Shōjin Ryōri on Kōyasan

After leaving Kyoto, my boyfriend and I hopped several trains, a cable car up the mountainside, and a bus that wound its way up a narrow serpentine road to get to Kōyasan (Mount Kōya), head of the Shingon sect of Buddhism and home to 120 temples. Many of these offer shukubō, temple lodging, which includes dinner — a vegan shōjin ryōri meal, guaranteed to be free of dashi, meat stock, or anything else I usually have to watch out for in Japanese cuisine. This would be a treat for many reasons.

Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner at the Tokyo Sanuki Club

Well, I’ve crash-landed in Tokyo, and eating vegetarian is definitely just as much of a challenge as I expected — although if there’s one important thing I’ve learned, it’s that it’s certainly doable if you’re not set on eating Japanese food. I’ve already been out for Indian twice and Italian once, all within a 15-minute walk from where we’re staying at the Tokyo Sanuki Club in Azabu-Juuban. Unfortunately, I”m traveling with a non-vegetarian who loves seafood and all Japanese food in general, so I end up holding him back from the kinds of foods he’d like to experience. Luckily, we’ll be here through the spring, so there should be plenty of time to taste everything.

We’ve eaten a breakfast, two lunches, and a dinner at the hotel restaurant during the 4 days we’ve been here, with varying results for me. Read on for all the details.