Vegan Foods I Loved in Japan #1

Now that it’s seriously cold, it’s a great time to reminisce about summer travels. At the beginning of August I went on a 7-week trip to Japan and South Korea which culminated in the World Championships for the martial art I do. Having all that time there meant I could do just about everything: touring with friends, training on my own and with the rest of the team, wondering around aimlessly in a crazy foreign city, and yes, also getting miserably sick but recover in time for the competition (and then promptly losing my fight… that happens).

This being my second time in Japan, finding vegan foods was SO much easier! I knew about the tofu fridge in the supermarket, could read and speak a bit more, and was generally much less overwhelmed (but we’re talking about Tokyo, so still baffled half the time, just less so).

Vegans can have a great time in Japan, but there are a few tricks to know to make it easier. I’ll try and cover some of them in this series, detailing my favorite foods from Japan.

I’ll open with my favorite restaurant in Tokyo: T’s Tantan Ramen.

This is wonderful all-vegan train station Ramen restaurant in Tokyo. This place is like a vegan oasis in the very non-vegan-friendly Japanese restaurant world. The food is absolutely amazing and prices are very affordable (around 1,000 yen). They have several types of Ramen and side dishes like gyoza and nuggets that are included if you order a set meal. You can also order curry, which even my friend who does not appreciate Japanese food enjoyed, and desserts are also offered.

There are 2 locations: one is inside Tokyo station, the other inside Ueno station. Plan ahead when you’ll be passing through, because you have to buy a ticket to get inside the station from the outside.