I’ve always wanted to go to Japan — and last year I was finally able to! Tokyo was a wondrous place to explore, if not because of the cultural richness and endless list of things to do and neighborhoods to visit, then because of the growing vegan scene blossoming into its own.

Japan is a very seafood-centric nation, and it shows — it was a tad difficult to find vegan restaurants that opened before noon, which signifies the lack of demand for eating vegan at every meal. However, the restaurants we did visit were a hit or a miss.

Cori Vegan -Vegan

Tucked away in the back of an apartment building, Cori Vegan is like a secret spot for discerning vegans looking for soul-satisfying food. I ordered the soy crispy chicken Namban burger, which was very saucy, had a soft and chewy texture and a thicc breaded crust.

Loving Hut -Vegan

I actually really enjoyed Tokyo’s Loving Hut: though they’re barely open (Wed-Fri 11:30am-2:30pm, Wed-Thu 5:00pm-8:30pm, Sat 11:00am-3:00pm, 5:00pm-8:30pm) but to be honest, it’s totally worth the trouble to schedule in a meal there. Why? They have an ALL YOU CAN EAT BUFFET for 2000¥ (around $18 USD). And everything I had there was EXCELLENT.

The quality of the food at Loving Hut is top-notch, and everything is cooked with care. Items of note include their textured soy strips, steamed dumplings and fried dumplings, tofu skin sushi rolls, turnip cake with hoisin sauce and herbal radish/carrot soup. I only wished I could eat more!

The staff were also super cute and nice (a sweet old man who spoke Chinese, Japanese and English and possibly some other languages was helping us!). My favorite aspect of dining here was the casual, cozy, familiar interior that featured a drink station with large kettles of various teas and reusable glasses, as well as a huge water jug.

Organic Table by La Paz – Vegan

Stylish digs, scrumptious food and friendly service are all I can really ask for, and Organic Table by La Paz hits all those notes. Although a little pricey, you can really taste the care and quality of their ingredients. We had two different burgers and smoothies and were very pleased with all (soy filet avocado burger, teriyaki tempeh burger, tropical smoothie, berry blend smoothie).

T’s Tan Tan -Vegan

For hearty, filling and simply delicious ramen or bento, T’s Tan Tan fits the bill. Using all-vegan and fresh-tasting ingredients, for a few yen you are able to enjoy all manner of traditional Japanese fare, veganized! This T’s Tan Tan was located inside a train station (pretty common to find fully stocked stores and mall-type situations inside major train stations in Tokyo) but was no less impressive than one you’d find on a normal street. We especially loved their breakfast set (ramen for breakfast, why not?) which came with exquisitely brewed coffee (Juan’s favorite coffee, in fact, he kept raving about it during and after!), or tea.

Ain Soph. Ripple -Vegan

The low-key, affordable sister of the Ain Soph. family, Ripple makes it easy to eat vegan on the go with their super-tasty variety of vegan burgers. The Ripple cheeseburger had a hearty wheat-soy patty covered with creamy cheese and while we wanted to try their crispy soy-chicken burger, they were sold out— actually, they were sold out of quite a few items including their french toast, almond milk and their tiramisu, which was disappointing. They also use single-use containers for their drinks and smaller entrees, which was puzzling; opt to bring your own drink cup and food container if possible to avoid waste. We did love their waffle a la mode, which was fluffy and soft, the perfect dessert any time of the day!

Ain Soph. Ginza -Vegan

The most pricey restaurant out of our list is also one of the most stylish, for good reason. A carefully curated menu and dessert list that includes macrobiotic bento boxes, homemade tiramisu and cake-like fluffy pancakes a la mode. A takeaway patisserie is on the first floor, while seated dining is located on the second. While we loved the flavors, the high price point and small portion size was forbidding.

Good Town Doughnuts – Vegan-friendly

For a truly hipster-level of service; ie: inattentive and clueless, look no further than Good Time Doughnuts. Only due to the fact that their doughnuts were delicious do we include them on this list — unfortunately, it’s worth putting up with rude service. The doughnuts are fluffy and chewy without denseness, and the glazes have just enough coating to be the right amount of sweet. We had the plain glazed and the matcha, both of which were outstanding. They tend to sell out quickly, so go early for the best selection. The bakery next door (same owners) has vegan cinnamon rolls.

Botanist Cafe – Vegan-friendly

Where can you go to do your beauty shopping AND a bit to eat after? Botanist Cafe is the perfect place for all of the above. Earthy, clean and green beauty products mingle with whole food American cuisine, and it works surprisingly well. Their Botanist Burger has a savory, smokey flavor and comes with crisp fries, and their Botanical Carbonara has a subtle cream sauce that isn’t overbearingly so. The portion size is on the smaller side so we actually ended up ordering their Veggie Bolognese as well to tide us over.

Wired Bonbon – Vegan (desserts only)

Another tough-to-locate treasure is the ever-popular Wired Bonbon, located in Lumine 1, which is quite literally adjacent to the carbon copy Lumine 2 building. We spent a good 25-30 mins hunting it down before finally finding it (at least it worked up a good appetite!). Once you finally have your butt in one of their trendy seats, Wired Bonbon is a definite treat for sweet tooths. Choose from over 20 different desserts, of which we chose the Bonbon Vegan Sweets Plate, Roasted Green Tea Soy Tiramisu, Coffee Jelly Soft Cream and Berry Banana Parfait. If you’re coming here after dinner, you definitely need to save room for dessert — we were absolutely stuffed!

8ablish – Vegan