The Best Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurants in Tokyo

I’m so excited to share some of my favorite Tokyo vegan restaurants in this post with you.

When I originally booked my trip to Japan I was slightly nervous that we would have trouble finding delicious vegetarian food as Japanese culture is fairly meat and fish heavy. My fiance, Eric, and I are huge foodies and trying as much of the local cuisine as possible is one of our favorite parts about traveling. I needn’t have worried because we had so many fantastic culinary experiences and there were plenty of vegetarian and vegan-friendly options. While we are vegetarian and not vegan, we ate a majority of our meals at vegan restaurants to ensure that there was no fish stock in any of our dishes.

Trust me, I know good food so rest assured, you’re going to love every spot listed in this foodie vegan guide to Tokyo (yes, I’m that confident).

Be sure to also check out my essential things to know before visiting Japan to ensure you have the best trip possible.

Looking for what to do in Tokyo? Check out my 5 day Tokyo itinerary.

Bon

Good for: a Shojin Ryori culinary journey. Can go either for lunch or dinner. Whenever you can get reservations really

Reservation needed?: yes

Credit card accepted?: yes

What to order: it’s a set tasting menu

Bon is such an excellent culinary experience from end to end and is a must do for your trip to Tokyo. It’s also a really great value considering how many courses you get.

You will need reservations to dine here and I highly recommend you make them as far in advance as you can because they will book out. We were lucky enough to get in for a lunch reservation and I’m so glad we did because this was easily one of the highlights of our trip.

The dishes are inspired by Shojin Ryori, the vegetarian cuisine of Buddhist monks, and use simple, seasonal, plant-based ingredients. 

When you enter the restaurant you will be led into a private dining room so it’s just you and whoever is in your party. The staff spoke perfect English and explained the menu to us as well as gave us a copy in English. 

You’ll start off with a tea ceremony and then they’ll start bringing your courses. The courses use seasonal vegetables but the concept for each course is similar year round.

Every dish was stunningly plated and so creative from the miso soup to the imitation eel to the tempura box. There was so much care and attention to detail. While we opted for the 10 course menu, they brought us two extra courses so it ended up being 12 total dishes, ending with fresh fruit and some more tea. 

This will easily be one of the most unique and memorable dining experiences you’ll have in Japan. 

Vegan Gyoza Yu

Good for: the best gyozas you’ll ever have

Reservation needed?: no

Credit card accepted?: yes

What to order: their 11 gyoza set, either of their two craft beers, iced strawberry matcha latte

Oh god, if there was a restaurant I wish I could go to over and over again it would be this one. In fact, it’s the only restaurant in Japan that we went to twice. 

I am telling you that this is an absolute must visit. In fact, I am practically salivating while writing this.

Vegan Gyoza Yu is all about, you guessed it, vegan gyozas. In fact, they have eleven different flavors and each one comes in a fun color. The best way to enjoy them all is to get the set.

We decided to get one fried set and one steamed set and my god, it was akin to a religious experience (and I’m an atheist so that is saying something). 

Each gyoza is bursting with so much flavor that you may or may not close your eyes and moan a little. 

While I highly recommend getting the set so you can try every single flavor, if you didn’t feel like eating 11 gyozas, you can order individual flavors.

They’re all excellent but if we had to pick, our favorites were scallion and miso, ginger miso, and Japanese chives.

They also have a good selection of beverages with a couple of craft beer options which were all really solid. I’d also recommend their iced strawberry matcha which was a nice refreshing mid-afternoon pick me up.

Kyushu Jangara 

Good for: the best vegan ramen 

Reservation needed?: no

Credit card accepted?: yes

What to order: any of the ramen!

This was our very first ramen spot in Tokyo and we somewhat lost our minds over it. As I’ve been a vegetarian my whole life, this was the first time I had such flavorful ramen (the vegetarian options back home are usually kind of bland) and it was thrilling to have multiple options to choose from. They have more than just ramen on the menu. Though, of course, I highly recommend ordering the ramen.

Btw, this restaurant is located on the second floor so you’ll need to take the elevator to get to it. There is a similar named restaurant on the main floor so don’t get confused. 

Besides ramen we also ordered a cheesy (vegan cheese, of course) curry with rice and it was also excellent. The ramen was easily the standout and I kind of regretted sharing it with Eric instead of housing the whole thing myself.

They have multiple locations and we visited the one in Harajuku which was an excellent location as it was a short walk away from everything we wanted to explore in Shibuya and the surrounding area. It’s about a 15 minute walk from Shibuya station. 

Out of all the ramen spots we tried in Japan, this one was our personal favorite.

Polyphony

Good for: unique tasting menu with sake pairing and a special date night 

Reservation needed?: yes

Credit card accepted?: yes

What to order: it’s a set tasting menu

This was such an incredible and special experience. Eric happened to find this restaurant by clicking around on Google Maps. After scanning the reviews, we were surprised to see that it was a plant-based tasting menu. We sent them a DM on Instagram to make a reservation as our Japanese wasn’t strong enough to do so by phone. 

It’s a set tasting menu using seasonal ingredients and then you can either do a sake pairing or a wine and sake pairing, which we opted for. By the way, if you’re interested in Japanese wine, be sure to check our nearby Koshu Valley.

We didn’t know what to expect as there were very limited reviews on Google but we were very excited to try something that we hadn’t seen listed on any other vegan / vegetarian blogs.

We walked into the restaurant and immediately fell in love. The space is so cozy and inviting and it’s tucked away in a residential neighborhood. There were two Japanese gentlemen finishing up their dinner and, after they left, we had the place to ourselves.

While the staff didn’t speak much English, they were really warm, welcoming, and excited that we were there.

We started off the dinner with our first pairing which was a cloudy sparkling sake that I quickly became obsessed with. Each and every pairing throughout the meal was so well done and I loved all of the sakes and the local wines. The dishes were all so unique and beautifully plated. Eric is an amateur chef and he was blown away by the chef’s creativity. 

There were a couple of dishes that were personally a bit of a miss for me – one being a pasta that just had too much of a seaweed flavor – but overall I really loved the experience. 

If you want cozy date night vibes, a unique tasting menu with an awesome sake and wine pairing, this is a great place for you. 

T’s Tan Tan Ramen

Good for: quick meal before you get on the Shinkansen or grabbing food to go 

Reservation needed?: no

Credit card accepted?: yes

What to order: any of the ramen, bento box to go if you’re taking the train

This is a really popular vegan ramen spot located in the JR Tokyo station. I won’t lie to you, it was really hard to find and we almost gave up. Thankfully, we went to the information desk and they were able to point us in the right direction. I’d recommend you do the same and save yourself the headache.

One of the best things about this restaurant is that it is made for travelers. We were in a rush as we were grabbing our Shinkansen to Kyoto in less than an hour but service was incredibly fast and we were able to enjoy our meal. They also have to-go options available. 

We tried two different ramens which were both excellent and we also ordered a vegan bento box and gyozas for the train. We were surprised at how tasty the soy meat in the bento box was and it was fun to be able to participate in the culture of eating a bento box on the Shinkansen.

While we loved T’s and definitely recommend it, if you can only go to one ramen spot, our vote is Jangara.

Pizza Marumo

Good for: when you need a break from Japanese food and want some really good pizza

Reservation needed?: no, though it’s probably best if you can make one

Credit card accepted?: yes

What to order: Any of their vegan pizzas or, if you’re a vegetarian, marinara pizza, cacio e pepe potatoes, and tiramisu

We found this pizza restaurant on our last night in Tokyo and were so glad that we did. The interior of the restaurant is stunning and there is a massive wood fired pizza oven. 

We were surprised to see numerous vegan pizza options on the menu. As we are vegetarian, and therefore love cheese, we went for a couple of their veggie pies and an appetizer. 

The marinara pizza and the cacio e pepe potatoes were the standouts of the meal. We finished off dinner with their tiramisu which was also heavenly.

From start to finish this is a really tasty pizza spot with both vegetarian and vegan options!

Vegan Ramen UZU Tokyo

Good for: lunch after / before your TeamLab visit 

Reservation needed?: no

Credit card accepted?: yes

What to order: ramen (they just have one option)

This ramen spot is conveniently located right inside the TeamLab complex. It was the perfect lunch spot after we spent a couple of hours mesmerized by the exhibits (trust me when I tell you that you HAVE to go to TeamLab).

You can either order your ramen and eat it at one of the tables outside or, do as we did, and go inside so you can eat in their dining room. You’ll pay a little extra to eat inside but the dining room is like being in an art exhibit so it’s worth it.

There is only one option for ramen but don’t worry it’s a good one. It was a really sizable portion and super delicious with a soy milk broth. I ate every single bite. I believe they also had vegan ice cream on the menu though we didn’t try it. 

The one negative was that we waited a long time for our food, like at least 45 minutes. Considering they only have one main course on their menu this seemed like an exorbitantly long time to wait. 

I would only eat here if you are visiting TeamLab otherwise it will be out of your way and it’s not located next to much else.

Vegan Place Shuwashuwa Peace

Good for: casual dinner if you’re in the neighborhood

Reservation needed?: no

Credit card accepted?: yes

What to order: any of their gyozas and a sour

We went to this tiny spot on our first evening in Tokyo because it was the closest vegetarian friendly restaurant to our hotel. 

They have 9 different vegan gyozas to choose from as your main dish and a selection of starters. We had a really solid meal here however, I don’t think it’s a restaurant you need to go out of your way to eat at. It’s a great option if you happen to be in the area and are looking for some quick, yummy food.

Bottom Line

In recent years, Tokyo has seen an increase in vegan dishes so you’ll have plenty of options for Japanese restaurants that don’t use animal products and you’ll be able to still experience traditional Japanese cuisine. From service to presentation to the actual food, you’ll love your dining experience at any of the spots listed in this guide.

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