Vegetarian & Vegan Options in Japan 🌱

Contrary to popular belief, there are plenty of vegetarian and vegan options in Japan - you just need to know where to look :)

Being vegetarian or vegan in Japan can be challenging, mainly because many Japanese dishes are based on meat and fish. In fact, most soup broths often include meat or fish. For example, if you’re a ramen lover—unless stated otherwise, the broth is usually pork-based. That’s partly because pork contains about three times more fat than chicken.

The terms “vegetarian” and “vegan” are less familiar in Japan than in the West, and people may feel a bit confused or unsure about what is allowed or not in different diets. That said, with a bit of planning, it’s absolutely possible to get by and enjoy great food without compromising.

In Japan, there are quite a few dishes based on rice—such as rice noodles and different types of cooked rice. If you like it, tofu is available in an impressive variety of forms and textures. And of course, there’s miso—a seasoning made from fermented soybeans and koji, a type of mold used in many Japanese foods.

As awareness grows, many vegetarian and vegan restaurants display an official sticker issued by The Japan Vegan Society or The Japan Vegetarian Association.

To receive this sticker, restaurants must pass strict standards - so when you see it, you can be confident that there are no problematic ingredients in your meal.

There’s also an app that works quite well in Japan for finding vegetarian and vegan restaurants called "HappyCow". You can find a download link in our article about recommended apps in Japan.

Sitting down at a restaurant?

When ordering, be specific about what you cannot eat. It’s highly recommended to use Google Translate for this.

If the waiter seems unsure, repeat your request that you don’t want pork, chicken, or fish, and try to be as detailed as possible.

Enjoy your meal! 頂きます 🙏🏻