Vegan Japan

august 2007

2007 july 30 - august 5

monday

Today i did buy an airplane ticket! All month of september i will be in Japan, doing research for the Vegan Pocketguide, meet with friends and enjoy japan.

Until now, a staggering more than 50 new all-vegetarian/vegan restaurants have been collected for the new edition of the Vegan Pocketguide. (published end of next year) Besides 13 new places in Tokyo and 7 new places in Osaka, there are new places in Nagoya (6), Nara (4), Sapporo, Okinawa, and other cities.
It takes a lot of time to personally visit all these new restaurants... it is hard work! ;-)

tuesday

Voluneer Mariko at this moment is visiting England for 5 weeks. It means she cant do any work for the vegan pocketguide! >_<
And next week, webpage translator Ayako will be on holiday also.

"Mariko, Ayako, enjoy your holiday~!" :-)

Volunteer Kanae isn't having holiday, she is helping me very hard with the Vegan pocketguide.
And besides this, she will translate next weeks webpage text!
"Thank you so ve~ry much!"

Yes, there is so much to do! If you are dedicated and serious person, why don't you become volunteer and help?
You can help with simple jobs as translating or do more interesting job as write article, contacting people, and help with the vegan pocketguide and the new pocketguide.

sunday

E-mail has been send to the Japan Vegetarian Society.

In September is the annual Tokyo Vegetarian Festival. For the first time there also will be a Vegetarian Tour : two days with fellow veggies going to various places, have vegetarian meals together, and have an overnight sleep.
That sounds so great i myself wanted to join this Tour. But when i checked the itinary i was unpleasant surprised. Because besides fun things such as Making Your Own Tofu and visiting a hot spring, a visit to the Haircomb Museum is also on the list. Please take a look at the photo. hmmm. See something fishy?

actual photo from the Haircomb Museum

link to museum website

Yes, they are all made from endangered animals! Like Ivory, Turtle shell from endangered Hawkbill seaturtles are still widely used in Japan. Thanks to the present-day japanese haircomb industry, many thousands of endangered seaturtles are still cruelly killed each year, just to end up as a haircomb, a fashionable product just as fur.

I cannot understand that a Vegetarian group of people go to a museum to enjoy animal products from cruelly killed endangered animals. Can you?

I have written an email to the JVS and asked them if they are aware that Haircombs are made from endangered animals that are killed in a cruelly way.
I asked them to be responsible vegetarians and cancel the trip to this museum.

If you also want to express your concern, please write to the VWF organisation:

info@tokyovwf.com

(september 2007 update : the visit to this haircomb museum has been canceled)

2007 august 6 - august 12

monday

Did find a japanese Vegan website which offers good information such as articles explaining relation "meat" and cancer, relation with Animal Rights, and a good "Question & Answer" section.
Japanese language only but you can show this site to your japanese friends when for the umpht time they express their nitwitzism about Veganism. ;-)

http://saisyoku.com

wednesday

Just three weeks and i will be in Japan again! >_<

Of course i am looking forward to meet with my veggie friends and the new volunteers Mariko and Kanae, whom i will meet for the first time.
In fact, we all come together and have a dinner together somewhere, in a veggie restaurant in Tokyo. When is not exactly decided, but probably on a sunday.
And if you the visitor of the Vegan Japan website want to come and join, you are also very welcome. It would be great oportunity to know other vegans, for you, me, and the other people, don't you think?
If you are interested please email me.

friday

Giant Zukini in the Local Organic Shop!!

(photo taken in Vegetarian Organic Shop "De Aanzet" in Amsterdam)

Do you have a similar interesting photo from a Vegetable? send it today and it will be on the site tomorow!

Besides an interesting photo, if you know a link, see a webpage newsarticle, know about an upcoming event or something else that might be interesting for vegans, let me know and it will be put on the site.

saterday

Starting from september the Kracie Company will stop selling the delicious vegan icecream I.V. (= I Veggie )
www.i-veggie.com

2007 august 13 - august 19

hello everybody. because i was sick last week, i didnt update the website.
So the next update will be monday august 27th. That day i also will be on the airplane heading for Japan! I will stay 5 weeks in Japan, have internet acces and keep you updated of my vegan japan tour.

2007 august 20 - august 26

tuesday

Searching the internet can give funny and interesting results. Here is a pick from this week's score :

Japanese Scientists :"Beef" worse than "Car"
Japanese scientists have calculated that eating meat and raising cattle for this meat production is far worse for global warming than driving a car.
That is indeed an "Inconvenient Truth". Facts: "Meat" causes human sicknesses, animal cruelty, more poverty in third world countries, deforestation and...very much greenhouse gasses.
Article in the english The Telegraph, last month

Soy Based Egg Replacer.
we as vegans dont eat eggs, right? so any "egg replacer" food product would come in handy for various recipes like pancakes.
Here is one "egg replacer" that you defenitely don't wanna buy. Why not? Well, besides "soy" and "vegetable oil" it also contains...."egg white" powder!
No joke.
Egg Replacer from the Unilever Food Company

Pie Contest: Vegetarian Pies Not Allowed !!
The national New Zealand Pie Contest this year was won by a Vegetarian Pie. Not any of the traditional Meat Pies did win but a V-E-G-E-T-A-R-I-A-N PIE! The Horror, the Shame! Could New Zealand recover from this Shock?
Last week the newspaper Taranaki Daily News decided to have their own Pie Contest, excluding Vegetarian Pies beforehand so that a meat pie HAD to win!
Weird, weird...
Save the Honour of the New Zealand Pie's!

did you see an interesting article?

wednessday

I am busy this week with preparations for my　trip to japan next week.
Got plenty of new vegan restaurants to visit, and to meet with people i didnt meet before.
If everything goes okay, i even will be on the Tokyo Vegetarian Fair on Sunday september 30 ! Together with volunteer Kanae we will have a small table selling Vegan Cookies and Vegan Cake and the Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide! >_<
please visit, buy a cookie and have a nice talk with us!

Mustn't forget that special cable my laptop needs like last time i forgot it. Got me so much trouble. Also better bring my Aikido Membership Card, don't wanna pay twice, right? And passport, dont forget it cuz i would be stuck on the airport, jeeeezzz, i go crazy if that happens....!

thursday

Next month the Tokyo Vegetarian Festival offers the possibility of a two day Vegetarian Tour. This Tour however included a visit to a Comb Museum. Those combs are made from endangered sea turtles that are killed in a cruel way. And its not at all a thing from the past, far from it. Even when in 1994 the import of Seaturtle shell was prohibited, still each year Seaturtle shells are smuggled into japan. Besides this, the japan governement is trying really hard to change the law and make import of turtle shell again possible!

Both by email, and visiting the Committee, VeganJapan has informed the Tour Committee about the cruelty and environmental damage behind those Haircombs. We pointed out that it is not a thing from the past, but sadly a very modern problem.
Since 1994 japan finally agreed with International Conservation Laws and stopped importing Seaturtle shells. Even if Japan accepted International Law, it makes much effort to change International Law and make it possible again to import endangered animals. For instance, sadly, a few years ago Japan did start again with importing elephant products. As we all know, Japan also kills illegaly whales, even they are endangered.
When Japan starts to learn to fight for preservation and prottection of endangered animals, only then we can say “turtle shell is thing from the past”

After our information, it was decided to cancel the trip to the Haircomb museum.
VeganJapan is very happy with this decision.

saterday

This weekend gonna pack my bags, and next monday it's off to Japan.
Gotta buy some extra socks today cuz the socks in Japan are sometimes too small for me.
Okay everybody, see you next week!