Hi, I am 24, part Japanese, vegan and from the UK [in case you didn’t know, one of the (if not the) best countr(y)ies to be vegan]. I am currently, and have been for a long time, considering a move to Japan. Either now or in a few months.
The thing is I am strictly (food, products etc.) vegan (1.5 years, was vegetarian before that). I would definitely prefer to stay strictly vegan. Maaaaybe I’d be willing to do what many vegans in Japan do and be 99% vegan (dashi). But meat / fish is unacceptable, dairy (lactose intolerant and I hate dairy), eggs = digestive issues and honey I never cared for. I have done a lot of research and know that many Japanese / Japanese restaurants don’t have a concept / understanding of veganism. I also know about restaurants, grocery stores, big city vs. rural, most vegans cooking at home and eating out being a big part of Japanese (social) culture etc. So not really any need to elaborate on that. But if there is anything that you would like to add that I don’t know about yet (or you feel I don’t), please feel free to do so.
Also, I am currently on fluid-only meal replacement (soylent, juices, oatdrinks etc.) and have been for a while now. I also do a lot of fasting. I don’t have any strong need or desire to eat / eat certain foods, at least not for now. However doing something like this long-term in Japan would perhaps be a bit risky and also quite pricey. So going back and sticking to normal vegan food seems to be the best course of action (probably rather obvious). What do you think? Is this going to be as much of an inconvenience / problem as I expect it to be?
Thanks for reading 🙂
20 comments
Don’t worry! Japanese supermarkets don’t secretly stuff meat into their vegetables.
>What do you think?
I’m not really sure what you are asking, but as you said in your post, Japan is not very vegan friendly at all. You’ll probably be able to find a handful decent vegan-friendly restaurants in the bigger cities, but you may have trouble finding any at all in other parts of the country. Plan on cooking most meals yourself, and try not to hold it against the country when you inevitably feel inconvenienced because most places can’t accommodate your very specific dietary needs.
If you can’t speak/read Japanese, stay away from restaurants. Make your own food. You can speak for whether it’s vegan or not then.
Easily done.
I think you should just stay in the UK, if it’s so compatible with your diet there.
You can certainly be vegan in Japan, if you never eat out and you just get veggies from the su-pa-. If that’s fine with you, then go for it. But if you want to be able to eat out with other people and experience the culture here, you’re probably going to be miserable because it’ll be so hard to find anything up to your standards, and any eating companions are going to be frustrated with you because they can’t take you anywhere. What would you do for money here anyway? Are you thinking of working for a Japanese company? People here like to go out on business dinners a lot. You’ll probably be disinvited from team dinners because they can never go to an izakaya or anyplace besides some specialty restaurant because of your dietary restrictions.
A lot of veggies are not expensive here (i.e., ones that are common and native to Asia), but fresh fruit generally is BTW. Any kind of food that needs to be imported (esp. from the Americas or Europe) is atrociously expensive right now. Fish is cheap though….
The only part of your diet that isn’t a big problem here is the dairy restriction. Japanese food doesn’t normally have dairy, except for confections, which of course are easy to avoid.
Again, all this isn’t to say that it’s impossible to be a vegan in Japan. But you’re probably not going to have a great time here. It’s like being a Muslim and trying to only eat halal food. It limits your dietary options *so much*, and makes it pretty impossible to have a normal relationship with anyone (whether friends, coworkers, or romantic partners) who isn’t also in your same little bubble. If you’re really happy in the UK, then why on earth do you want to come to a country where everyone eats fish most of the time (and some other meat when they’re not eating fish)?
You can absolutely make vegan dashi, and dairy is pricey anyway, so not hard to stay away from it. There was also a huge trend of meal replacement drinks and jellies (not sure if it’s still ongoing). I don’t think it’s harder to be vegan than somewhere else as long as you don’t go out.
As many people have said it’s difficult.
It’s changing slowly, but even then… I was at gonpachi on Friday, they had a full page vegan menu but anything deep fried was cooked in the same oil as chicken. This will be true for almost anywhere selling fries etc.
As others have said, it’s possible if you mainly cook at home. There are a handful of vegan only restaurants, but in my experience they’re either pricey or really salty.
I highly recommend checking out veganinjapan for info about following a vegan diet.
Despite some answers here, depending on where you live, you can find vegan options for eating out and in the supermarket. There are supermarkets that stock vegan cheese and soy meat even.
The biggest factor is location, even then there are online stores.
Part Japanese part vegan? You’ll have a whale of a time
I don’t think that being vegan in Japan is too much of a problem. Is it more difficult than other countries? Maybe, but it is definitely not impossible. You only have to know where to get what you want. And it might also depend on where you live and how much you are willing to spend on food.
If you want to eat out I highly suggest using the “Happy Cow” app. It let’s you search for vegan places basically anywhere. In bigger cities there are obviously more options.
When it comes to daily food, we eat vegan/plant-based and cook daily. There are some great online stores where you can buy beans, legumes, spices., etc. As a vegan, online food stores are your friend! Frozen fruits or fruits in general can be expensive, depending on what you want. Local stores usually have quite a variety of vegetables to choose from. Make sure to read the ingredients list of products before buying it, or avoid if you are unsure if it’s vegan or not.
You can check out this link if you want more information: [https://isitveganjapan.com/](https://isitveganjapan.com/)It has a dictionary and also lists of (online) stores where you can find food. You could check out this site for example: [https://www.ohtsuya.com/](https://www.ohtsuya.com/) If you need supplements, you can find them on iherb. Amazon Japan can also be your friend.
Hope this helps 🙂
There are quite a few vegan options in the bigger cities, and of course tofu and soy milk is prevalent. Veggies aren’t really that expensive.
If you have the ability to do so, look up some vegan Japanese websites. There are quite a few out there. They have a lot of recipes, and tips on where to eat (which restaurants) etc. There are also quite a few vegan youtube and instagram accounts if you are active on social media. This could make life easier, not as easy as in the UK, but good enough. This is what I am doing to prepare myself for moving to Japan in little over a year for university, I have been vegan for 8 years.
I know Kyoto has some amazing options, as well as Tokyo of course. Depending on where you are going, Okinawa is also pretty awesome for veganism. They even have a vegan food fest. But I don’t think Okinawa isn’t the most suitable destination for foreigners to live there.
The fluids-only diet doesn’t sound that sustainable anyway, but if you are insistent, just buy a blender. Expect fruit to be expensive however. And you might miss out on essential vitamins depending on which brands of milk you use (B12, etc.).
Checking out the website HappyCow.net might be worth your time. I used it when i was living in japan
It is possible, though it does take more work and thought than in a lot of other countries (I found China easier as almost everything in restaurants is made in house and not prepared before hand which is more common especially with larger chain restaurants and the like in Japan. And they seemed to get the idea more easily than people in Japan. ) Definitely read the labels on food – there are apps that will help. Things like port fat in apple pies always surprise me.
I wish you luck. If I were you I’d focus on home cooking. Japan is definitely not vegan-friendly, they don’t really get it. Seafood is a big part of Japanese society.
On what terms do you imagine you will be coming to Japan?
Are you going to be coming with significant skills such that you are going to be able to choose your working location? or are you going to be teaching as an ALT or for a big name eikaiwa and end up being placed God knows where?
Will you be working in an industry where you never have to eat with co-workers and/or clients – or will you be that awkward pain in the arse gaijin who won’t eat anything?
(note: this applies to non-vegans too, I used to work with this cretin who would only eat “American food” and even within that he was extremely picky, it was a nightmare finding anything on an izakaya menu that he wouldn’t whine about)
Are you planning to date? because aside from the outside chance of finding another strict vegan to date – with whom you just happen to share a mutual attraction – it will complicate that too (especially at the marriage level).
Are you going to be able to afford to live in a really nice part of Tokyo/Yokohama/Kyoto such that there will be poncy supermarkets & restaurants that will cater to your fringe lifestyle? or will you be nowhere near anything vegan and needing to cook 100% of your own meals?
Are you going to be on an relatively easy schedule and able to take the extra time for all the cooking shopping & cleaning doing almost all of your own cooking will involve? Or are you going to have the kind of schedule that finds working 12+ hours per day with barely enough time to buy & eat conbini food?
Wow. Sorry I have no advice for you, though I’ve been here for 30 years. There are some suggestions/comments below that I think you should seriously consider. Depending on where you are in Japan your social possibilities could be severely limited by your dietary choices. More of a hindrance than an inconvenience. Good luck.
I also used to drink soylent a lot back in my home country it is a lot more expensive to get here and you would mostly have to buy it online so I stopped taking it.
I have 2 friends, both were vegan at the time, who moved to Japan a few years back. They both tried to maintain their vegan lifestyle for as long as they could but both eventually stopped their vegan diet. In both cases, it ended being too hard to maintain (Due to reasons similar to those already mentioned; extremely hard to find, shunned by coworkers, etc.).
Make of that what you will. I don’t believe it’s impossible but it feels like it’s going to be an uphill battle and the slope is pretty steep.
It’s actually not that hard as people make it out to be, especially if you don’t mind being 99% and treating dashi with some fish-based things as acceptable.
-> “Life” Supermarkets have a very good assortment of vegan / organic products which are also quite affordable!
-> Some restaurants where you can consistently eat as a vegan: Curry Ichibanya has vegetarian sauce option (not absolutely sure if the sauce is strictly vegan, but I think it is), Tendon 天丼 restaurants usually have vegan options (vegetable tempura with rice), there are also countless Indian restaurants all over Tokyo and probably in many areas of Japan, and you usually have vegan curry options here.
-> Special shoutout to Gyomu Supermarkets, where you can get oatmeal / almonds / cashews for very cheap price
I think you shouldn’t make this decision based on your eating preferences, but based on your job opportunities and if your life will improve compared to what you’re leaving behind, and other (more important) factors. If this is the only thing that’s holding you back, then you shouldn’t worry too much about it. It’s true that you probably won’t get to enjoy the same level of spontaneity, like being invited to a restaurant by coworkers, but if you think you don’t need that, it’s fine. I don’t think that your eating habits are an insurmountable obstacle, it’s definitely doable. It’s like asking if you should move to Japan if you have tattoos because you won’t be able to use an onsen. Sure, you’ll miss out on that as well, but I think it’s fine. If you find friends who’ll understand, they’ll accommodate to you, or you can also just always eat beforehand and meet them to do something besides eating. If you like drinking, maybe that’s what you could consider instead of dinner.
Japan is likely not for you. But good luck!