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Essential Vegan in Japan Travel Guide (2024)

ByRoseanne Ducut

While finding vegan food in Japan takes some effort and planning, my experience of visiting as a vegan in Japan has been pretty good! And the food has been worth it.

Bigger cities like Tokyo and Osaka have a large number of vegan restaurants and cafes, and in smaller cities, there’s usually a few vegan and vegetarian restaurants, plus veganizable options at non-vegan places.

Here are my main tips for finding vegan food in Japan as a vegan who loves to travel for food.

At the end, I also include a list of vegan festivals in Japan, local vegans to follow, basic language phrases, and vegan shopping.

Quick Vegan Food in Japan Tips:

A collage of three vegan dishes from different restaurants in Osaka, Japan. The left image shows a bowl of Vegan Syoyu Ramen topped with seaweed, tofu, and vegetables. The middle image features a bao bun filled with vegan meatballs, purple cabbage, and sauce, with condiments in the background. The right image displays a meal with takoyaki, fries, and a purple cabbage salad from a vegan restaurant.
  • While you can absolutely survive eating vegan at non-vegan restaurants, it’s always safest and more enjoyable to eat at all-vegan restaurants.
  • Most ingredient labels will not be labeled in English so you’ll be using translation camera apps quite a bit!
  • Many temple restaurants (shojin ryori) usually have fully-vegan menus.
  • Fish broth (dashi) and bonito flakes are common ingredients in seemingly-all vegetable dishes.
  • While veganism is not widespread in Japan, the number of vegan and plant-based options have been increasing.
  • Many traditional Japanese sweets are often vegan.

Vegan Restaurants in Japan

Vegan Golden Sesame Ramen - T’s Tantan Ramen in Tokyo Station, Japan: A bowl of golden sesame ramen topped with fresh greens, sprouts, and sesame seeds, served with a side of rice and a few pieces of gyoza on a tray.

Here are my reviews of vegan restaurants in Japan if you’re visiting these cities:

Vegan omurice from CHOICE, Vegan meat bowl + hot chocolate from Kitten Company Cafe, and Gozen set from mumokuteki cafe:

Vegan omurice from Choice Restaurant in Kyoto, consisting of rice wrapped in a fluffy omelette, topped with a dollop of ketchup and a pat of butter, served with a mango smoothie.
Vegan meat bowl with mixed vegetables and rice from Kitten Company Cafe in Kyoto. The dish is accompanied by a hot chocolate.
Vegan gozen set from Mumokuteki Cafe in Kyoto with various dishes including salad, rice, pickles, and a hamburger patty with sauce.

Apps to Download for Vegan Food in Japan:

  1. HappyCow: You can download the app on your phone and read reviews from other vegans and vegetarians for vegan food in Japan they’ve tried.
  2. Google Translate or Papago app: Translate menus and labels by using the camera tool to scan the menu to English, or use the translator to communicate with staff.

Non-Vegan Ingredients to Look Out For:

  • Dashi: A common broth usually made from fish used in soups, sauces, stews, and sometimes tofu dishes.
  • Katsuobushi: Dried bonito flakes, often used as a topping or to flavor dishes.
  • Dairy: Used in breads and baked goods (plenty of vegan bakeries though and accidentally-vegan Japanese desserts).

Common Japanese Dishes to Veganize:

These dishes are for times you’re not able to find any vegan restaurants or vegan options nearby, or are eating with non-vegans.

  • Sushi: Opt for vegetable sushi rolls like cucumber (kappa maki), avocado, and pickled radish. Sometimes inari sushi (rice in sweet tofu pockets) is vegan, but double check for dashi.
  • Tempura: Vegetables fried in a batter. Double check that the batter is made without eggs.
  • Miso Soup: Make sure the miso paste doesn’t use dashi stock made from fish.
  • Gyoza: Look for vegetable fillings like cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, and tofu.
  • Soba Noodles: Ask for soba noodles and add vegetables and tofu, with a soy sauce dipping sauce without dashi.

Accidentally-Vegan Street Food in Japan

Here are some accidentally vegan street food in Japan to try.

  • Yaki Imo: Roasted sweet potatoes, typically sold in winter. Don Quijotes sometimes sells them.
  • Dango: Skewered rice dumplings coated in sweet soy sauce glaze or filled with red bean paste.
Dango skewer with four round, grilled dumplings covered in a sweet soy sauce glaze from 7-Eleven in Japan.
  • Mochi: Glutinous rice cakes, often sold plain or with sweet fillings like red bean paste.
A hand holding a partially eaten Umegae mochi, a rice cake filled with red bean paste, wrapped in paper at Dazaifu Tenmangu in Fukuoka, Japan.
  • Edamame : Steamed or boiled soybeans, often served with salt.
  • Taiyaki: Fish-shaped cakes with sweet fillings like red bean paste that are usually not vegan, but I’ve visited shops in Tokyo and Fukuoka that make it vegan!

Look for Vegan Versions of These!

These Japanese dishes are NOT vegan, but many vegan restaurants make vegan versions and are very good and worth trying:

Listed in order of appearance: vegan okonomiyaki, vegan kaarage (fried chick’n), and vegan takoyaki.

A plate of vegan okonomiyaki topped with mayonnaise and green herbs from Aju vegan restaurant in Osaka, Japan.
Vegan Karaage with Tartar Sauce - Izakaya Masaka Vegan Restaurant in Tokyo, Japan: A plate of crispy vegan karaage topped with creamy tartar sauce, served with shredded cabbage and a small dish of pickles.
A plate of vegan takoyaki topped with sauce and mayonnaise from Shinsekai Paprika Shokudo Vegan & Gluten-free in Osaka, Japan.

Plus these vegan versions for desserts: vegan fruit and cream sandwiches and vegan taiyaki:

Vegan Taiyaki Hiiragi in Tokyo, Japan: A hand holding a fish-shaped taiyaki pastry filled with red bean paste, with a small shop and menu board visible in the background.
Strawberry Hatoya’s Vegan Fruit Sandwiches in Tokyo, Japan: A hand holding a packaged sandwich filled with large strawberry slices and whipped cream, labeled with a Japanese logo, with a bustling street scene in the background.

Vegan Food in Japan: Convenience Stores

Beyond the basic nuts, dried fruit and chips, here are some vegan food in Japan options at convenience stores like 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Natural Lawson, and Ministop (they’ll all vary).

Again, ingredient labels will likely not be in English. Use Google Translate or Papago app to scan and translate the label.

Vegan banana milk: Similar to the vegan banana milk found in Korea. It was so good, I bought the larger sizes at Don Quijote.

Kikkoman banana-flavored soy milk with Japanese text and illustrations of a sun, trees, and bananas held in one hand, with a plum onigiri in the other hand. Both items are from a Japanese convenience store.
Yellow carton of Kikkoman banana-flavored soy milk with Japanese text and illustrations of a sun, trees, and bananas. The product has 4% banana juice and is labeled as a healthy soy beverage.

The same brand KIKKOMAN Tounyu also has several vegan flavors like strawberry and coffee. A few like matcha and cocoa are not vegan (third photo).

Kikkoman coffee-flavored soy milk with Japanese text and illustrations of a sun, trees, and coffee beans, held in hand. The carton suggests heating the soy milk for a hot beverage.
Kikkoman strawberry-flavored soy milk with Japanese text and illustrations of a sun, trees, and a strawberry. The carton highlights the inclusion of dietary fiber and 3% strawberry juice.
Close-up of a green matcha soy milk drink carton with Japanese text translated to English using Google Lens. The label highlights allergens, including soy, and lists ingredients such as soybeans, matcha tea, and rice oil, with storage instructions and manufacturer information.

Onigiri rice balls: Most convenience stores will have onigiri but are limited to plum and salted plain. Double check for any that may have fish powder or stock.

Pickled plum onigiri wrapped in seaweed from Family Mart with Japanese text. The packaging includes nutritional information
Salted rice ball from 7-Eleven in a clear package with Japanese text. The rice ball is plain and triangular in shape.

Family Mart: This year they released a line of vegan-friendly items. I tried the soy meat & kale wrap and tiramisu. The kale wrap was good but small. The tiramisu was so good!

Vegan tiramisu from Family Mart with Japanese text on the packaging. The dessert is labeled with the price and allergen information, indicating it contains wheat.
Soy meat and kale wrap from Family Mart with Japanese text on the packaging. The wrap includes cheese made from plants and non-egg mayonnaise.

Vegetable stick chips: These ones from Natural Lawson are vegan and were my favorite. Super addicting!

Package of Calbee light texture vegetable sticks with Japanese text. The bag shows a plate of thin, crispy vegetable sticks. The product is labeled as vegan and is sold in a Japanese convenience store.

Monaka: Wafers filled with sweet red bean paste. The ones at 7-Eleven are vegan. I found some at Don Quijote that had dairy, so always check!

Monaka wafer filled with sweet red beans from 7-Eleven with Japanese text on the packaging. The package design features a geometric pattern in yellow and white.

Karintō: Traditional Japanese snack of deep-fried brown sugar and flour.

Package of deep-fried brown sugar snacks, known as karintō, from Lawson. The bag features a bowl of the crispy brown snacks and has Japanese text.

For a complete list, check out this list.

All-Vegan Convenience Store in Tokyo:

Weller Vegan Convenience Store in Tokyo, Japan: An aisle with refrigerated shelves displaying a variety of vegan products, including tofu, plant-based milk, and packaged foods.

Weller is an-all vegan health and convenience store located in the Ginza district in Tokyo, and just a few minutes walk from Taiyaki Hiiragi that serves vegan taiyaki!

Weller sells imported and local vegan snacks, beauty products, drinks, and ingredients.

They also have convenience store food items like onigiri, rice bowls, sandwiches, and desserts. I got a bibimbap bowl to-go and it was really good!

Vegan Bibimbap - Weller Vegan Convenience Store in Tokyo, Japan: A bowl of vegan bibimbap with various vegetables like carrots, cabbage, seaweed, and mushrooms, topped with sesame seeds and thin red pepper strips.

🏨 Vegan Travel Tip: Look up vegan-related activities on Viator

Vegan Food in Japan: Fast-Food Restaurants:

In case you’re unable to find vegan food in a small city or are eating with non-vegans, here are two common restaurant chains with vegan options.

  • CoCo Ichibanya offers a vegan vegetable curry option. You can choose your spice level, and price is affordable.
  • Mos Burger has plant-based Green Burger made with soy patty and vegetables.

Non-Vegan Restaurants in Japan to Look For:

If you’re craving other cuisines or having trouble finding vegan food, try ordering these dishes that are generally vegan by default (always good to check).

  • Indian Restaurants: Chana Masala, Aloo Gobi, Dal, Vegetable Biryani, Roti, Samosa. (Ensure dishes are not made with ghee.)
  • Mediterranean Restaurants: Hummus, Dolma (grape leaves), Falafel, Tabouli, Fattoush, Pita Bread (confirm vegan), Roasted Vegetables.

Basic Language Phrases for Vegans

Seating area of Aju Vegan Restaurant in Osaka, featuring a cozy interior with wooden furniture and a view of the kitchen area.
  • Does this have __?: これは__が入っていますか？(Kore wa __ ga haitteimasu ka?)
  • No, there is none: いいえ、ありません (Iie, arimasen)
  • Yes, there is: はい、あります (Hai, arimasu)
  • Please do not put __: __を入れないでください ( __ o irenaide kudasai)
  • I don’t eat meat: 私は肉を食べません (Watashi wa niku o tabemasen)
  • I am a vegetarian: 私は菜食主義者です (Watashi wa saishokushugisha desu)
  • I am a vegan: 私はビーガンです (Watashi wa bīgan desu)
  • Fish stock: だし (Dashi)
  • Meat: 肉 (Niku)
  • Cow’s Milk: 牛乳 (Gyūnyū)
  • Eggs: 卵 (Tamago)
  • Cheese: チーズ (Chīzu)
  • Chicken: 鶏肉 (Toriniku)
  • Fish: 魚 (Sakana)
  • Shrimp: エビ (Ebi)
  • Shrimp paste: エビペースト (Ebi pēsto)

Vegan Festivals in Japan

Most vegan festivals are held during spring and autumn.

📖 Check out my full list of 130+ vegan festivals around the world.

Vegan Communities in Japan

Local Vegans to Follow in Japan

Vegan Shopping in Japan

  • Beyond vegan food in Japan, there are vegan skincare, makeup and other beauty and toiletry items you can buy in Japan.
  • Major drugstore chains like Matsumoto Kiyoshi, Sugi Pharmacy, and Watsons usually have vegan beauty products, especially in the natural and organic product aisles.
  • Don Quijote will also have local and imported beauty products that will be labeled vegan. If you’re unsure, look up the product online or contact the company. They also carry lots of vegan Korean skincare.

Hope this Vegan Japan guide was helpful and enjoy eating all the great vegan food!

Book before your Japan trip:

▢ Local sim card or Japan eSIM card

▢ Ride from the airport: prebook a ride | airport train

▢ Book discounted hotels in Japan (what I use)

▢ Browse through the most popular Japan tours

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Vegan in Japan Travel Guide pin: A promotional image for a travel guide about being vegan in Japan. The image features a hand holding a packaged strawberry sandwich, a popular Japanese treat, with visible layers of fresh strawberries and cream between slices of soft bread. The top portion of the image contains the text "TRAVEL GUIDE TO BEING VEGAN IN: JAPAN" in bold lettering, with "JAPAN" highlighted in orange. The background shows a street scene in Japan, subtly out of focus, enhancing the context of the travel experience.
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Roseanne Ducut is a solo female traveler and Filipina from the Bay Area, California. She writes practical and culture-rich travel guides and lives a not-so-secret double life as a fangirl. A veghead for over 15 years, Roseanne also writes vegan guides to help others plan their trips.