This blog is going to be super useful to someone who is a vegetarian or vegan and is living or thinking of moving to Japan soon. I want to thank one of my follower who has recently moved to Japan and who was kind enough to send me some pictures that I have added at the end of this post.
If you are from India, you might be vegetarian/vegan by choice or because you follow a certain religion. Outside of India, I have seen people following this lifestyle more as a choice than because of religion. Now, Japan as we all know , is one of those places where meat consumption is high. When I went to Japan, I saw some of the meats that I never saw in my life ! Like horse meat being sold in supermarkets just like that 😱. But do you know it wasn't always like this ? My co-worker (who is 62 years old) told me that there was a time when Japanese people hardly ate meat ! And unlike today, beef was not so popular back then.
Now-a-days, however, thinks are different. Japanese people are now quite fond of meat (after Koreans of course). Beef is quite a delicacy. Kobe beef is considered to be a fancy meal. Now, since the demand of vegetarian food is low, supply is low too. Another thing that makes it difficult for vegetarian/vegan people to survive in Japan is that the ability of Japanese people to identify non-veg from veg is quite interesting. That boundary is quite blur. For example, for Japanese people a dish with only fish soup is a vegetarian item. What do you think about it ? I know what Indians would think of this. Its a big no, right ? For us, it has to be a pure vegetarian item. No meat involved whatsoever.
Another very very important point that I want to mention here is that there are no 'Red' and 'Green' marks on food packets in Japan. I am sure people who are living in Japan must have noticed this. Now this is super inconvenient, right? Since now we already know that they don't consider meat broth or fish oil as a non-veg ingredient, then how would you know if the packet of chips that you just bought is really a vegetarian item ? Well, I am sorry but there is no other way but to ask a super-market or convenience store staff. When I was shipping my things to India, I checked each and every ingredient on every sauce bottle because I was told that some items may be banned in India because of the kind of ingredients that are used.
Enough with what could go wrong. Now let's discuss on what you can do to make your life easier.
First is the simplest. COOK FOR YOURSELF. Cooking is such a basic skill that I feel everyone should know. Just like you know how to bathe or brush your teeth, you should know how to cook too. It's that important. All the supermarkets in Japan sell different vegetables. Okura, cabbage, cauliflower, tomato, onion, garlic, eggplant most of these are very very easily available. Spices you can carry with yourself because they don't really take a lot of space. Or you can buy from local stores too. But initially its better to carry at least some with you. There are a lot of Indian stores in major cities in Japan. If you live in a city where there is no such store, you can look for online stores. They sell ghee, oil, pulses, flour mostly everything! And get it delivered at your doorstep ✨✨✨
Second is also quite simple. Eat out. Surprisingly, Japan does have a lot of Indian restaurants. Now when I say Indian restaurants, they are not necessarily run by Indians. Most of them are run by people from friendly neighboring country, Nepal. And some are even operated by Japanese people. I would say the places with talented Nepali chefs are more authentic. If you are a student, eating out daily could burn a hole in your pocket as these restaurants are definitely not cheap. 🤑🤑🤑
Not only Indian restaurants, some continental cuisine restaurants have started vegan options as well. The only problem with this option is that they are not very popular. At least not in smaller cities. I lived in Osaka and my friend was vegan and sometimes we really struggled because there were so less vegan restaurants. But, Japan really is opening up to different and new things so🤞!
Things to buy from a convenience store. Well this could be a little difficult if you cant speak Japanese. Some items like edamame, corn, fruits, milk shake drinks, soya milk drinks are 100% safe. But, some items like Onigiri might look a veg food , but, it isn't. There are different kinds of Onigiri and most of them have some kind of filling in them. There is one called 'mayo onigiri'. This one could be safe but always ask the staff before consuming because it could still have some kind of oil or something 😕
Tiffin/lunch services: Now this one is top notch but rare. I know a couple of Indian women living in Tokyo have started this small home grown business and are doing great. They supply tiffins/lunch within their societies or local area. I know this service is not available in Osaka. If you are moving to Japan and you are interested in getting your lunch delivered from such business, please contact them beforehand.
Personally, I feel cooking is the best option. But, if your schedule is too tight, please go for other options and keep the cooking for weekends only ! I used to cook my 3 meals on most days. Sometimes I ate out but it wasn't very difficult for me because I do eat most types of meat. 🤩
I hope this helped some of you. ❤
If you have any questions or suggestions, please write in the comments down below.
And here are the pictures that I received (all vegetarian food)
Till next time
🌸Indu🌸
Comments