Vegan at Grocery Stores

The best thing to do is learn the kanji of the those things you cannot eat! See the vocab list section.

Note that many all-natural/veggie restaurants have a small section of whole foods to purchase.

Things to watch for

Here are some notes on the trouble makers:

• Katsuo

  Bonito fish flakes (鰹 / かつお katsuo) is usually in hiragana and is the main offender in ruining perfectly good food.

• Gelatin is usually friendly

  Gelatin (ゼラチン zerachin) is written in katakana, although 99% of gelatin/jelly-like desserts you will get are made from agar (寒天 / かんてん) -- yay!

• Tricksy and Milky

  Emulsifier (乳化剤 / にゅうかざい) also (乳化品 / にゅうかひん) looks similar to "dairy products": 乳製品 (にゅうせいひん), so don’t let that throw you off!

  Lactic acid (乳酸 / にゅうさん)- which is now vegan in foods. Do not confuse this with the non-vegan lactose (乳糖 / にゅうとう). Memorizing this gem means finding safe margarine!

• Kanji to avoid

  Other than mentioned above, generally stay away from food items with the milk kanji (乳). There are a few exceptions found in non-food items such as: breasts, mortar & pestles, frankincense, and adopted children!

  Avoid the fish kanji (魚) or anything that has it as a radical (鮪)

  Avoid the bird kanji (鳥) or anything that has it as a radical (鶏)

  Naturally you want to avoid the meat kanji (肉), however you will often see this kanji used in different pulps, such as fruit pulp, plum pulp, etc. Make sure you double check the kanji in front of it so you don’t put down a perfectly good onigiri ^_^

Soy and Tofu

• Tofu (豆腐) is cheap and fresh.
• Gomadofu is made of goma (sesame seeds), but has no tofu in it, and is amazing.
• Natto (納豆) is fermented soybeans. Super stinky but very good for you.
• Konnyaku (こんにゃく) is a sea-potato/yam, can smell fishy and has a jiggle-y texture (perfect takoyaki replacement).
• Inari (sweet tofu skin) & fried tofu bits.
• Yuba (soymilk skin)
• Sometimes there may be tempeh.
• TOFU BUGERS - ganmodoki (がんもどき) Vegan. Delicious.
• Soymilk　(豆乳) is very easy to find, in any normal grocery store. A sad trend has been putting dairy calcium (乳カルシウム) in it, so read every box carefully. It’s best to just get it plain (one ingredient). There are, however, special soymilks for making your own tofu & yuba (pictures on the back), and can have a VERY strong taste if drinking. BONUS: In grocery stores and conbinis, you can find BANANA soymilk “juice” boxes for about 80 yen. Great to grab & go!

Others

• There IS vegan ice cream. You may have to hunt a little bit, but it exists. It is just called "SOY". I have found it in JUSCO. It is in a plastic single-serving container, and comes in vanilla, chocolate, and green tea. And they are amazing. Another type I have had (but may have been discontinued as of Sept 08) is IV Ice Cream. Don't forget to check out sorbets too!
• Mayonnaise is also easy to find in the regular mayo aisle. Made by Nisshion Oillio, it has an orange front and reads: 「卵を使わずに　つくりました」。 ("Made without eggs").
• I have not found vegan cheese. You will have to hunt through mail orders.

Kombini

Convenience store food is easy. Konbu onigiri (昆布 seaweed rice balls), inari zushi (sweet fried tofu sushi), shiso onigiri (しそ salty purple-red furekaki rice ball thing), and mushroom (きのき sometimes there are tiny fish in those, double check!). Some cold noodle sets are fine too, just check the soy sauce. Mochi is safe. As well as an'man (hot bean buns) and other manjū- buns with “bean-jam” (anko) in them.