Being a vegetarian in Japan The vegetarian problem The Japanese do not understand vegetarianism. There are very few vegetarians in Japan and the ones who are probably lived outside of the country at some time. Since most Japanese will eat anything unless they have a food allergy, they don’t understand the thinking behind not eating animals.

You will find fish, fish extracts, fish stock, or other fish derivatives in all kinds of food. Most Japanese food will contain some fish, even if it does not look like a fish dish. Fish and other seafood will also show up in crackers and other foods that you would never think of.

Hidden meat. The Japanese sometimes put ground up meat into their food. For example, you may find that a tomato pasta dish which looks perfectly innocent actually contains ground up beef inside it. You won’t find it on the menu. You’ll only find out if you can talk to the waiting staff in Japanese.

Japanese restaurants are very unwilling to do custom orders. It never hurts to ask if a dish can be modified, but be prepared for the answer to be no, especially if you’re in a small town that is not used to foreign tourists.

Food ordering going wrong in Japan Here are some examples of what could go wrong when you order your food in Japan. I include them so you see just how easy it if for Japanese waiting staff to get your vegetarian order wrong.

“No meat please” - You are given a meal with fish. Japanese people do not usually see fish as being a type of meat.

“No meat or fish please” -You get seafood in your dish, such as shrimp, shrimp flavouring, fish sauce, or fish flakes. In Japan seafood is often seen as being different to meat or fish. Even if you say no fish they might still think that fish sauce or fish flakes are fine.

“No meat, fish, or seafood” -You get a dish with bacon on it! Yes this has happened to me and other vegetarian friends. How could the Japanese possibly think that bacon is not a type of meat? One theory is that because bacon is written as ベーコン, which does not contain the meat kanji. Therefore, some Japanese people don’t think of meat when they think of bacon.

Be very specific about what you can’t eat.In some cases you will need to list everything to be safe.

Japanese dishes that can often be easily modified in a restaurant Okonomiyaki - This is a “Japanese pancake” cooked on a grill much like the Western pancake and made from shredded cabbage, batter, and fish, seafood, or meat. The batter is often made with fish stock, which can sometimes be replaced with water. The fish, seafood, or meat can easily be left out or replaced with a vegetable like corn, potatoes, or whatever the restaurant has to offer. Okonomiyaki is often topped with fish flakes, which can easily be left off.

Yakisoba - This is a fried noodle dish that is usually made with pork. The restaurant might be willing to make it without.

Omurice - This is an omelette filled with fried rice and topped with ketchup. The fried rice is usually made with pork or other meat, but the restaurant might be willing to make it without. Japanese foods you can’t eat Udon, soba, and ramen - These are all cooked in fish stock. The exceptions are zaru soba and udon, which are boiled in water and served plain with dipping sauce on the side. The dipping sauce is made with fish stock, but you can use soy sauce, spring onions, and other toppings instead.

Japanese curry - This is always made with meat stock whether pieces of meat appear in it or not.

Miso and all other soups - Miso soup is almost always made with fish stock. Occasionally you can find it made with konbu-dashi (seaweed stock) or water. All other soups are either made with either fish or meat stock.

Many tofu dishes - Warm tofu dishes, like agedashi dofu, are often cooked in fish stock and served with bonito (fish) flakes on top. Cold tofu is often served with bonito flakes on top, but you can ask to have it served without.

Tamagoyaki, also called tamago or dashimaki - A type of Japanese omelette that is made by rolling together several layers of cooked egg in a rectangular omelette pan. This is very often made with fish stock.

Most prepared foods at the supermarket, convenience store, and bakery - Nearly everything is guaranteed to have meat or fish in it, including some breads with meat fillings or bits of ham baked into them. The exceptions are egg salad sandwiches, hijiki and some green salads, nori-maki (sushi rolls) with Japanese pickled vegetables like cucumber and kanpyo (a type of gourd), and onigiri (rice balls) filled with konbu (seaweed) or umeboshi (pickled plum).

Most boxed and frozen foods, salad dressings, and sauces - Most of these items have some sort of meat or fish product in them. If you can’t read Japanese or don’t have a friend who can, it’s best to stay away from them.

Good general restaurant options Indian - You will usually find multiple vegetarian options in a real Indian restaurant. You will also find that the staff in these restaurants are often from India and speak English. Beware though—if the restaurant is owned and operated by Japanese the vegetable curry will probably be made with a meat stock.

Italian - After Indian restaurants the next best option is the Italian restaurant. You will usually be able to find a margarita pizza or a tomato pasta on the menu, but if not, you might be able to get them to remove the meat from a bacon or ham pizza.

Izakaya - This is a type of bar that serves food. Large izakaya serve a wide variety of dishes, a handful of which can be vegetarian, such as onigiri with umeboshi (pickled plum), green salad, stir fried vegetables, cold tofu, etc. Never assume that a dish is vegetarian though. Always be sure to ask if it is made with fish stock, fish flakes, bacon, etc., and whether it can be made without.

Research in advance If you don’t do research in advance you will just have to take your chances wherever you are. If you are lucky you’ll find Italian or Indian, or a Japanese restaurant willing to modify a dish for you, but if not you may end up eating plain rice for dinner. Good sites for researching restaurants are:

Happy Cow (Use to find veggie/vegan restaurants all over Japan and in other countries)- http://www.happycow.net/asia/japan/ Tokyo Vegetarian Guide - http://www.vegietokyo.com/index.html Japan Vegetarian Society - http://www.jpvs.org/Eng/ep1/index-eng.html Digital City—Veggie Restaurants Kyoto - http://www.digitalcity.gr.jp/kfg/restaurants/

Other resources Online site for vegetarian and health products with delivery all over Japan - http://www.naturalhealingcenter.com/creative/tengu.htm

Online site for foreign foods and goods with delivery all over Japan - http://www.fbcusa.com/cs/index.php

Another thing worth mentioning You might need to change the way you cook. Besides not being find some of the ingredients and foods that you’re used to, unless your predecessor owned an oven or toaster oven and is passing it on to you, your kitchen will not come equipped with either. Baking is not part of traditional Japanese cooking and most Japanese therefore do not have ovens. Your kitchen will probably only come equipped with one or two gas burners and a built-in broiler.

Fun new foods you might enjoy Natto (納豆) - fermented soy beans, found in packs of styrofoam packages. It’s known for it’s delicate aroma and flavor. Gomadofu (ごま豆腐) - sesame tofu, usually sold in packets, great for packing lunches Yuba (ゆは) - a delicacy made from boiling sot milk, then rolling up the skin that forms on top Konnyaku (こんにゃく) - a starchy tuber prepared to look quite jelly-like. Served as sashimi and in salads.

Vocabulary English Japanese Romaji chicken 鳥肉 toriniku pork 豚肉 butaniku fish 魚 sakana meat (general) 肉 niku fish stock 鰹出し / かつおだし katsuodashi seaweed stock 昆布出し / こんぶだし konbudashi bonito (fish) flakes 鰹節 / かつおぶし katsuobushi shrimp 海老 ebi lamb 羊 hitsuji

beans 豆 mame chickpeas / garbanzo beans 雛豆 hiyokomame lentils レンズ 豆 renzumame eggs たまご tamago

vegetarian ベジタリアン bejitarian さいしょくしゅぎ saishokushugi Monk’s diet (vegetarian) 書人料理 shojin ryori