Before coming to Japan this time around I knew I would have to make compromises. Compromises about what I would eat in order to keep myself healthy and be able to ride my bike around and enjoy the place.
I didn’t think too much about it before coming because I knew it would be practically impossible to predict what I would have to do before I actually got here.
I knew there was a special style of Japanese cooking practiced mainly by Buddhist monks and things, but I didn’t know if it would be accessible. I knew they were lots of naturally vegan things in Japan, but I also knew there would be less options away from the big cities.
Well, it turns out the monks that don’t eat meat and such are part of an older sect that really only hangs out around Kyoto, quite far from here. Furthermore, I was right about having less choice.
I am also burdened by knowing more about things.
For example, the last time I was in Japan I didn’t know that pretty much every soup base for everything had a fish base or used dashi, which is a little bit fish.
I also didn’t know that eggs were in the batter for tenpura or that even the most vegetable-type curries would have something like chicken or pork consume.
I also knew that if I ate nothing but rice I would quickly suffer from it and not be able to do much. So, I had to make compromises. Compromises like:
- Vegetable udon may have some tiny amount of fish in it, but oh well,
- This pasta may have a small amount of parmesan on it, but oh well,
- XYZ might not be exactly like I would want it, but I would rather not starve.
Most of these compromises are things that you can’t do much about. If you ask for a recommendation for what udon doesn’t have fish in it, you will end up with udon with a fish base and a chunk of naruto (which is fish) anyway. If you ask for something without cheese, you’ll get parmesan. If you ask for vegetable curry they’ll think you mean just with more vegetables and not with just vegetables.
This is probably because cooks don’t really get it, and you can’t expect them to. Especially in Japan, where cheese and milk is sort of a foreign idea, “cheese” isn’t really the same thing as we might normally think of it. Cheese might just be swiss cheese or something, and if you ask them about the parmesan you’ll get a “O RLY, you meant that, too?” sort of answer.
So, while I tend to play safe on veganism in the U.S., while I am here I am playing safe on keeping my body functioning healthily so I can do my research and ride my bike. Veganism is considerably easier when cooking for myself, and I’ll have more on that in the next few days, 
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Hi there, I’m just a lone blog surfer who stumbled upon your site after searching “vegan in college” in Google.
Now, I’m not vegan, but I’ve been considering converting to veganism once I start college as a freshman this fall.
Reading about your difficulty staying vegan in Japan, I’m a bit concerned about maintaining veganism if I travel (which is plan to do a lot during my life…if I have the money, HA!).
If there’s one place that’s vegan heaven, it would probably have to be Taiwan, where Buddhist monks refrain from eating any animal products (as well as “fetid” foods like garlic, onions, and lemongrass). Some of the mock meat dishes served at Buddhist restaurants are so convincing, it unnerves vegans.