June 24, 2012
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:
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:
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.
June 28th, 2012 at 1:33 pm
Oh my goodness! All that looks amazing! I’m envious!