Vegan Food Scene in Tokyo

Blogger Angie Li takes us with her

Text & Photos: Angie Li

What would be the first thing that springs to your mind when talking about Japanese food? Sushi? Sashimi? Or curry rice with pork cutlet? True, the culture of Japanese food places much emphasis on seafood and meat. Therefore, as a vegan, visiting Japan has always been considered as a challenge. I still remember how terrible my first trip to Tokyo was since I first turned vegan (which was 3 years ago). Even as an Asian, I could not manage to communicate with Japanese people properly. Hence, ordering food at an ordinary restaurant was a pain. At that time, I needed to carry a life-saving sheet of paper with me to ensure that they understand what vegan means. On this sheet, I asked my Japanese friend to write for me a description of food that I cannot eat. So whenever I walked into a restaurant, the first thing I do is to show them this paper. And for most of the case, they will just tell me that they could not offer any food to me, even though I pointed at a salad with salmon and asked if they can just take away the salmon. Isn't it weird? When I asked my Japanese friend, she told me the reason why they refused to do so is because they think that it is unfair to the customer, as they had to pay for the same price with a »lower quality« dish. By that time, you can only get decent vegan food at a few vegetarian restaurants there, which may not be close to where you stay or the places where you visit. Okay, so all these are about three years ago.

In February 2016, I visited Tokyo again for the Tokyo Marathon 2016. Given my previous experience, I was quite worried before my trip. So I did lots of research beforehand and what surprised me is that I realized that there is a significant increase in vegan restaurants in Tokyo (yes, vegan, but not barely vegetarian). I was relieved but I still brought along with me the life-saving sheets and tons of energy bars for fear that I did not get enough food for my marathon. To my surprise, during the entire trip, I needed not use the paper at all and all the energy bars remained untouched. I kept stuffing myself with so many delicious vegan food in Tokyo during my stay, and I bought so much food that I needed to carry some back to Hong Kong. For those who are worried about eating healthy in Tokyo, let me assure you with some suggestions and tips below.

My favorite vegan restaurants in Tokyo:

1. Pure Café

Pure Café is an eatery attached to the lifestyle salon Aveda located in the Aoyama district, near the Omotesando station.

It is one of the oldest vegan restaurants in Tokyo, which opens everyday. It serves not only lunch and dinner, but also breakfast and afternoon tea. In Pure Café, you can find western food such as salads, pastas and sandwiches, incorporating with strong Japanese elements. For example, for breakfast, it provides savory options like salads and bread with tofu cheese and sweet options like the typical granola with soy milk and my favorite muffin with tofu cream. Pure Café makes the best vegan muffins in Tokyo! The muffins came in different flavors everyday, with my favorite being the caramel nuts with peanut butter. And for lunch, you can choose salads, rice plates and sandwiches. The pickled burdock sandwich, for example, is so flavorful and filling that you will forget it is actually vegan. The crunchiness of the pickled burdock and carrots paired nicely with the soft and fluffy bread.

To get there, get off at the B3 exit of the Omotesando Metro station, turn left and walk straight until you saw a green building covered with grass. Then, turn right and you will see it.

INFO Address: 5-5-21 Minamiaoyama Minato, Tokyo | Opening hours: Everyday | 8:30am–10:30pm (last orders 10 pm ) | Website: www.pure-cafe.com

2. Sincere Garden Café

Similar to Pure Café, Sincere Garden Café is a café located upstairs of a spa and wellness center. It mainly serves Japanese vegan cuisines with some western food choices such as its signature vegan burger. This café also provides takeaway lunch box specials at a discounted price for people working nearby. One of the most attractive things of this café is that it provides a large variety of vegan desserts, including vegan muffins, caramel nut tarts, apple pie and cheesecake etc.

INFO Address: 1-2F, 3-5-4 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo | Open: Everyday | 11.30am–8pm (last orders 7pm) | Website: http://sincere-garden.com/#cafe

3. Restaurant 8ablish

Restaurant 8ablish is a newly opened vegan Mediterranean restaurant in Minami-Aoyama. It was opened on December 2015 by the same group of people behind Pure Café. Unlike the above eateries that are more casual, Restaurant 8ablish is more like a fine-dining restaurant.

Every dish is beautifully presented, innovative and carefully designed that you will not find similar things elsewhere in Tokyo. Its signature dishes include the tofu, tempeh and vegetables souvlaki with soy yogurt based tzatziki and affogato with vegan soft serves.

INFO Address: 5-10-17, 2F Minami-Aoyama, Tokyo | Open: Lunch 11:00am–4:00pm (l.o. 3:30pm) Dinner 6:00pm–11:30pm (l.o. 10:30pm) (l.o. 9:30pm on every Sunday) Closed on 2nd & 3rd Tuesday | Website: http://eightablish.com

4. Kuumba du Falafel

If you are looking for some decent and authentic falafels in Japan, Kuumba du Falafel is definitely your destination. Given that it is located a bit far from the Shibuya station (around 15-minute walk) and without a sign outside its shop, it would be a challenge for tourists to notice this shop. But because of this, together with the interior and vibe, customers get a chance to escape from the hustle and bustle outside, and enjoy the tranquility inside. As shown in the name of this café, it’s not hard to know that it specialized in falafels. You can either choose to have your falafels with pita bread or salads. What’s more, dishes are available at different sizes, catering for people with different appetite. It also provides lunch set everyday which includes a falafel plate and lentil soup.

INFO Address: Me Building.1F 23-1 Shinsen-chou, Shibuya-Ku, Tokyo | Open: Lunch 11:30am–2:30pm (Tue to Sat) Dinner: 5:30pm–9:00pm (l.o. 8:30pm) Sunday & Holidays: 11:30am–7:00pm Closed on Mondays | Website: http://kuumbainternational.com/

5. United Nations University Farmer's

For those who love artisan food, organic fruits and vegetables, you should spend some time on the Farmer’s Market at the United Nations University. In this market, not only can you find organic and local vegetables, artisan products made by locals, but you can also enjoy some cold-pressed juices, as well as homemade bread there. It is held every Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4om outside the United Nations University, in the Aoyama district.

INFO Address: 5-53-70, Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo | Website:www.farmersmarkets.jp

Interesting Fact

Another interesting fact I learned from my Japanese friend is that although Kombucha is gaining more and more popularity in Japan, you can only buy it from the drug stores. The reason behind this is that according to the Japanese laws, any beverages containing alcohol can only be sold at the drug stores and the manufacturer has to pay the alcoholic taxes on this. Therefore, if you wish to buy kombucha in Japan, be prepared that it will be very pricey and difficult to find. Thus, there is a trend of people living in Japan starting to make their own kombucha. There are classes and a community there which people are willing to exchange information and ingredients for kombucha making. There is also a newly opened kombucha bar at Asakusa opened by the famous health food instructor Woonin, where people can try out different flavors of kombucha and beverages made with kombucha.

INFO Address: 2-6-7 Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo | Website: Facebook page