For anyone who does not know, I will preface this by saying that I am a vegan. Vegans do not eat any animal products including meat, fish, eggs, milk, butter, cheese, etc. Before I left to Japan, I was told by many people that it would be difficult to be a vegan here.  That is because in Japan, fish is put into numerous foods. However, from my experience, with a basic knowledge of Japanese language and characters, it is not very difficult at all. In fact, I find more places in Japan to be vegan friendly than in America. Here are just a few pictures of some of the things I found in restaurants and grocery stores that are vegan. Everything is labeled from left to right:

Veggie tempura and cold soba (buckwheat) noodles, hot soba with konbu dashi (seaweed instead of fish soup stock), fried rice, and green tea

Inari zushi (fried tofu stuffed with rice), eggplant and onion tempura, kitsune udon (fried tofu with udon noodles in konbu dashi), and of course green tea

Strawberry soymilk

Banana soymilk

Green tea warabi mochi

Green pea puffs

Freshly made fried tofu and raw tofu from a vendor on the side of a street

Black okara (similar to tofu) donuts filled with sweet bean paste (no eggs or milk used!)

Soymilk wafers (these were right next to the non-vegan cow's milk ones)

Soymilk ice cream! This was at a sushi place, which I find crazy since it is practically impossible to find vegan ice cream at ANY restaurant in America)

And of course, if you make homemade Japanese food, there is not reason at all for it to be difficult. Check out some of these homemade meals:

Okonomiyaki made without eggs

Japanese hot Pot (I forgot to take a picture before I ate it!)

Seaweed, ume (plum), blanched spiced spinach, miso soup, veggie tempura, kinpira (sauteed carrots and gobo root), and bamboo

Battered and fried tofu topped with green onions

Peas and rice, kitsune (fried tofu), seaweed, and soba (buckwheat) noodles

Goma (sesame) tofu, fried mochi, tempura with green tea dipping powder, rice balls, inari zushi (fried tofu stuffed with rice)

Rice, miso soup, miso glazed sauteed egglant, sauteed mushrooms, pineapple. miso tofu, blanched spiced spinach

Edamame (boiled soybeans) and yakisoba (stir fried soba noodles with veggies)

Sometimes, I am truly surprised at the vegan products I find in Japan. It was a complete accident that I found most of the products like the vegan soymilk ice cream and okara donuts. I think there might be a wider vegan selection here because tofu and soymilk are much more popular, therefore it is not as strange to make soy treats.

Overall, I do not find it at all difficult to be vegan in Japan.  I would not say it is easier or more difficult than being a vegan in the United States. There are more vegan specialty foods for sale in America, but there are more vegan restaurant options in Japan, so I think it is about the same.