Trip tips, advice, and lessons learned– from two long time vegans following our 10 day visit!

Hi all, this sub was so helpful with planning our trip to Japan and I wanted to come back and share our experience, tips, lessons learned, and amazing things about this most beautiful country. We are 2 vegans (long time, this year is my partner’s 30 year anniversary!), childfree, early 40s, very active (both marathoners and runners, which plays a role in our experience), from the US (but very sad about that and over it, lol). Long post ahead, sorry in advance 🙂

Our trip was 10 days, with 2 days of flying from the US. 5 nights in Tokyo, 5 nights in Kyoto, using those cities as our base. Day trips to Kamakura, Sanrio Puroland area, Osaka, and Nara.

***Overall tips, lessons learned, etc***:

* **Jetlag**: We started shifting our sleep the week before we left and timed it to sleep on the flight to Tokyo so that we’d arrive as refreshed as possible. If you can swing it, book a seat with more leg room because it truly makes a difference. Even still, give yourself some flexibility for the first couple of days bc you will be exhausted.
* **Vegans and vegetarians**: if you don’t use the Happy Cow app, first of all are you even vegan, lol, secondly download it now. 🙂 It’s a must whenever you travel! You’ll be able to find so many options and Japan is truly a WONDERFUL place for vegans. I ate the best food of my entire life in Japan and I miss it all so much. More on specific vegan spots below….
* **JR pass**: we got the 7 day and I highly recommend. It makes life so easy. When I used the JR calculator, it said it would be worth it, and I was only putting in the major trips and Shinkansen routes into the calculator. What I didn’t realize is that there are \*so many\* JR routes that go from Shinjuku (where we stayed), Tokyo in general, Kyoto, etc and having a JR pass gives you so much flexibility to take whatever train you want. We ended up using the JR pass even more than we thought we would.
* **SUICA card**: I was confused by this before we left but this is how it works. You can use your IC/SUICA card on pretty much any train, bus, and also convenient store. It’s like a debit card that you load with money along the way (at the train/subway stations) and use to ride or buy. You can get a welcome SUICA at the airport near the JR office which is made for travelers, or a regular SUICA with a 500 yen deposit. With a welcome SUICA, there is no deposit, but you can’t get a refund for any unused money on the card at the end of your trip, so keep an eye and don’t overload it. We had about 1,000 yen left over on our cards and used them at the airport to buy snacks and it all worked out 🙂
* **Emergencies**: We had an earthquake one night in Tokyo and woke up at 4am to alarms going off on our phone. It was the scariest shit ever. I had already signed up for alerts on my phone but my partner didn’t, but he got the alarm by virtue of the fact that he was in Tokyo. I would say, this is a very earthquake prone part of the world, so know what to do if there is an earthquake (I didn’t know, I read it later and was like, crap, I should have known that!), but don’t be afraid. We were safe, there was just some shaking, and it was over. And the next day everyone was chill AF so it really seemed like no big deal. it was quite the experience.
* **Where to stay**: This is highly personal, and I went back and forth for a while, but I am so happy we chose to stay in just 2 cities and use them as our base for other day trips. It really helped with making things a bit less stressful.
* **Planning your day:** especially in Tokyo, plan your day around visiting an area of Tokyo a day and stick to that. everything is too spread out to neighborhood hop unless the neighborhoods are next to one another (for ex, Shibuya and Harajuku). You will spend too much time on the train and you will be stressed out. Also, less is more. I had a packed itinerary and had to just let go of somethings that we couldn’t get to and it’s fine. There is no way you can see everything in these cities. see what you can, take it in, and enjoy. 🙂
* **Train system**: I haven’t traveled extensively but I’ve been to major cities–NYC (a great deal), DC, LA, Chicago, London, Paris etc etc–and I have never seen a more effective and amazing train system like in Japan. It is truly remarkable and other countries should learn from Japan. It is INCREDIBLE. Download the Japan Travel by Navitime app (blue app) and you can get pretty much anywhere. It’s so easy to use. Trains are always on time, so clean and lovely, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Even the subway bathrooms are impeccable. And they all have bidets and warm seats. Like wow.
* I was impressed and so pleased by how quiet so many parts of Japan are. The subways are so quiet, everything feels so peaceful. Everyone is kind and considerate of others. It truly shows, everywhere you go. Collectivism is the way to go, without a doubt. I wish the US would take notes. I miss it all so much.
* On that note, can we talk about how considerate of community and one another all of Japan is? The fact that they install sidewalks to help the blind navigate the busy streets, how clean the subway stations area, how everything is so well maintained and respected by all. Coming from a large US city where individualism is king (ugh) it made me so happy to see. Small children taking the subway by themselves, safe. Actually, I never felt so safe in my life than walking around Japan. It was truly incredible.
* Definitely get used to using Google translate especially the camera function (especially for vegans). It is a lifesaver. I had some conversations via google translate and it worked well.
* **Walking**: I can’t say this enough, but prepare to walk a lot. A lot. Not counting walking through subway stations (which can add up, some of these stations are huge!) bc my watch didn’t register underground as much, We walked on average 12 miles a day, no less than 10 and as much as up to 15 miles a day, every day we were in Japan. We were exhausted at the end of every day. And we are very active people. Bring comfortable sneakers. It makes a difference. Trust me. If you can’t walk that much you can definitely limit how much you do and see, I would say that is doable, or maybe book tour buses, but you will definitely be on your feet a great deal regardless.
* **Museums/ parks**: The Ghibli museum is beautiful. I highly recommend if you are lucky enough to get tickets (that was a wholleeee thing jeez). I had the time of my life in Sanrio Puroland and spent 4! hours there. I felt like a kid, so magical. Team Labs Planets was great! We loved it! I read a bunch of things that made me scared to go before we left, yikes, but we really liked it. It was such a different, cool experience. Bonus that there is a vegan ramen spot right outside! And Arashiyama Monkey park is a hike up a mountain, know that it will take 20 minutes and it will be a long uphill climb 🙂
* My favorite day hands down was at Nara Park and the shrine there. Totally beautiful. Get there early, it gets crowded AF. I cried bc of how beautiful it was. Swelled my whole heart up with total admiration and awe. Holy crap.
* *On the topic of getting to places early*…get everywhere early as a rule. We got to Fushimi Inari around 8am and while there were definitely people there, there were many times we were walking to the top of the mountain almost totally by ourselves and it was lovely. By the time we left it was CROWDED.
* **Phones:** I opted to just use the AT&T international day pass ($10/day, $5 a day other lines, fees capped at 10 days) instead of getting pocket wifi/sim cards and it worked great! It was nice to have one less thing to stress about upon arrival to Haneda (our flight was stuck on the runway for 1 hour and we waited 1 hour for baggage claim ugh, and ended up waiting 45 minutes in line at the JR office so we were exhausted and ready to get to our hotel!). Definitely recommend it, never had a problem with internet our whole trip.

OK I think that is it for general stuff now onto **Vegan specific notes!**:

* As I said above, I ate the best food of my life in Japan. Get ready for food that will blow you away!
* Do your due diligence to check the hours of each place as much as you can. Check their website, check their instagram. Even when you check and cross check and double check, know that when you decide to venture out 20+ minutes on foot to that little amazing spot you found on Happy Cow, they may be closed even if there website and IG says they are open. And it’s OK to be frustrated and sad, then pick yourself up and try again. And again. I can’t tell you how many times this happened to us. The first couple of times it was a big bummer (we lost a lot of time on a day trip t0 Kamakura when this happened 2 times, ugh) and then by the end of the trip we came to expect it and just laugh when it happened. A lot of these places are small and they just change their hours and put a sign up that they will be closed that day or opening later and it just is what it is. It will probably happen to you and you just roll with it!
* Make reservations if you plan to go to: Ain Soph in Tokyo (not that great in my opinion, you can totally skip), SAIDO in Tokyo (freaking incredible– make a reso far in advance), AWOMB in Kyoto (best meal of my life, truly magical), Vegan Ramen UZU Kyoto (didn’t realize we would need a reso and were turned away which was fine, we went to the one at Team Labs and it was fine). When in doubt, make a reso. There was a little spot in Kyoto that I never thought would have needed resos and we were turned away bc we didn’t have one.
* Get to certain places early bc the lines will get LONG and you will either be turned away or have to wait a while. Places like this include:
* Izakaya Masaka in Tokyo (we tried twice, couldn’t get in, and we got there well before they closed. If you can’t get in, there is a dope omni ramen place in the same area that has one of the best vegan ramens I had in Japan called Jikasei Mensho. It was amazing!).
* Gion Tanto in Kyoto– omni place but with a full vegan separate menu, and it’s amazing. Such a cool spot for vegan okonomiyaki. Get there early or plan to wait in line for a while. We lucked out one night and only had to wait 10 minutes.
* Engine Ramen in Kyoto. We had to wait one hour to get in one night but it was worth it. The vegan ramen there is amazing.
* *Towzen vegan ramen Kyoto*: probably my favorite ramen in all of Japan, and I ate a lot of ramen there. This place is a bit out of the way in the north part of Kyoto but it is worth it, trust me. Get there when they open or you will have to wait a while. We got there when they opened and got sat right away and when we left the line was huge. This place is incredible, its such a charming little spot, like eating in someone’s home, and I was obsessed with everything about it.
* Other notable vegan/ veg friendly spots include:
* Vegan Gyoza Yu Cafe, about a 20 minute walk from Ueno Park in Tokyo. INCREDIBLE. Get the Gyoza tasting and have your socks knocked all the way off forever. The owner is so lovely and warm and kind. You will love it, don’t miss this place.
* Vegan Farm in Kyoto–tiny little spot in Kyoto not far from Gion, kind of like izakaya style, small plates. It was a lovely, lovely meal, of traditional Kyoto small plates. The service was lovely. Highly recommend for an authentic vegan experience
* Onwa in Nara– best kaarage we had in Japan. Truly incredible. Lovely service, right by the Nara JR station. Delicious, all vegan. pastries are lovely also.
* We also loved: T’s Tan Tan in Tokyo station (timed it to get there on the way to the airport to leave Japan, a lovely last meal), Komeda Is (great pancakes and vegan breakfast!), Renkon-Ya in Kyoto– very very authentic small Izakaya spot made by a Japanese family with vegan items clearly marked– a lovely experience!, Ovgo Baker on Nijo Street–completely vegan bakery in Kyoto, Vegginy in Kyoto– great vegan lunch spot, Optimus Cafe in Osaka–right on the river, lovely little spot, great kaarage also.
* There is this tiny little bakery in Kyoto which was near our hotel called KYO-NO-MORI YURINSHA Bakery & Dining 603. We stumbled on this spot and they have 2 types of vegan bagels, whole wheat, and a truly magical little green tea with red bean paste filling bagel that is incredible. It’s so hard to find vegan breakfast and we got these bagels most mornings on the way to our adventures for the day.
* Lastly, in Tokyo, we stayed at Onsen Ryokan Yuen Shinjuku, which is a beautiful modern ryokan with a beautiful onsen on the 18th floor overlooking Tokyo. Stunning. They have a traditional Japanese breakfast in their hotel restaurant which is about $16 USD pp and they can make a vegan version which is delightful. The omni version definitely has more things on the tray, but I have to say the vegan version was a great option and a lovely experience. And what a treat to get a traditional Japanese breakfast in a ryokan in Tokyo!!

Ok, I think that is all I have to share! I may come back and edit with other things I forgot to mention lol. But I hope that helps some of you and especially my vegan friends 🙂 Japan was the best adventure of my life thus far and I can’t wait to go back, I miss it so much on so many levels. And planning your trip there is totally doable. Ask any questions you may have! Have a wonderful trip to Japan 🙂