Before traveling to Kyoto, Japan, I had faith that there would be a decent amount of vegan food options. However, if you are anything like me, when going to a new place your primary goal is to eat food from THAT region. Now I love a veggie burger, fries, or panini as much as the next person, but I didn’t travel thousands of miles to eat vegan versions of western dishes. So here are some DELICIOUS places (and some bonus treats at the end) where I was able to eat authentic Japanese food in Kyoto – that are of course VEGAN!
Gion Tanto
I was excited to visit this place before I even saw the menu – it is located in one of most beautiful areas of Kyoto in the neighborhood of Gion, and it epitomizes everything I love about the traditional Japanese vibe. In true Japanese fashion, you will need to take off your shoes when entering the restaurant, where you will be seated at your own personal grill. This unique dining style really adds to the experience, but the food still speaks for itself.
They have an entire vegan menu that you can ask for, which offers some real heavy hitters that are typically a bit hard to find a vegan version. We went with “okonomiyaki”, which is one of my personal favorite Japanese dishes. Okonomiyaki is a savory pancake from Osaka, that is fun to say and even more fun to eat. Their version was filled with veggies and topped with some delicious sort of BBQ sauce.
We also ordered “yakisoba” which is essentially grilled soba noodles served with veggies. Both were really good, but for me, the “yakisoba” was on another level. They were both served on our personal grill which kept things warm while we ate. And of course, we simply HAD to wash them down with some ice cold Asahis, one of Japan’s most popular domestic beers.
Mimikou
Located right nearby the enchanting Yasaka Shrine in the neighborhood of Gion, “Mimikou” specializes in curry dishes. This restaurant is not fully vegan, so make sure you are ordering from the vegan selection. I ordered something that sounded too good to pass up on, which was the “Kitsune Curry Udon”. I have tried normal udon before, which can be quite delicious, but this one was SOUPED-UP (pun intended).
The broth was curry flavored, which I loved because I am a sucker for Japanese curry. It also was filled with fried tofu, which is why it’s called “Kitsune” – kitsune actually means “fox” in Japanese, and folk tales imply that a foxes favorite food was this fried tofu. I don’t know how realistic that really is, but it was delicious regardless. It was also topped with a nice crunchy collection of fried vegetables called “kakiage”.
My wife also ordered a “Curry Donburi”, which is a rice bowl with Japanese Curry. It also came with some nice vegetables and some fried soy meat. It was really good, but we actually had even better Japanese curry at another place in Kyoto (spoiler alert).
Mumokuteki Cafe & Foods
This place was actually located in more of Central Kyoto, being a few blocks north of the Nishiki Market. This place has a really ambiance, having a rustic yet modern feel. The food itself is based around set meals, consisting of a variety of vegetables, rice, soy meats, soups.
The set meal we ordered is called “Mumokuteki 3 Types of Special Set Meal”, and included the following: 1 tofu hamburger steak, 7 pieces of fried okara, 2 pieces of miso cutlet, rice, pickled vegetables, salad, and miso soup. This set was light and fresh with the salad and pickled vegetables, yet heart and rich with the savory meat substitutes – my favorite was DEFINITELY the crispy cutlet topped with miso sauce.
Something else that I wasn’t expecting to find a vegan version of was “Omuraisu”, AKA Omelet Rice. So when I saw that it was on the menu at Mumokuteki, I knew I could not pass up on it. Low and behold, it was SO GOOD – the savory sauce they topped it with was so flavorful. My wife and I were very pleased with these two dishes that we chose.
Tokkyu Ramen
This small and unassuming ramen-ya is located right on the border of the Gion and Higashiyama neighborhoods. To be totally honest with you, I truly adore ramen – it is easily one of my top 3 Japanese foods. However, my wife isn’t the biggest fan of ramen, or soupy foods for that matter. And yes, I know what you’re thinking – it was close to deal breaker for me too. Anyway, I snuck here to have a second dinner on my own and was very happy that I did.
Tokkyu Ramen offers one option that is vegan. It has a broth that is bit creamy, salty, and umami-y (I know that’s not a word, but you know what I mean). The portion was very big and had some bamboo shoots, green onion, and cabbage along with the noodles, It was definitely a tasty bowl of ramen, but there was a place that was even better that I will get to later…
Towzen Vegan Ramen
… and by later, I actually mean right now! This restaurant is located a bit further away from the central Kyoto area, but it is definitely worth a visit. Similarly to Gion Tanto, I was impressed with this restaurant before we even entered – they have a beautiful entrance with lots of greenery and a small alley leading to the restaurant.
The broth here is soymilk based, which makes it creamy and thick. We ordered a set meal that came with their famous ramen, sushi, and a pudding. The ramen, as expected, was rich and delicious – we ordered it medium spicy with soy meat and veggies. To make it perfect, I think I would have preferred it spicier, and saltier, but the body of the broth had so much flavor that I was not disappointed.
However, what really impressed me was the sushi – this was a vegan version of “unagi nigiri”, or traditional Japanese eel sushi. They used eggplant instead of the sea snake and it was grilled with a delicious sweet soy sauce on top – creative and fantastic! And of course, the sweet pudding was a nice way to top off the meal.
CoCo Ichibanya
This is actually Japan’s number one curry chain, so you can find multiple of these across Kyoto! What’s even better is that they have plenty of vegan options in there menu, where they offer curries made without any animal products.
What I love about this chain is #1, the prices are SO reasonable! You can get a bowl of curry with some veggies for less than $10. And #2, the portions are a great size – Japanese curry is inherently a rich and filling dish, so you are definitely getting your money’s worth. And #3, it tastes SO GOOD – I see why it is named “Ichibanya”, meaning “number one shop” in Japanese.
Ain Soph. Journey Kyoto
This restaurant/cafe is also located in central Kyoto, being a few blocks East from the Nishiki Market. It is actually a franchise that has locations in Tokyo as well.
Most of the menu here is based around Western food, but it has one Western dish that has become distinctly Japanese. This happens to be a breakfast dish (something that I haven’t really touched upon much in this list) that you are all familiar with – pancakes! However, these are “Soufflé Pancakes”, which are incredibly thick and fluffy. Sadly, the version at Ain Soph. called “Heavenly Pancakes” weren’t jiggly, but they were incredibly delicious. They were sweet but not overly so and were garnished with fresh fruit, syrup , and cream.
Bonus: Street Food & Treats
So that’s all for the “restaurant” section, but I should probably mention that there are some other great ways to experience vegan Japanese food in Kyoto.
One of these ways is actually a Starbucks, specifically the one located in the Higashiyama neighborhood (the street is commonly referred to as Ninenzaka). This Starbucks is actually built inside a “machiya”, or traditional wooden townhouse. Here you can drink many soymilk beverages, but I strongly recommend you drink a soy matcha latte. The matcha is delicious and the traditional Japanese vibes are on point!
Also, in this area of Kyoto (Higashiyama, but specifically the streets of Ninenzaka and Sannenzaka), there is a plethora of streetfood that you can eat and sample. One of the must tries is “yatsuhashi”, a sort of rice flour dumpling filled with a variety of different things. It is one of the most famous regional foods in Kyoto, and is vegan (of course – after all, it is one this list).
Some other foods that you must try in the area are “mitarashi dango”, or rice balls that are grilled and topped with a sweet/salty soy glaze. I also must recommend “ichigo daifuku”, which is mochi filled with jam and a fresh strawberry. My favorite one that I tried in Kyoto was actually along the main street of “Arashiyama”, a popular neighborhood/small town in the northwest of Kyoto. Happy eating everybody – itadakimasu!
