If you’re vegan and traveling abroad, it’s not always easy to find the menu accommodations you need. One country that strikes fear in the heart of vegans is Japan — with all its sushi, grilled meats, street food, fried meats, and tonkatsu ramen. The country is such a meat and fish haven that many vegans feel better off ditching their vegan diets for the duration of their adventures.
Nobody understands this situation better than the Noma-trained vegan chef Aaron Elliot. Chef Aaron has been vegan for the majority of his life, long before he interned at Noma and before a career in the kitchen was even an ambition of his (before his years in the kitchen, he spent time as a touring punk rock drummer) so he knows a thing or two about navigating a world that isn’t always vegan-friendly.
These days, Chef Aaron spends his time in Los Angeles (an oasis for vegan eaters), serving as a personal vegan chef for the likes of Travis Barker and the UFC fighter Nate Diaz, and has even started a vegan meal delivery service in the city called Meal Ticket that brings his chef-quality food to the masses (we’ve tried it, and it’s amazing). But despite being able to cook wherever he goes, Chef Aaron loves exploring food culture. After all, a great restaurant is about more than the food — it’s about the ambiance, the presentation, and the adventurous flavors — all things that Japanese cuisine and food culture excel at.
We don’t want any vegans missing out on Japanese food culture, which is why we linked up with Chef Aaron for an extensive food guide on all the best vegan food experiences in Kyoto, Tokyo, and Osaka Japan. Let’s dive in.
Cafe Millet — Kyoto
An organic restaurant & farm that serves multi-course lunch in the dining room of a wabi-sabi farmhouse about 45 minutes outside the city center of Kyoto. Quite possibly my favorite dining experience in Japan. They serve about 12 customers a day and it’s as farm-to-table as can be. The food is simple, perfectly seasoned, and amazing.
A standout would be Millet’s homemade soft tofu served with a pinch of Kala Namak (sulfur salt) which brought me back 20 years to the last time I had a hard-boiled egg. Peach cheesecake, too! Made from simply blending cashews, coconut oil, fresh peaches, and according to the chef… “that’s all!” The plates & cutlery are as beautiful as the food. Take a tour around their no-frills farm after your meal. You can take a bus here but a cab will save you half the time. Lunch is very low priced making it absolutely worth the cab fare.
Izusen Dijiinten — Kyoto
One of my all-time favorite lunches, and only costs around $45 USD. Izusen is known for their Shojin Ryori – the cuisine of Buddhist Monks – and is 100% vegan. I lost count of how many courses this meal was; it’s like it never stops. In the first half of the meal comes the best bite in all of Japan: a poached umeboshi plum that comes battered & fried tempura style and served alone. If this was possible to have with some vanilla ice cream, I’d burn my passport and never come home. Izusen is a sit-on-the-floor (tatami mats) restaurant deep in the Daiji-in sub-temple in the Daitoku-ji temple complex.
It’s very hard to find so give yourself some time to get lost. My wife and I turned up at a monk’s house thinking it was the entrance by accident. He was kind enough to walk us to the restaurant’s entrance, about 10 minutes away.
Hale — Kyoto
Fresh off their 20th anniversary, Hale is set in a peaceful Kyomachiya. Cash only. Shoes off. The dining room has beautiful old wood walls and flooring and sits in front of a small garden. Easy to miss while searching through the stalls in Nishiki market. The restaurant has about 10 seats and only stays open from noon until 2:30 pm, and be warned: it sells out quickly. The menu is purely vegan and consists of a pre-set lunch of the day & some drink options. Ours included soft tofu, pickled carrots & sprouts, fried tofu, and a rice dish with a slurry-thickened mushroom broth with big chunks of fresh yuba. Bancha tea, a roasted green tea with a scent reminiscent of a campfire, is included. If Hale were in LA, I’d eat here almost every single day.
Awomb — Kyoto
A choose-your-own-adventure sushi hand-roll restaurant, set in a tranquil renovated Kyomachiya. Each sushi board is made of about 50 kinds of vegetables, fruits, herbs & condiments, always changing with the seasons. A major standout was the pumpkin poached in cinnamon broth. The bottomless rice is a perfect mix of Tanba Koshihikari rice & quinoa, seasoned with pineapple & pink grapefruit vinegar. Oh my! Their “nishikiyamachi” location in Kyoto is fully vegan. Reservations are highly recommended.
Stardust — Kyoto
My favorite designed restaurant in the world. Second to none. This is the definition of “wabi-sabi” to me. The tea list is world-class and oddly enough comes from France, not Japan. Expect a delicious but light lunch and some wonderful dessert options such as a soy milk Pannacotta & raw peach cake. Each dish from the entirely vegan menu is beautifully plated on meticulously selected handmade ceramics. Not to mention, it’s delicious. Grab a few photos, put your phone away, and take it all in. You’ll want to sit here for hours.
Kanga-an — Kyoto
An unforgettable 13-course dinner in a temple. Portions are generous and arrive in quick succession. Rightfully so; if they didn’t, this could easily turn into a three-hour dinner. Fresh-made yuba, tofus, roasted spaghetti squash marinated in vinegar, and faux eel were all on the line-up. An extraordinary course was a steamed sweet potato covered in small crunchy matcha noodles that looked like a green sea urchin.
Course #10 was a favorite as well: a hot pot with a broth of plain soy milk. The vessel is lit table side & you are left with a bowl of vegetable fixings to dip in the broth and enjoy. After dinner, be sure to have a drink at the hidden bar that’s also on the temple’s grounds.
Vegan Ramen Uzu — Kyoto & Tokyo
A pre-set menu ramen restaurant where Teamlab’s museum artwork is projected on the wall surrounding a 16-seat bar. There are two different ramens to choose from – a spicy miso & umami fermentation. With broths that are cooked for 12 hours and handmade noodles, this bowl of ramen not to be missed (and a visual experience that might make your friends jealous when you post on IG).
Saime — Tokyo
It’s hard not to question if such a special restaurant could exist anywhere other than Japan. Each course is a single unseasoned vegetable and the menu changes daily. Vegetables are slow-cooked in earthenware vessels made from clay, over coals. Eggplant, Colinky pumpkin, and Aoyama Native soybeans were all on the lineup. The chef, Taichi Nishikawa, serves food that will redefine the meaning of al dente. He gives you a little salt and some red miso on the side to dip. Everything is to be eaten with your hands.
After about 7 rounds of plain vegetables, you are served a bottomless, creamy, almost congee-like rice bowl with all the odds and ends from each vegetable course prior. Immediately after comes a bowl of miso soup. Taichi is one of one. His knife bag must only consist of two knives and a pair of tongs. Before I left I used Google Translate on my phone and typed “I am a chef, And this is the most inspiring meal I’ve ever had in my life.” In my return I received a humungous smile and a deep 90-degree bow followed by “thank you,” and all repeated 3 times in a row.
Savoy — Tokyo
It’s true, the best pie I’ve ever had is in Japan. I’m not surprised. There are two locations in Tokyo, but I suggest opting for the “Tomato & Cheese” location, where Kaneko-san will be helming the oven. You can watch close as he slices the garlic in-hand, slowly falling onto your pizza. Lunch is a pre-set menu where you get a marinara pizza, salad, & iced tea for about $7, but do make sure to request olive oil & salt on your salad as the house dressing contains dairy. There are only 10 seats, so there’s a bit of a wait – albeit one that’s worth it. Madone!
Udatsu — Tokyo
A very nice, upscale, and modern omakase sushi restaurant. If given notice, they will accommodate a vegan request. 15 courses & affordable given where you are. The shiitake nigiri is not to be missed! Udatsu has a Michelin star so be sure to make a reservation well in advance and request to sit at the 10-seat counter, served by the man himself…Hisashi Udatsu.
Wad — Osaka
I didn’t think I’d be including a tea cafe on this food guide but WAD is just that special.
We came to Osaka two different times on our last trip, literally only to come to WAD. Order a matcha and they will ask you to pick your cup off the shelf. Must-orders include the iced hojicha tea, as well as the gokuro, in which you enjoy four steeps of the tea, and at the end, they take the tea leaves from your empty pot and bring it back to you dressed in a soy sauce. Hands down, one of my favorites is the grilled savory mochi rice cake. It’s incredible. Seats fill up fast so plan on putting your name on a waitlist and coming back about an hour later.
Genji Soba — Osaka
Genji Soba is a fresh soba restaurant with vegan options, which turns out to be very rare in Japan due to most broths being made with dashi. The noodles are handmade in-house and they have gluten-free options. Cold soba, vegetable tempura, and Sobacha (roasted buckwheat tea)…yes please!