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Looking for amazing plant-based food in Tokyo? Gyoza, ramen, curries & desserts are all on the menu! Add these vegan-friendly restaurants to your itinerary.
Soon after touching down in Tokyo for the first time, I remember tentatively (and hungrily) typing ‘vegan’ into Google Maps, bracing myself for a long hunt for something to eat … only to be completely humbled by the seemingly endless list of options that popped up in the results!
So forget whatever you’ve heard about Japan – it’s totally possible to find incredible plant-based meals and dining experiences wherever you go, especially if you follow these tips and tricks I’ve learned on my travels.
Tokyo, especially, has a thriving vegan scene, with almost too many restaurants and cafés to explore if you only have limited time in the city. What a problem to have!
I’m here to help simplify your itinerary – check out these amazing spots for vegan food in Tokyo:
Vegan Gyoza Yu
Taito City
I cannot stress this enough – the rainbow gyoza at Vegan Gyoza Yu are the best gyoza you will ever have in your entire life.
Order the gyoza set to experience the whole spectrum of these vibrant and addictively delicious soy meat dumplings. They’re all meticulously hand-crafted and naturally coloured, with a legend provided so you can identify your favourites.
My top picks (which you can bet your last dumpling I ordered more of) were the green pepper, coriander, ginger miso, shiitake soy, eggplant miso, and green onion gyoza – but honestly every single colour was super juicy, rich, and packed with perfectly balanced umami flavours.
Vegan Gyoza Yu also offers a refreshing range of craft beers to pair with your palette of dumplings, as well as some delectable flavoured iced lattes for dessert.
Vegan Gyoza Yu is open Weds-Sun from 12pm to 9pm. See opening hours. See their Instagram.
Ain Soph. Ginza
Chuo City
The Ginza branch of the Ain Soph chain is a bougie, 4-storey plant-based paradise!
On the ground floor, you’ll find a charming dairy-free and egg-free patisserie full of sweet treats like puddings, tiramisu, and raisin sandwich cookies – and hiding just upstairs is a fully vegan, multi-floor restaurant serving incredible Japanese fusion food, all made using seasonal and locally sourced ingredients as much as possible.
I loved this motto they included on the menu:
“Vegan food is inclusive of everyone — not just those with special dietary needs — food that everyone can sit around the same table and enjoy.”
Ain Soph is one of the pricier vegan restaurants in Tokyo, but definitely worth a visit if you’ve got the funds for some fancy, flavour-packed food.
The Ain Soph. Ginza patisserie is open Sun-Tues from 11.30am to 7pm, and Weds-Sat from 11.30am to 8pm.
The Ain Soph. Ginza restaurant is open Sun-Tues from 11.30am to 5pm, and Weds-Sat from 11.30am to 9pm. See opening hours. See their Instagram.
Where is a dog?
Musashino
This quirky, gluten-free restaurant isn’t fully plant-based, but there are lots of clearly marked vegan options – including curries, curry noodles, and rice bowls – and an entirely vegan dessert menu.
All the dishes are fresh and wholesome, and the vibe is super cute, with photos of cats plastering just about every surface you can see. Apparently there’s exactly one portrait of a dog hiding somewhere (which is where the name of the restaurant comes from!) but I failed miserably at finding it because I was too distracted by the magic happening on my plate.
So where is the dog? The mystery remains unsolved – you’ll just have to visit and search for yourself.
Where is a dog? is open Mon-Weds from 12pm to 6pm, and Fri-Sun 12pm-9pm. See opening hours. See their Instagram.
Marbre Vegan
Shinjuku
After a leisurely stroll through Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, make sure you check out Marbre Vegan, an all-vegan cake shop and bakery serving coffee and all kinds of delightful snacks and desserts. Their apple pie, lemon cream roll, strawberry shortcake, and tiramisu were all amazing – and their sandwiches make a great grab-and-go option for any long train rides you’re taking out of Tokyo!
Marbre Vegan is open every day from 11am to 7pm. See opening hours. See their Instagram.
Alicia
Shimo-Kitazawa
Alicia is a peaceful little vegetarian café tucked away in the bustling bohemian neighbourhood of Shimo-Kitazawa. Occupying a tiny space on the second floor, to say this place is cosy would be a massive understatement – you literally feel as if you’re walking into a tiny woodland cottage, complete with carved animals and quaint, nature-inspired decor.
Alicia’s lunch menu has a focus on nourishing, macrobiotic food, with plenty of vegan options like miso soup, fried croquettes, brown rice dishes, fermented veggies, and curries.
Alicia is open Mon, Tues, and Fri from 11.30am to 8pm, and Sat-Sun from 11.30am to 5.30pm. See opening hours. See their page on Happy Cow.
Vegan Bistro Jangara
Shibuya
Handily situated right near the station, Vegan Bistro Jangara is the perfect place to refuel after thrift-shopping yourself into oblivion in Harajuku.
When you arrive at the restaurant’s location on the map, make sure you go up in the elevator to the second floor. There are signs advertising vegan food on the ground floor restaurant too, but upstairs is where you’ll find some of the best vegan food in all of Tokyo.
Vegan Bistro Jangara boasts impressive lunch and dinner menus full of hearty curries, grilled soy meats, tacos, burgers, desserts, and what I can only imagine are some of the most indulgent plant-based ramens ever concocted. You definitely don’t want to miss this one!
Vegan Bistro Jangara is open every day from 11am to 10pm. See opening hours. See their Instagram.
Great Lakes
Nishiwaseda
I wasn’t going to include any Western food on this list, but the authentic, American-style burgers at Great Lakes are too delicious not to mention! The whole menu is 100% vegan, and their made-from-scratch patties are packed with flavour.
Sink your teeth into their meaty Ontario burger (with lettuce, tomato, onion, and lashings of creamy ‘cheese’ sauce), Superior burger (with tomato jam, marinated onions, and mayo), or the Michigan burger (with pickles and caramelised onions) and try to remind yourself that you’re somehow still in Tokyo.
Great Lakes is open Tues-Sun from 11.30am to 8pm. See opening hours. See their Instagram.
Almond Days
Tokyo Station
Right in the heart of Tokyo Station, you’ll find Almond Days, a café offering nine decadent plant-based drinks, all made with almond milk. I had the ‘almond cream frozen chocolate’, which was just as refreshing as it was indulgent. Navigating Tokyo Station can be stressful at the best of times, so it was perfect for a pre-transit pick-me-up!
Almond Days also sells some vegan-friendly almond biscuits. Look for the plain ones or the almond ‘creamwich’ with rum and raisin almond cream in the middle.
Almond Days is open every day from 9am to 9pm. See opening hours. See their page on Happy Cow.
T’s Tantan
Tokyo Station
This noodle-filled vegan haven is a little tricky to locate in the labyrinth that is JR Tokyo Station, but it’s well worth hunting down! The nearest exit is JR Yaesu South, and it’s right at the end of the Keiyo Street shopping arcade, on the way to the Keiyo line platform (you’ll need a platform ticket to access this area).
Specialising in utterly mouth-watering bowls of vegan tantanmen, T’s Tantan swaps out the traditional pork for soy meat, but keeps the rich sesame broth as the base. Their golden sesame ramen is absolutely sublime, and I can highly recommend the gyoza and mock meat karaage sides too.
T’s Tantan is open every day from 10am-10pm. See opening hours. See their Instagram.
Coco Ichibanya
Various Locations
Beloved curry chain, Coco Ichibanya, is not only a must-try if you’re in Tokyo, it’s also a great back-up option to remember if you need a quick, comforting meal elsewhere on your travels – there are more than 1000 locations across Japan!
Coco Ichibanya currently offers four vegan curry options (plain curry sauce, mixed vegetables, eggplant, and spinach) and a decent range of vegan toppings, including a ridiculously tasty soy meat patty.
My personal favourite order at Coco Ichibanya was the mixed vegetable curry with a soy meat patty, extra eggplant, mushrooms, spinach, and spicy garlic as added toppings.
(You can also adjust the level of spiciness and the amount of rice according to your preference – just avoid the option to ‘add mildness’, as the sauce they use to do so contains honey.)
Coco Ichibanya tends to be open from 11am until around 10pm, but this does vary from location to location. See all opening hours. See their page on Happy Cow.
Keen to explore more Japanese vegan food?
If you’re headed to Japan soon, or maybe planning a future trip, be sure to check out these extra tips and tricks to help you easily find delicious plant-based food wherever you go!
There are also heaps of vegan recipes to help you bring the taste of Japan into your kitchen at home – everything from okonomiyaki, sushi, and baked miso eggplant to rich and creamy soy milk ramen.
P.S. If you check out any of the restaurants above while you’re in Tokyo, I’d love to hear what you think! Feel free to send VegKit a message on Instagram or tag us in any travel food photos so we can live vicariously. 
Ready to take your tastebuds on a round-the-world journey? Check out these other global cuisines that are surprisingly vegan-friendly too!
Meet Liv!
Having grown up in a “meat and 3 veg” kind of household, Liv’s embarrassed to admit that she was a bit of a one-note chef until she began exploring the world of plant-based food. Vegan cooking has given her a whole new appreciation for the symphonies of flavours that simple, nourishing wholefood ingredients can create. (Even eggplant, once her greatest nemesis, is now — in a delicious, miso-glazed redemption arc — her all-time favourite veg.)