Vegan on the go

While it is still pretty hard to survive traveling around Japan on a strictly vegan diet, there are now some go-to's that I often use in a pinch. While you can find my favorite restaurants on the map, here are some food chains you can find all over Japan that provide vegan dishes:

Ichiban Coco Curry 🍛

Vegetable curry with vegetable curry base, some stores also have a soy based patty. I like to order extra vegetables with mine.

MOS Burger 🍔

Their Green burger is a completely plant based burger. You can also swap the meat patty to the soy patty for most (but not all) burgers.

Kyushu Jangara Ramen 🍜

Ramen chain found also outside of Kyushu. There are two vegan options available, one with a soy based broth, the other with a salt based broth. Both options come with vegetables and tofu.

T's Tantan 🍲

They specialize in variations of vegan tantanmen, a Chinese noodle dish with a sesame base. As far as I know they are only based in Tokyo so far but you can find them mostly at big stations.

Kourakuen 🥟

Known for their cheap ramen, Kourakuen has added its first vegan dish to the menu. Their classic gyoza dumplings now come in a vegan version packed with cabbage, carrots, shiitake mushrooms and soy meat. Each plate only costs ¥240 and comes with six dumplings, a perfect afternoon snack.

Yakiniku Like 🍗

Yakiniku Like is one of the few barbeque restaurants in Japan that has started offering plant-based meat made by Next Meats. Just like typical yakiniku, you can cook these vegan cuts on a grill at your table. 

Ikea 🍗🌭🫔🍦

I know what you think - hear me out! It's not the most romantic or authentic but Ikea in Japan has actually some great vegan dishes. They have a mock-katsu curry (not available at Ikea Shibuya and Ikea Harajuku), veggie cheese dogs (¥150, exclusive to Ikea Shibuya), a plant-based kebab wrap (¥500, exclusive to Ikea Harajuku) and even dairy-free soft serve (¥250, available at all stores except Shibuya). They also sell vegan instant ramen (¥190) at all stores.

Also Google "shojin ryori" (Buddhist vegetarian cooking) wherever you go to find more hidden vegan options. I found some amazing ones in Nikko, Miyajima and Shikoku!