Key Takeaways
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Vegetarian food in Japan is available, but it takes planning, because Japanese cooking uses meat and fish heavily and, in the words of the Japan National Tourism Organization, “even stocks and sauces usually have some ingredients containing meat” (JNTO, A Vegetarian and Vegan Guide to Japan, japan.travel , accessed 2026-09-17).
This guide is maintained by Zurich Kotak General Insurance, an IRDAI-registered general insurer in India and part of the Zurich Insurance Group.
Last verified: 2026-09-17.
Indian passport holders need a Japanese visa before they fly: there is no visa on arrival, and applications from India go in through the Japan Visa Application Centre (VFS Global) for your state, with single-entry tourist visas issued electronically. See our guide to the Japan visa for Indians and check the Embassy of Japan in India’s website ( in.emb-japan.go.jp ) before you book.
Why vegetarian food in Japan is hard: dashi and hidden fish
The main problem is dashi, the stock under much of Japanese cooking, most often made from kelp and bonito flakes (dried, fermented fish). It is the base for miso soup, noodle broths and many sauces, and goes into some batters (Wikipedia, Dashi, accessed 2026-09-17). Kelp-only (kombu) and shiitake dashi are vegetarian, but you cannot tell which one a kitchen used by looking.
JNTO also warns that “vegetarian” is an imported word in Japan, “often understood in a broader sense”, so “simply requesting vegetarian meals may not be sufficient.”
How to order: JNTO’s advice
Name every ingredient you do not eat, including dashi, rather than relying on the word “vegetarian”. JNTO’s tips:
· Say no meat, seafood or animal products, “including dashi or stocks”, and that no meat includes chicken, pork and fish.
· Carry a printed card in Japanese and a translation app. Photo menus help, but still ask about the stock.
· Tell restaurants and ryokan (traditional inns) about your diet when you book; ryokan can cook vegetarian meals with notice, JNTO says.
· Look for vegan or vegetarian stickers from The Japan Vegan Society, VegeProject Japan or The Japan Vegetarian Association.
Shojin ryori: Japan’s Buddhist vegetarian cuisine
Shojin ryori, the cuisine of Japan’s Buddhist temples, is the most dependable meat-free and fish-free meal in the country, but JNTO says it is found almost only at temples. JNTO describes it as traditionally vegan, omitting “pungent flavors like garlic and onion”, though some modern monks use dairy, so check ahead (JNTO, accessed 2026-09-17).
The surest way to eat it is a night at Koyasan in Wakayama, where JNTO lists 51 temple lodgings (shukubo) and says each meal “is free of meat, fish, green onion, garlic, and other stimulants”, with vegan-friendly versions available (JNTO, Koyasan Shukubo, accessed 2026-09-17). JNTO advises booking well ahead. Many Kyoto temples also serve shojin ryori (Wikipedia, Buddhist cuisine).
Jain travellers should not assume it fits. JNTO mentions garlic and onion but not root vegetables, so give the temple your full list.
Dishes to order, and what to ask
A few everyday dishes are vegetarian or close to it, and for most of them the question to ask is about the dashi. JNTO suggests the first three rows; the catches are from the linked Wikipedia entries (accessed 2026-09-17).
Dish | The usual catch | What to ask |
Vegetable tempura | Egg in the batter, and the dipping sauce (tentsuyu) is mostly dashi (Tempura) | Egg-free batter? Salt instead of the sauce? |
Zaru soba (chilled buckwheat noodles) | The dipping sauce (tsuyu) is made with dashi (Soba) | A sauce without fish stock? |
Kappa maki or takuan maki (cucumber or pickled daikon rolls) | None noted by JNTO | Among the simplest orders |
Okonomiyaki (savoury cabbage pancake) | Dashi and egg can go into the batter, and pork, seafood and bonito toppings are common (Okonomiyaki) | No meat, seafood or bonito; is there dashi in the batter? |
Miso soup, udon broth | Both are made with dashi, often fish-based (Miso soup, Udon) | Which dashi is it? |
Hiyayakko (chilled tofu) | Commonly topped with bonito flakes (Hiyayakko) | No bonito flakes, please |
Ramen | Broths are commonly pork or chicken based (Ramen) | Order only where the shop states a vegetarian broth |
Japanese curry | The sauce is traditionally simmered with the meat (Japanese curry) | Is the vegetable curry made in a separate sauce? |
Japanese phrases that help you order
Show these lines on your phone or a printed card, as JNTO advises. Name each ingredient; the last line is for Jain travellers.
What you want to say | Japanese | Say it as |
I do not eat meat or fish. | 肉と魚は食べません。 | Niku to sakana wa tabemasen. |
No meat, fish or dashi, please. | 肉、魚、だし抜きでお願いします。 | Niku, sakana, dashi nuki de onegaishimasu. |
That includes chicken, pork and egg. | 鶏肉、豚肉、卵もだめです。 | Toriniku, butaniku, tamago mo dame desu. |
Is there fish stock in this? | これに魚のだしは入っていますか？ | Kore ni sakana no dashi wa haitte imasu ka? |
I also do not eat onion, garlic or root vegetables. | 玉ねぎ、にんにく、根菜も食べません。 | Tamanegi, ninniku, konsai mo tabemasen. |
Convenience stores and supermarkets: reading the label
Convenience stores (konbini) are JNTO’s suggested fallback: onigiri (rice balls) with umeboshi (pickled plum) or kombu, packaged beans, edamame, simple salads and inarizushi (rice in a fried tofu pocket). Vegetarians who eat dairy and egg can add cheese sticks, quail eggs and pastries. JNTO warns that packaged natto (fermented soybeans) often comes with a dashi sauce.
Do not treat a pack’s allergen labelling as a vegetarian check. Japan requires allergens such as egg, milk, wheat, shrimp and crab to be labelled, but beef, pork, chicken and gelatin are only recommended for labelling, and bonito, the usual dashi fish, is on neither list (Tokyo Metropolitan Government, food labelling guide, accessed 2026-09-17). Read the ingredients, listed under 原材料名, and point a translation app’s camera at anything unclear. Words to recognise:
Look for | Meaning |
肉, 牛肉, 豚肉, 鶏肉 | meat, beef, pork, chicken |
魚介 | seafood |
かつお, かつお節 | bonito, bonito flakes |
煮干し | dried sardines |
だし, 出汁 | stock (dashi) |
エキス | extract, as in チキンエキス (chicken extract) |
ゼラチン | gelatin |
卵 | egg |
Indian food in Japan’s big cities
Tokyo’s best-known Indian neighbourhood is Nishi-Kasai in Edogawa City, with Indian eateries and grocery shops, some catering to vegetarians and vegans. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s TOKYO UPDATES site says around ten percent of Indians in Japan live in Edogawa, and describes shops selling goods such as frozen paratha and ghee (TOKYO UPDATES, 2023-04-28, accessed 2026-09-17). Elsewhere, most Indian restaurants in Japan serve a fusion of Nepali and Indian cooking, though many are run by Indians (Wikipedia, Indians in Japan).
Do not assume any kitchen is pure vegetarian or can cook Jain food: ask whether vegetable dishes share gravies or pans with meat, and whether onion and garlic can be left out. For a strict Jain diet, a room with a kitchen gives you more control.
Bringing food from India
Check before you pack home food, because Japan restricts meat, plant and fruit products at the border. The Embassy of Japan in India says “Do not bring any meat products, vegetables or fruits into Japan” (Embassy of Japan in India, accessed 2026-09-17), and whether a specific packaged Indian food may enter is a question for Japan’s Animal Quarantine Service and Plant Protection Station; our guide to Japan customs and duty-free rules covers the declaration.
What Indian visitors spend on food in Japan
Indian tourism and leisure visitors spent an average of JPY 51,953 each on food and drink per trip in 2025 (about INR 32,055 at 1 JPY = INR 0.617 on 2026-09-17), the Japan Tourism Agency’s visitor survey found (2025 annual report, in Japanese, accessed 2026-09-17). For the full budget, see Japan trip cost from India .
Travelling to Japan? Get covered before you fly. Travel insurance for Japan is not an entry requirement, but a hospital visit for food poisoning or an allergic reaction is billed to you.
If food makes you ill, and where travel insurance fits
Japan does not require travel insurance for Indian tourists, but its Foreign Ministry calls it “highly recommended”, and an unpaid hospital bill can count against you on a later visit. The Consulate-General of Japan in Chennai warns that “Medical expenses can be very high in Japan” (Chennai Consulate-General; MOFA, VISA, both accessed 2026-09-17). For bills arising on or after 2026-04-01, Japan’s health ministry (MHLW) shares details of visitors who leave JPY 10,000 (about INR 6,170) or more unpaid with the Immigration Services Agency, for strict screening when they next seek to enter (MHLW notice). If you need a doctor, the Japan Tourism Agency’s Guide for when you are feeling ill ( jnto.go.jp ) helps you find a medical institution; 119 calls an ambulance.
Zurich Kotak’s Smart Travel plans cover Japan under the Asia geography: Excel, with sum insured up to USD 100,000, and Prime, up to USD 500,000. The Asia plans accept travellers up to age 70 and there is no Senior Citizen plan on this geography; travellers aged 71 or over can read about travel insurance for senior citizens . Most claims from Japan run on reimbursement, so keep every itemised bill; claims are settled within 15 days of complete documents. See what travel insurance for Japan covers once your dates are fixed.
FAQs
Q: Is vegetarian food easy to find in Japan? A: It takes planning. JNTO says even Japanese stocks and sauces usually contain meat ingredients, so dishes that look vegetarian often carry dashi, a stock most often made with kelp and bonito flakes (dried fish). Name every ingredient you avoid, ask “Kore ni sakana no dashi wa haitte imasu ka?” (Is there fish stock in this?), and look for vegan or vegetarian stickers.
Q: Is shojin ryori vegetarian? A: Yes. Shojin ryori, Japan’s Buddhist temple cuisine, is traditionally vegan and leaves out garlic and onion, according to JNTO, though some temples use dairy. At Koyasan’s temple lodgings, JNTO says each meal is free of meat, fish, green onion and garlic. It does not automatically suit a Jain diet, so give the temple your full list.
Q: Can I get Jain food in Japan? A: Plan for it rather than expect it. Give restaurants, ryokan and temples your full list in writing and in advance (no onion, garlic or root vegetables, and no meat, fish, egg or dashi), and confirm before you order. Indian grocery shops, such as those in Tokyo’s Nishi-Kasai, make self-catering possible.
Q: Which convenience-store foods are vegetarian in Japan? A: JNTO points to onigiri with umeboshi (pickled plum) or kombu (kelp), edamame, packaged beans, simple salads and inarizushi. Natto often comes with a dashi sauce. Read the ingredients rather than the allergen labelling, because bonito is not on Japan’s allergen lists.
Q: Can I take Indian food to Japan? A: Check before you pack. The Embassy of Japan in India says “Do not bring any meat products, vegetables or fruits into Japan”, and whether a specific packaged Indian food may enter is a question for Japan’s Animal Quarantine Service and Plant Protection Station.
