Chipotle in Japan? Not Quite

Photo by Dylan Boroczi

More than anything else, when I talk to expats about how they’re adjusting to their new home — whether it’s here or the 5 months I spent in France — the things they miss are almost always food. People who have long gotten used to Japanese “squatter” toilets and ritualized social structures, who know keigo as well as English and love everything about Japanese cuisine, still have those one or two beloved items that they would sell their soul to eat again. In Paris, it was almost impossible to get a taco, and all of the Californians I knew were going into withdrawal. In Tokyo, my boyfriend is pining for American-style pizza, which is nonexistent here. And both of us miss Chipotle.

Eating Indian in Tokyo

TheLadyAmalthea

As is the case all over, Indian restaurants are one of the best bets for vegetarians in Tokyo. They’re at least as plentiful as in the U.S., if not more, and the places I’ve been to so far have all been good. Most of the staff have seemed to speak more English than Japanese, and many have bilingual or semi-bilingual menus. If it’s Japanese-only and you don’t read the language, looking for “vegetable curry” is always an easy bet: bejitaburu karee (ベジタブルカレー) or yasai karee (野菜カレー in kanji and やさいカレー in hiragana). Curries are served with either rice or nan, the delicious Indian flatbread that in the States is only a side dish, but here — and in India I would guess — is used to eat your meal. Click here for what a typical meal looks like.

While staying in Azabu-Juuban, south of Roppongi, we ate twice at a little place called Hathi, just steps away from the Azabu-Juuban station. (I’m not sure which exit it is, but it comes out right by a Tully’s coffeeshop and a McDonald’s — Hathi is between the two in a basement-level space.) Pretty good food, including an entire section devoted to vegetarian curries, and dinner set menus starting from ¥1500. The first time we went, I had mango juice to drink, and it was AMAZING; it tasted like they had just squeezed it themselves, which they very well might have. My boyfriend had the iced oolong, which was equally delicious.

We’ve now moved into the apartment in Kanda, Chiyoda-ku (just blocks from Akihabara), and there’s a cramped little place called Ronak just off Sotobori Dori (map) that has great, cheap lunch sets at just ¥750 a person. Only one vegetarian option at lunch, but it’s quite good, and I think they have other vegetarian curries during dinner.

Along the main drag in Akihabara, next to Mos Burger, there is also the two-story Akiba Karee-kan (アキバカレー館) location of a chain called Siddique (シヂーク). We were lured in by the delicious curry smell, and since it turned out to be an Indian rather than Japanese curry joint, I could actually eat there. They’re quite reasonably-priced — dishes starting at ¥550, even during dinner, most being about ¥750 — and their lunch specials go until 5pm. (By total coincidence, I came across a photo of someone’s meal at Akiba Karee at the end of this blog post that was mostly dedicated to Hokkaido cuisine.)

If you have any suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments below!

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.