Vegan Japan

januari 2008

thursday januari 31

Vegan Shibuya !!

today was my friends birthday, and we had a Vegan Tour in Shibuya !

we started at a vegan macrobiotic shop, Armoni, next to the vegan macrobiotic restaurant aSuka.

besides vegan macrobiotic products and offering good macrobiotic class, this place has 100% vegan Soy Soft IceCream !! >_< for only 300 yen.
the taste is rich creamy delicious. this is one of two places in whole of tokyo that sells 100% vegan Soy Soft Cream.
Recommended ! >_<

because aSuka is still closed (it opens at 17.00 for dinner) we go to another vegan restaurant nearby.
Nagi Shokudo opened just one month ago. it's in basement and not very visible from the street. (^_^)

inside its a nice atmosphere. in the back is japanese style room, where you put of your shoes and can sit on tatami mats.

the vegan macrobiotic food is fresh and good. especially the brown rice is very delicious. both quality and quantity are good, i think.

after our dinner in Nagi we go to aSuka for sweets. aSuka opened last year.
the aSuka menu offers much more variety than usual macrobiotic restaurant. (recommended)
well, we already had dinner so all we have is home made Apple Pie . its delicious.

and to finish our Shibuya Vegan Tour we visit the Vegan Healing Cafe for a delicous Almond Choco Cake >_< and a hot Grain Coffee. (^_^)

tuesday januari 30

at nagoya station i jumped in the first shinkansen that i saw, the SuperExpres for Tokyo.

hmmm, the SuperExpres stopped at twelve stations before arriving at Tokyo station... >_<

sunday januari 28

Vegan Nagoya. part two

most (vegan) macrobiotic restaurants that i have to check, are far away from the subway. i have to walk for 30 - 40 minutes, and its so cold.

long road with cold wind. "where is the restaurant ??"

Fukuro is half hour with train from Nagoya city, and 40 minutes walking from station. >_<
But its a very nice place with delicious macrobiotic lunch. (but dont eat the miso soup, its with fish stock.)

Takako san from Fukuro is very nice and brings me back with the car to the station. Thank you takako san !!

very cute entrance at Fukuro !

another long train ride brings me back to Nagoya. another subway ride and 45 minutes walking brings me to a vegetarian restaurant ...with closed doors !! >_<

they have unexpected holiday for three days!!

This is how a closed vegetarian restaurant looks like..

45 minutes walking back and another subway ride, i arrive with empy stomach at the Tribal Art with "vegan macrobiotic" food. at least, that is what somebody told me. but in fact, everything except one dish is with fish sauce.
The staff tells me "but its just a little bit fish sauce."

yeah.

the place looks nice inside,but outside the restaurant is a small puppy dog, it is alone in the cold. why do they buy a puppy dog and put it outside the restaurant ?? just because it looks "nice", the puppy is just "decoration" for the shop, i think.
but animals are not decoration, and its also not good to take small puppy away from mother dog.

--------------------

I got so much new information and photo's for a new edition of the Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide with about 120 veggie shops!!

since three months there is no japanese assistant. still didnt find any enthiousastic assistant volunteer.

i am dutch guy, i dont live in japan and hardly speak japanese.

i must be crazy to make a japanese guidebook... >_< !

saterday januari 26

Vegan Nagoya !!

this is my first time in Nagoya, and i am excited because i made a list with about 7 veggie restaurants that i have to check. yummy yummy.
the first restaurant i visit is closed >_< because of renovation. but the second is open, good food and i have a chat with nice people.
The owner of the place, a friendly older lady, is very helpful and adds several more macrobiotic veggie restaurants to my list !
wooooow, are there so many veggie restaurants here ??

i end my first vegan day in Chien Fu, with a freindly chat and yummy veggie chinese food.
And Chien Fu is added to the growing shops that sell the Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide !

Young lady from mainland China, and Malaysian and Dutch guy. (^_^)

thursday januari 24

its kind of sad to see how many people here wear fur, young "ladies" wearing fashionable fur and many young people a coat trimmed with real fur.

a person must be either ignorant of the tremendous cruelty of "fur" or just be plain assholes, for being responsible of so much animal cruelty.

also many resident foreigners (not the poor "english teacher" kind, but the "i married a succesful businesman and dont have to work myself" kind of woman) wear real fur. they look so stupid.

hey you! real fur handbag ? thats NOT cool but stupid.

this afternoon i did have lunch with my good friend. she is really a cool person, and so bright about animal rights.
yeah, it was nice meeting and talking with her.
we had a Raw Food Lunch Plate at the Half Sweets in shinjuku, for 1200 yen.　deliscious and recommended!

at night i had (another) vegan cake at the Pure Cafe in Omote Sando. there cake is really delicious, and a great place for just sitting, relaxing, drinking coffee.

the staff are visitors of the Vegan Japan website !! coool!

　　　　　　　
this is me and the lovely staff of Cafe Pure .

wednesday januari 23

Recommended : Deva Deva Cafe

most veggie people already know the Deva Deva Cafe in Kichijohji, Tokyo, but recently the menu has changed and its defenitely worthwhile to make a visit again, even if you have to travel a little bit for it.

Last year there was only one vegan piza option.
Now all pizzas (1050 yen) have a vegan version with delicious vegan cheese.

Vegetable Pizza
Bolognase Pizza
Potato Corn Mayo Pizza
Tomato Basil Olive Pizza
Pumpkin Soysage Pizza
Bean Spinach Pizza

i think, Deva Deva Cafe is the only Tokyo place with vegan pizzas..

The same goes for the deserts which have been veganised ! All except one were all delicious looking vegan cakes.

After Deva Deva Cafe i did go to the one-station-away Nishi Ogukibo for a vegan Soy Cheese Cake in the recently (last year october) opened Holon

Holon is a (vegan) macrobiotic restaurant, simple peaceful design, and nice atmosphere . I did eat cake only, but i will return another day for a dinner.

tuesday januari 22

sunday night me and some friends did go for a vegan cake to the Vegan Healing Cafe in Shibuya , Tokyo.
Ako san cant believe her eyes because next to us Silverstein, all vegans, are having dinner ! And she is a BIG FAN !!
Well, make a long story short, we talk, bla bla bla, the groupmembers each sign bags, clothes etc, from us, and we get invited on the guestlist for tuesdays concert at "Shibuya East" (a concerthall)

The concert was loud and noisy, GREAT! after the concert we hurry to the exit, and we hand out Anti-Fur leaflets to all leaving visitors.

at the Vegan Healing Cafe with the Canadian group Silverstein

sunday januari 20

today was the second Vegan Japan Lunch Party .
(the first one was autumn last year)
about 18 vegetarian and vegan people did meet at Saishoku Kenbi. First we had a look in the buddist temple hall, where there is a GIANT "happy budda" statue. After that, miss Itoh gave a short lecture about the food and about the activities at the temple.

then it was time to start the lunch ! the buffet was very delicious and many choiches. most people didnt know eachother so it was really great to meet and talk with new people, and to hear what everydboy has to say.

Saki is highschool student and she wants to follow medical studies. but, she really doesnt want to do any animal tests, which is customary at medical university and medical company. we all hope Saki can make her dream come true.

and Shara came all the way from hong kong ! but she was sitting at the very end of the table so i couldnt speak with her.

Nakamura san is my fellow student at the Living Food Cooking Course. he did eat 4 or 5 full plates of food.
(^_^)

Sumire san also did come at the first Vegan Lunch Party last year, so it was very nice to meet and talk with her again.

everybody has own interesting life story.

we really stayed too long time, well after closing time! >_< so we all thank the staff at SaishokuKenbi for cooking a great meal.

saterday januari 19

last night i was invited by a vegetarian family to have dinner at SaishokuKenbi. Everybody is at least 5 year vegetarian, eggs are not eaten but milk ingredients are okay. Almost vegan just like me !! >_<
("eggs" can give life to new bird so its alive, unlike "milk")

there was coincidence tonight, but its too long story. ;-)

I did meet with my youngest fan, a little 5 month old baby boy, who enjoyed the colorful pictures on the frontcover. the cute boy is vegetarian, and he surely will grow up to be a strong and gentle person.

everybody, thank you very much for the nice evening !! (^_^)

friday januari 18

NOOOOOO !!!!! >_<

several people did write me and said that SOYJOY contains milk and eggs and is NOT vegan.
I made the classic misstake to presume that a "soyproduct" would be 100% vegan, which of course doesnt have to be.
So please, always carefully read the label before eating a new product.

thursday januari 17

since recently Lawson sells SOYJOY, a sugarfree vegan snack. there are about 6 or 7 diferent flavors, and they cost about 120 yen.
i did buy three diferent flavors to test them so i could share the results with you, my dear VeganJapan visitor. (^_^)
and YES!! they are tasty !! >_<

wednesday januari 16

it looks like finally McDonalds is learning to describe their "food" correctly. McWrap is almost correct, its should be :

Mc Crap

(advertisement in JR line)

Today i did go to Tsukuba, Ibaraki. its a mere 45 minutes with the Tsukuba express going from Akihabara...

It's not only a restaurant with good vegan food but also a shop with animal friendly cosmetics, gifts, some foods, etc.

i had the 1029 yen Vegetable One Plate , 1029 yen Hamburger Plate and grain coffee and orange juice.

this is staf member and myself and the Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide. Ritz'n will be in the next edition.

Ritz'n

tuesday januari 15

today i did visit Bonjinsha bookstore in Chiyoda-ku. At the entrance of the shop was a display of vegetarian books from japanese writers. (except the Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide, it is written by a dutch guy (^_^) )
It was the idea of miss Kanae who works there and wants to promote Vegetarianism.

titles are (translated) "vegetarian health", "tales of vegetarian culture", "home vegetarian" (recipes), "eating life" and "vegan restaurant pocketguide".

the adres of the bookshop
1st Floor, 1-3-13, hirakawa-cho, chiyoda-ku

monday januari 14

in the morning i meet with the Japan Vegan Runners Club. We are 3 vegans and one non veggie person. The four of us we jog around the Palace in Tokyo, its a 5K jogging! After, we have a vegan meal at Chaya.
Japan Vegan Runners Club

　　　　　　　
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Ｌｕｎｃｈ　ｉｎ　Ｃｈａｙａ

In afternoon i have dinner at Vegan healing Cafe in Shibuya. Did you know that next month in Ogikubo a new VHC branch will be opened ? ( when exact date is known, i will write in on webpage)
Vegan Healing Cafe

saterday januari 12, late at night

Itoh sensei from Veggie Paradise explained about Living Food. I was surprised that there is a diference between "Raw Food" and "Living Food".
After theory, we cooked and prepared our first "living food" meal.

by the way, since today, Veggie Paradise sells the Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide.

after a full day cooking class, i meet with my friend Heidi and her son.. she is such a fan from the Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide ! >_<

say Tofu Cheese at Roppongi station !!

at night, its the first time i did eat at the macrobiotic vegan restaurant J's Kitchen. it was so very nice to meet with fellow japanese vegans who are vegan for the same reason as me. i was shy and tired but everybody was very friendly to me.
i enjoyed to see fake leather boots. (^_^)

ti~~~~red! g'night!

saterday januari 12 , early morning

yesterday afternoon i arrived at Narita. I had so much luck, with three aiplane seats just for myself, and could enjoy a really nice sleep.
Last year i did fly various times with KLM but repeated bad service made me choose for JAL. JAL, has good service with very friendly and helpful stewardesses, who didnt mind taking time to translate each ingredient of the package making sure its vegan.

The airplane meal wasn't very special but "okay", especially the rice was very tasteful.
Although my meal was "strict vegetarian" (which is another word for a "vegan"), there was coffee MILK and a suspicious croisant which might contain milk or egg..

At night i had a nice vegan dinner and two vegan cakes at Cafe Pure. (^-^)

view from the amsterdam Schiphol Airport

the round blue cup is a small coffeemilk

thursday januari 10

today i did get the quarterly Earth Island Magazine, an ecology magazine from the american Earth Island. there were some interesting articles in it, and usually its the articles about small and daily things that fascinates me most.
Like this one:
currently 60 millions of americans are not allowed to dry their washed clothes outside in the air, because of their home coorporations regulation ! ( "clothes hanging out to dry are an eyesore" )
instead, they have to dry with elecrical drying machines. (not good for environment)

Article about McDonald and Japanese governement.
last year a report from japanese scientists showed that production of meat causes much global warming gasses. A meateater without a car produces more global warming gasses than a vegetarian who drives a car.
However, in spite of overwhelming reports that meat is as environmental damaging as cars, in september last year, the Japanese Governement offered anybody who would show a commitment for preventing climate change and download some forms from the governemnet website, would get a Big Mac for half price .
just last year the ministry of health finally started to talk more about health issues like healthy diets. If i remember correctly, the minister himself started a meat free (or less meat...) diet to give a good example. (he even had hiw own blog with his day to day diet-efforts)
It is amazing that the governement so shamelesly (once again!) promotes mcdonalds, while it is more and more clear the damage mcdonalds causes to children' health, our health, the environment, and society as a whole. (unhealthy lifestyles cost society tremendous amounts of money in hospital bills, just like "smoking")

------------------------------------------------------------

in a couple of hours i will be off to the airport for my flight to japan ! In a short while i will go for a walk , have a veggie meal in chines restaurant and then off to the airport.

bye bye ! (^_^p

tuesday januari 8

just a few more days and i will be in a JAL plane for Tokyo. I don't fly with KLM anymore. 2,3 years ago AIR FRANCE did buy KLM and since then, customer service is getting worse.
Its very dificult now to contact "customer service" and have problem solved, because "customer service" is now in France.
anyway, i will fly with JAL, they always have good service at the airplane, and less noisy dutch passangers. ;-)

this week i did buy a new coat, for my trip. of course its no leather, ;-) but nice coat made from cotton.

this weekend i will start Living Food Cooking Course ! >_<

wednesday januari 2

1953 - 2007

Last week, friday december 28, ex-prime minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto was brutally assasinated by an extremist.
She was the hope for many people to bring peace to the country.
Not only was she a devout Muslim, she was also a vegetarian and once told her countrymen :

"A Vegetarian Diet keeps me fit inspite of the strains of office. All Muslims should take to Vegetarianism (..) "

(full quote can be find on this webpage)

tuesday januari 1

i got email from Jamie, a vegan gringo working in Hokkaido. In the town where he works, populair with australian and asian tourists who visit for the snow, there are no veggie places at all.
Recently he started a discussion with a local restaurant about veganism. After listening to Amie, they agreed that if he could get them tasty vegan recipies, they will try out a Vegan Menu in their restaurant.
Isn't that great ? it shows again that talking with other non veggie people can have such a positive influence.