tricky.

While Japanese people didn’t eat meat for centuries, fish was always the main source of protein and fats for many people. The Japanese pescatarian diet also includes a lot of seaweeds, rice, legumes (soy products and various types of beans), and vegetables. Still, before trade modernized, fresh fish was not readily available in many parts of the country, so many people in the inner country lived, for all intents and purposes, a vegetarian lifestyle. In modern times, people eat a lot more meat, eggs, and dairy.  

The historical vegetarian culture still lives on, though it’s far from mainstream.

To this day, some Buddhist temples offer vegetarian cuisine known as shojin ryori – it’s quite delicious, if a bit expensive.

For the most part, vegans will have plenty of options wherever they look, especially if they look into Buddhist vegetarian restaurants. Vegans, on the other hand, may need to go out of their way to keep sated – veganism a feat of devotion wherever you are located.

Here are the most common Japanese pitfalls vegans and vegetarians should look out for:

Beware: Unexpected Animal Ingredients in Japanese Food

Bonito Flakes – Katsuobushi (鰹節)

Avoiding meat and dairy is not difficult. But, Japan loves its fish. It’s the number one pitfall for vegans in Japan. Fish finds its way to the recipes you’d least expect, most importantly in the form of soup stock/flavor enhancer known as dashi.

Bonito flakes, katsuobushi in Japanese, are thin, dried strips of tuna. It’s the key ingredient in dashi, and dashi is the key ingredient of Japanese cooking. It’s a type of soup stock that is the basis for soups and noodle stocks. Most restaurants make their dashi from kombu seaweed and bonito flakes. But a vegan version of dashi does exist – in some cases, dashi can be made from kombu seaweed alone!

Make sure to double-check if katsuobushi or other fish-based dashi is found in: miso soup, sauces like tsuyu and soy sauce, okonomiyaki, convenience store snacks, and even simmered veggies (nimono).

Dashi often contains fish, but kombu-only dashi stock can be found as well

Bread and pastry

When in Japan, most of your carbs will come from rice or noodles. If you like pastries and bread, you can find vegan options but need to be careful.

In many places around the world, bread is quite straightforward and easy to pick the vegan version of. But in Japan, things get a little tricky as eggs and butter are part of the default bread.

It’s difficult to find vegan bread in Japanese supermarkets. You’ll have more luck in local bakeries!

Vegetarian and Vegan Friendly Japanese Food

Don’t let the prevalence of dashi-enriched sauces and buttery bread throw you off – Japan also offers A LOT of vegetarian and even vegan foods.

Of course, it’s easiest to keep track of what you consume if you cook for yourself. If you have the opportunity to cook, try our delicious miso soup and agedashi tofu  recipes (make sure you get vegan tsuyu sauce). For dessert, try making kuzumochi – it’s light and delicious!

If you can’t cook your meals, don’t fret – there are plenty of options to buy, if you know what to look for.

For example, if you’re craving sushi, it doesn’t have to be topped with fish. Instead, get cucumber, tofu, asparagus, daikon radish, or even sour plum (umeboshi) rolls.
In a ramen shop, especially in the summer, you can get hiyashi chuuka or reimen – cold ramen noodles topped with summer veggies, bamboo shoots (menma) and pickled ginger. Zaru soba is a dish where you get full control – you essentially get a plate of buckwheat noodles (soba), topped with seaweeds or young onions, with a dipping sauce on the side.
Coco Ichibanya is a famous Japanese curry joint popular for their vegan curry – you’ll find them in many cities across the country.

But if you’re in a pinch, head to a konbini.

Konbini vegan lunch – cheap and tasty

Konbini are Japanese convenience stores. They usually work 24/7, and are famous for selling high-quality, low-cost lunch boxes. Konbini can be your best friend if you’re traveling to Japan on a budget.

To be safe, you can learn how to read Japanese food labels fairly quickly.

Some of the tastiest konbini vegetarian and vegan ready-made foods include:

·       Onigiri – rice balls, plain and simple. Some come with a filling of fish, but you might like the umeboshi (pickled Japanese plum) or seaweed versions.

·       Natto – sold in ready-to-eat packets but best combined with veggies. This pungent soybean food is incredibly healthy – albeit an acquired taste. It comes with dashi packets on the side, but you don’t need to eat that.

·       Inarizushi – fried tofu and vinegared rice – the type of vegan sushi you just have to try.

·       Soba noodles – often sold in lunch boxes, soba are buckwheat noodles (hence their darker color) that are often eaten cold, with chopped seaweeds/green onions and a bit of dipping sauce. Provided that the sauce you get is vegan, this is an amazing quick lunch.

·       Edamame – green soy beans, usually served as a side. Absolutely delicious and incredibly healthy.

·       Mochi – The king of Japanese sweets, mochi is basically beaten rice with a bit of sugar. This chewy treat often comes with vegan fillings like anko (sweet red bean paste) or fruit.

·       Chestnuts – Japanese eat boiled and sweetened chestnuts as a desert. Found in the refrigerated section and ready to eat.

Konbini foods are great for snacks or light lunches, but if you’re looking for a great dining experience without having to explain your dietary preferences, consider the food of Buddhist monks.

Eat like a Monk – Shojin Ryori (精進料)

Looking for a high-class vegetarian or vegan meal in Japan? Try shojin ryori, Buddhist vegetarian cuisine.

It might come at a somewhat steep price, but it’ll be an experience to remember.

Shojin ryori is the Japanese version of Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. Its main principles are:

·       abstaining from violence – not killing animals,

·       avoiding waste – using all parts of plants, from root to leaf, and

·       nourishing the body – instead of seeking delight for the senses.

Despite its simplicity and alleged lack of focus on delighting the taste buds, many shojin ryori cooks create undeniably delightful combinations of flavors and textures. It famously doesn’t use pungent roots, such as onions and garlic, and keeps seasoning to a minimum. Dairy and eggs are used occasionally.

This type of diet first came to Kyoto in the 6th century. By the 15th century, shojin ryori has already taken root among Buddhists, and was further developed by Sen no Rikyu, a key figure of the Japanese tea ceremony. It was later perfected and morphed into Japanese haute cuisine – Kaiseki.

Some of the most common foods in shojin ryori include cooked vegetables, vegetarian kombu-based dashi, tofu, ganmo tofu cake, pickles, and konjac plant-based jelly (konnyaku).

It’s easiest to find in one of Kyoto’s many temples open to the public, but shojin ryori is also available in specialized restaurants in many big cities across the country.

Travel and Eat

There’s no need to compromise your diet in Japan. While being vegetarian or vegan in Japan presents unique challenges due to the prevalence of fish and animal products, it is certainly possible to enjoy a fulfilling and delicious plant-based diet. With a rich tradition of vegetarian cuisine like shojin ryori, and numerous vegan-friendly options in konbini and local restaurants, there is much to explore and savor. Bon Appetit!