Without the hard-won home-cooking skills required to rustle up, on occasion, a plate of semi-palatable food for myself, it’s doubtful that I’d be the well-rounded (physically, at least) middle-aged man that I am today. Relying on outside sources for sustenance over the course of my ethically-compelled, but nutritionally foolhardy, attempt to live (very) long-term in Tokyo as, first a vegetarian, and then a vegan, would, in all likelihood, have seen me wither away to nothing in my late 20s.
Japan, we know, is one of the great culinary nations; dripping in Michelin stars, and blessed with an elegant knack for turning simple ingredients (of top-notch quality) into dishes that are admired and emulated by armies of globetrotting gourmets. Nose-to-tail eaters, and seafood-satiated omnivores of all stripes, especially those with money to spend, will find these islands a palate-pleasing paradise. For those who eschew ingredients of animal derivation, however, life in Japan (while frequently, in my experience, involving alfresco fill-ups on disappointing foodstuffs) is, sadly, no picnic.
The Bad News
Finned, feathered or four-legged friends (in extracted form) find their way into the small-print ingredients of unexpected comestibles with grim regularity. The well-lit aisles of the supermarkets and konbini (convenience stores) are danger-strewn dark alleys for vegans with low-level kanji skills (me), poor eyesight (also me), or the naivety to think that, for example, mackerel so obviously has no place in potato chips labelled as ‘Black Pepper’ flavor, that it couldn’t be in there (no longer me).
It isn’t, of course, that there aren’t good things in the shops to eat (when you can find them), and there are definitely good places to dine out, but pinpointing the vegan needles in Tokyo’s overwhelming restaurant-haystack is (or, at least until recently, was) navigational donkey-work that makes spur-of-the-moment indulgences disappointingly rare. ‘Joyless lack of spontaneity’, however, is just one of the many middle names that wouldn’t fit onto my zairyu Japanese residence card, and so having made my meat-free bed, I will, if not completely contentedly, then (apart from this once) uncomplainingly, lie in it.
The Good News
Thankfully, things have moved on since, as a fresh-faced abstainer straight out of Narita, I was (fairly regularly) offered bacon or chicken as a ‘vegetarian’ option. Vegetarians and vegans, while not being widely catered to (just as they weren’t in the Britain of my youth), no longer cause wide-spread bafflement and concern, and, encouraged, in all likelihood, by the spending potential of herbivorous visitors from overseas, konbini, and department-store food halls have started to dabble, cautiously for the moment, in plant-based treats.
The Tokyo vegan dining scene is transformed from the more-or-less dismal days of 20 years ago, and across the city new restaurants, offering a previously unimaginable variety and quality of cruelty-free fare, are popping like sakura buds in the early days of spring. The rise of the smartphone over the same period, means that vegans at large in the Tokyo of today, can use maps, apps and online reviews, to plot a metropolis-wide gastronomic galavant that would’ve caused my hungry younger self’s jaw to drop — a perfect opportunity to shovel in anything except my own home-cooking.
Some Personal Favorites (That Aren’t My Home)
If (only) I had more money and more time, the following list would be longer, and, no doubt, include many swanky eateries with amusing concepts and prices to match. As it is, I’m a man of steady habits and limited means, so when I am drawn away from my pots and pans, I prefer to eat something that I know won’t disappoint. Although, a slight disclaimer should be mentioned here. My wife, Yuki, runs newly opened Vegan Izakaya Nowhere in Asakusa which has been covered on Voyapon here. The following, however, is a small selection of other places where I enjoy filling my predictable and unsophisticated vegan face.
Great Lakes
Without a doubt the greatest meat-free burger in Tokyo, and quite possibly the world. Great Lakes’ walloping double-handed burgers come with a variety of delicious toppings (including a bafflingly authentic-seeming melty cheese sauce), and, if you can fit them in, golden fries, shakes and ice cream. Almost everything they serve, including the patties, sauces and ice cream) is painstakingly homemade to their own (presumably top secret) recipes, and the effort pays off in full. As I have already come close to the limits of waistband availability in non-specialist Japanese trouser stores, I don’t eat here too often.
Ovgo Baker
Becoming a vegan, for me, meant falling out of love with cakes; a sad end to a lifetime of sweet-toothed afternoon encounters where pleasure was balanced and bolstered by the addition of strong black coffee. The plant-based dainties and confections I (repeatedly) forced myself to try, were, for the most part, pleasant enough, but seemed somehow lacking, until I discovered the delightful Ovgo Baker and my passion was reignited. The cakes and cookies here are not only a feast for the eyes, but they also taste, as far as I remember, the way cakes and cookies are supposed to taste; sweet and indulgent, and not the slightest bit like health food.
Komeda is
In an encouraging, but probably poorly-timed, move, well-loved coffee chain Komeda launched this completely plant-based kissaten-style diner in Tsukiji, back in 2020. Sandwiches, burgers, pancakes and pastries, as well as soft serve ice cream, are all served in a relaxed, slightly retro ambience full of greenery. Despite its Japanese roots, the classic coffee shop menu, in all its cheerfully understated goodness, takes me back to occasional treats in cafés as a kid in the UK. Disappointing as it is that further branches have so far failed to appear, it may be for the best; If there was a franchise on every street corner, I’d probably roll between them like a pinball between bumpers.
(Not Actually) The Last Resort
When you need to eat and the nearest vegan restaurant is several miles away and about to close, it’s good to know that the ubiquitous Coco Ichibanya offers (in many, but apparently not all, stores) a completely plant-based version of their simple and honest Japanese-style curry, that fills a hole in far tastier and more satisfying style than its price and presentation would suggest. An innovative spice level index, that ranges from one (apparently “very spicy”) to 20 (“limited to those who have already eaten an entire serving of level 15”), also allows customers a unique opportunity to test the limits of their internal mechanism.
There is, of course, various information to be found online regarding vegan food and where to find it in Tokyo and surrounding areas. Check out the Tokyo Vegan Guide on Instagram, Happy Cow, and Voyapon‘s own treasure chest of articles about vegan food and veganism in Japan.
