Vegetarian-friendly restaurants in Tokyo • Food-related phrases and vocab words
If you’re a vegetarian who eats fish, you might have an easier time eating in Japan than in the States. If not, like me, things can be pretty tricky. Here are some menu items that are traditionally meat- and fish-free or that can be made that way. If you have any questions or additions, feel free to leave them in the comments below!
Strictly Vegetarian • Fish-Free Sushi • Contains Dashi • Things to Watch Out For
edamame (eh-dah-mah-meh) — kanji 枝豆; hiragana えだまめ
Boiled green soybeans, usually with a bit of salt
goma-ae (go-mah-eh)
Vegetables (often spinach) with a thick sauce or paste made of soy sauce and sesame seeds. This is more of a home-cooking dish that you won’t see as often in restaurants, but it can be absolutely delicious. Izumi Shoji of the Japanese Vegetarian Kitchen has added a recipe you can try for yourself here!
miso (mee-so) paste
… but not miso soup, unless you make it yourself; see this post.
nattō (naht-toe) — kanji 納豆; hiragana なっとう
Sticky, fermented soybeans — love it or hate it. Popular at breakfast or as a snack.
shōjin-ryōri (show-jean ryoh-ree) — kanji 精進料理; hiragana しょうじんりょうり
Meat-free, fish-free cuisine based on the Zen Buddhist tradition — see the end of this post for more.
tenpura (ten-poo-rah) — kanji 天ぷら; hiragana てんぷら; katakana テンプラ
Lightly-battered, deep-fried vegetables and/or seafood, sometimes written as tempura; if there is no seafood-free option on the menu, specify that you want vegetables only, yasai dake (yah-sigh dah-keh). Vegetable tenpura may be referred to as shōjin-age (show-jean ah-geh).
tsukemono (tsooh-keh-moe-noh)
Pickled fruits and vegetables (eggplant is a common one), usually with rice. Fish is also pickled and served, so you can always ask to be sure, but generally tsukemono refers to the vegetarian stuff and the fish are referred to by specific names.
zaru-soba (zah-roo soh-bah) or zaru-udon (zah-roo ooh-dohn) — hiragana ざるそば(soba), ざるうどん(udon)
Cold soba (buckwheat noodles) or udon (thick wheat noodles) topped with green onions or seaweed, named after the sieve-like bamboo straining basket on which the noodles may be presented. Served with a soy dipping sauce that may not always be completely vegetarian.
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Fish-Free Sushi
Information gathered from this page on VegieTokyo.com, various places around the Internet, and personal experience
Maki (maki-zushi or makimono) are the type of sushi that comes in rolls, like in the photo at the top of this page. Many may contain wasabi, and in addition to the main filling, you may also find carrots thrown in.
kappa (kah-pah) maki: Cucumber roll
kanpyo (kahn-pyoh) maki: Dried gourd roll, where the gourd is generally cooked in soy sauce, sugar, and possibly rice wine
oshinko (oh-shin-koh) maki: Pickled-vegetable roll, typically daikon (Japanese radish) or carrot
ume maki (ooh-meh): Pickled plum (umeboshi) roll, where the umeboshi can be in solid or paste form; in addition, it may be rolled with things like Japanese basil (called ume shiso maki), cucumber (umekyu maki), or perilla leaf (umejiso maki)
horenso (ho-ren-soh) maki: Boiled-spinach roll, often with sesame sauce
inari (ee-nah-ree) maki: Roll filled with flavored, fried tofu
shiitake (shee-tah-keh) maki: Shiitake mushroom roll; the mushrooms may be marinated or cooked with soy sauce and Japanese sweet rice wine; note that it’s not pronounced “shi-ta-kee” in Japanese!
yuba (yoo-bah) maki: The soymilk skin or “tofu skin” roll, where tofu skin is used instead of seaweed for the wrapping; it can contain any number of things and may be closer to an egg roll or spring roll than standard maki (see this page for an idea)
chirashi (chee-rah-shee),or chirashi-zushi
A mix of various ingredients served over (or mixed into) sushi rice; note that chirashi does usually contain fish, but in some restaurants you can choose the ingredients that go into the dish
inari (ee-nah-ree), or inari-zushi
A pouch of seasoned aburage (deep-fried thin tofu) filled with sushi rice; there are some regional varieties that contain other fillings as well, such as egg or possibly meat, but the standard inari is just rice on the inside
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Contains Dashi
Dashi is a soup stock that contains fish, and it’s everywhere. There are some recipes out there for vegetarian and vegan dashi, if you’re cooking for yourself, but just about any soup you find in a restaurant will be fish-based. Read more about dashi on Wikipedia.
udon (うどん) — thick white wheat noodles
soba (そば) — thinner buckwheat noodles
kake (kah-keh) udon/soba — hiragana かけ~; kanji 掛け~ or 素~ (usually written in hiragana)
Plain noodles in broth, with no trimmings other than scallions — and possibly a fish cake.
kitsune (keet-soo-nay) udon/soba — hiragana きつね~; kanji 狐~ (usually written in hiragana)
Noodles in broth with green onions and aburage, deep fried tofu. “Kitsune” means “fox” in Japanese.
miso (mee-so) — kanji 味噌; hiragana みそ
Soup made from miso paste and dashi broth, usually containing tofu, scallions, and kelp or seaweed. This often comes as an appetizer with a set meal, or you may see it served for breakfast. The paste is completely vegetarian, so you can buy it in a store and make it yourself with non-dashi broth. The full name for miso soup is miso shiru (kanji 味噌汁), but it’s usually just referred to as miso.
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bonito (boh-nee-toe) flakes, otherwise known as katsuoboshi (kah-tsoo-oh-boh-shee)
These incredibly thin slices of fish are used as a garnish on tons of dishes. Even if you’re ordering a totally plain cube of tofu, there’s a good chance you’ll end up with fish flakes on top.
kamaboko (kah-mah-boh-koh)
Many dishes will come with little pink and/or white things on top or on the side — one of the most common is the naruto (spiral), but you’ll also see this one all the time. If you ask someone to try them for you, they’ll probably tell you they don’t taste like anything. They’re called kamaboko, and they’re fish cakes. Very processed fish cakes, but still fish. Luckily, they’re easily removed. (For more, check out the Wikipedia article.)
ramen
It’s not just dashi you have to contend with, but broths made from chicken, beef, pork bone, lard, you name it. Even though there are ramen soups that don’t have pieces of meat in them, or where the meat can easily be left out, there’s almost always more than dashi in the base.
packaged foods
If you’re a vegetarian, you’re probably used to reading labels carefully. In Japan, fish tends to pop up in unexpected places — crackers and potato chips, for example — so even if you don’t speak the language, you should learn a few characters to watch out for and avoid. These are only a few examples, of course, but they’re the major ones.
- エキス (ekisu) means “extract,” and it’s your best clue to hidden meat and fish, so look at the character(s) right before it — 酵母 is just yeast, but …
チキン or 鳥 is chicken
ポーク or 豚 is pork
ビーフ or 牛 is beef (but 牛乳 or 牛クリーム is milk)
肉 is meat - かつお or カツオ is bonito/katsuo
- えび or エビ is shrimp
- 魚 is fish; if you see a small version of this character as an element of another kanji (ex: 鯱), it’s generally referring to a specific type of fish
