Vegan Japan

september 2007

Herwin's Vegan Japan Tour 28 august - 2 october 2007

tuesday august 28

I arrived today in Tokyo. The two "Strict Vegetarian Meal" in the airplane aren't that bad. One meal was CousCous with veggies.
The other passangers had a choiche between a japanese meal with tuna, or... a vegetarian lasagna.
However, when a light meal was served to all passangers, "would you like an icecream or a chicken noodles?", as always, KLM bluntly skips everybody with a special food request, leaving the veggies with empty hands while "them" are eating !

It's warm and humid. I take a walk in Ueno Park where the chicades make a hell of a noise.
Turtles, dumped by their owners, swim happily with dozens between the water-vegetation. Stray cats in the park.

The pond is covered in Lotus :

pink

sweet color

natural pink

I am looking forward for tomorow. Goodnight !

wednessday august 29

Today it is another pleasant not-too-warm day in Tokyo.

Today i visit several veggie places.
A restaurant i really want to recommend is the vegetarian Hanada Rosso. It's just a few stops from Shibuya with theTokyu Toyoko line, 7minute walk from Yutenshi Station.

I had the Vegetarian Burger Set. The cook prepared my meal with much attention, and that i could taste, all was very delicious. The brown rice was so tasty! And the salad was made with such fresh ingredients that it tasted just yummy.
Service was very friendly and made me feel happy.

A restaurant with good cook who uses good fresh products and friendly staff is always a pleasure to visit. :-)

www.hanada-rosso.net

I am too tired to write today!!

Together with Kanae all day we visited Bookshops, walked walked walked, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Meguro...

Of course we had several breaks and enjoyed a Vegan Icecream at the Half Sweets in Shinjuku, and a delicious vegan dinner in the Cafe 8.

The Vegetarian Take Out Haotsuya (page 29 Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide) is closed permanently.

friday august 31

Today I had lunch with Todd from California. Who is Todd you might think? Well, Todd is visiting the Science Fiction Convention in Yokohama. It's his first visit to Japan. Todd also ordered the Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide before his trip to Japan. Since i am also in Japan it seems a nice idea to meet and have lunch!

Lunch at the SaiShokuKenBi

Another tasteless add from the McDonald corporation! A very un-original name for another un-original product, the McPork ; a mixture of grounded left-over body parts from the animal slaugherhouses, mixed with heaps of sugar and other secret ingredients especially designed for the taste of young people.

Another food product from the McDonald corporation so children can grow up getting fat and developing diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cancer, heartdissease, etc.

buuuuh!!
Distasteful add in the Subway

saterday september 1

Today is the opening of a new Living Food Restaurant, in Chibuya Tokyo. "Living Food" is food that is heated up to 48 C at highest, and of no animal origen. No meat, fish, eggs, milk or even honey. Great!!
It is very crowded but luckely there is still plenty of food to eat. It simply is delicious, and i sure will come back another day at restaurant hours and try the regular menu.

delicious Living Food !

Veggie Paradise
tel : 03-3467-3955 1-22-14 Uehara, Chibuya-ku, Tokyo

enjoying guidebook

somewhere in Tokyo in a shop, a group of ladies are enjoying the Vegan Pocketguide.the lady second from the left did buy one copy, although she said "it is a bit expensive". The lady on the right was very friendly and also did buy one copy.

sunday september 2

Ginza.
A man reading a book?
Children playing?
Thousands of people walking and enjoying on the...road??

A Bycicle on the road with no fear fo being squashed by the countles cars?

No more stinking cars? Has the world finally gone sane?

Well, every saterday and sunday you could say so from the Chuo Road in the Ginza when it is closed for cars!

Clean air, No More Noise, Happy and Relaxed People with Space to Walk.
Shouldn't it be always like this?

ginza

(photo under)
"let's have lumch together."
get it? Lumch. LuMMMMch.

lummmmch

monday september 3

Somewhere at the Foudcourt in a Department store where Vegetarian obento (japanese lunchbox) is sold.

"and that yellow is egg, and that is egg also, and that is egg also...."

all vegetarian obentoo are with egg!! :-(

naaah, that's not what i want to hear, lady!

lunchbox with egg

Quiz : In wich Vegan restaurant you can see this Vegan Sign?

vegan

Ginza, Chuo street.
Compare with photo of yesterday. Same street, this time with cars. Wich street do you prefer?

stinking cars

tuesday september 4

Tomorow i will be going to Kyoto and Osaka.
Until Tuesday september 11th when i have returned to Tokyo, the website will not be updated.

Monday september 10

Yesterday at night i returned with the super express Nozomi Shinkanse to tokyo from a 4 day trip. I visited Kyoto and Osaka. Now i am so~ tired !
Here are some photo's.

yunkudo
Junkudo Kyoto branch buys 20 copies of Vegan Pocketguide. Left Junkudo staff. Right: CARROT staff Nakamura.

In Osaka and Kyoto various bookshops were visited. Especially Junkudo was very positive about the Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide.
So now the Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide also can be bought in all Kyoto and Osaka Junkudo bookshop branches. (4 shops)
Hooray!

Sometimes people are so funny.
Half year ago Pocketguide was send to the Maman Terrace restaurant and asked if they can sell the Pocketguide in their shop. Until now they gave no answer.
We visited Maman Terrace in Osaka. We asked if they can sell the pocketguide. They answer "we are still thinking about it".
Hmmmm, they are thinking about it for half year and still don't know answer? :-P

About ten new vegan and vegetarian restaurants were visited in Osaka and Kyoto. This here , the Macrobi Cafe in Osaka is delicious and recommended

There are various very delicious vegan Cakes and Tarts at the Macrobi Cafe.

4-7-10 Doshou-machi, Chuuou-ku, Osaka
06-6233-7736
11.30 - 19.30 (closed monday)

hello
Kanae, Ayako, Herwin

Sunday i did meet with Ayako in a vegan macrobiotic restaurant.
Ayako is volunteer since a year and translated part of the Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide and now translates for the japanese VeganJapan website.
It was the first time that i did meet the person who helps me for such a long time! Thank you ayako !!

Besides Vegan Things i visited the Nijo Castle in Kyoto, it is from the beginning of the Tokugawa period.
The famous "Nightingale Floors" of the castle are awsome! When you walk on the floors they squeek and make a high pitched bird-like sound.
In the gift shop i did buy some neat steel ninja throwing stars. >_< hiyaaaaa!!!!! banzai~~~~~~!

Back in my Tokyo Nippori Hotel. Hmmm, might go take a dip in the hotel onsen....

Bye

tuesday september 11

Tonight i did go to the new vegan Veggie Paradise. I was there at the opening party just ten days ago, when food was free and people were cramped like peas in a pot (see saterday september 1).
Tonight it was quite diferent, no guests except me and my partner, (and later that evening two other guests) and the food was not free at all ; a Dinner Course costs almost a whopping 5000 yen, ouch!! >_<

But the food is very tasty and if you would like to taste good Living Food than this restaurant is recommended.

Finally the waitress comes with a plate with four deserts and asks "which one would you like?". The menu reads "eat as much desert as you want" so i say i want all four of them. After this, i order again the same 4 deserts.
But since i am polite and humble person i don't order for the third time.... :-)

wednessday september 12

I was enjoying lunch at the vegetarian SaiShokuKenBi near Shin Okubo station and suddenly a voice "are you...Herwin..?"
Yes yes, that's me!
Well, well, it is "Gonzales" who i know from internet. (Gonzales must be his "cybername" because he doesn't look Spanish at all)
Actually "Gonzales" is the first Vegan Japanese Male i ever did meet or see in Japan. Most vegans here in Japan seem to be women.

me and...
left:herwin, right:Gonzales

thursday september 13

Another day of promoting the Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide.
Various bookshops in Tokyo were visited. The result of the day is that Maruzen Bookshop (in front of the Tokyo station) and Aoyama Book Center in Aoyama are now selling the Pocketguide!

This months "Most Unfriendly Shop Assistant" Award is won by the little AKKORD assistant who rather unfriendly said "DONT take photo's!" and when asked if the Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide could be sold in their shop she replied very politely "you ALREADY asked that before, but we DONT want to sell your pocketguide in the shop!"

The temperature dropped a few degrees when she spoke..

sunday september 16

Because of what i wrote about the AKKORD staff yesterday, i have been called "terrible" and "negative".
But i just write about my experiences, and sometimes they are happy, other times they are not so nice.
If i feel staff is unfriendly, why cant i write about it? And if i give that assistant the "Most Unfriendly Shop Assistant of the Month" Award, i am "cynical"?
For me it is just humor, to make from a situation that made me feel sad, at least make a situation i can laugh about.

As allways, people who come with this kind of harsh words, are not open to listen to what i have to reply. It's just "you are this! you are that!"

Luckely there are other people who are more friendly.

I received this email from "fujikawa" last week. Thank you!!

" Greetings !
I just want to say thank you for publising such a brilliant book.
Because I try to dine at places in many locations in the book, i started to call my friends who live near the place that I haven't been in touch with for years, so I can not only have a tasty time at a new vege restaurant,but also actually meet with someone i would not have called otherwise!

Isn't it great?"

yes, that is VERY GREAT!!! :-)

Another friendly person i did meet is the owner of the new Vegan SEIJO TARA CAFE.
I visited last week for the first time and had delicious lunch plate. I had a talk with the cook/owner who is such genuine friendly and interesting person.
The atmosphere is relaxed and peaceful.
There are also various vegan macrobiotic cooking classes.
So i really ecommend this vegan place!   :-)

There are various cakes. The Pumkin Cake is most delicious pumpkin cake i ever ate.
Besides there is also vegan tofu cheese cake.

SEIJO TARA CAFE
6-6-9 Seijou, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo
03-3484-7557

open : tuesday -thursday 11.30 - 18.00 (L.O. 17.30)
          saterday, sunday : 12.00 - 18.00
friday : cooking school and event

Odakyuu-odawara line. Seijou gakuenmae station

Central exit, than North Exit. Second streetcorner (McEvil is on the corner) to the left. 70 meters or so, next to the Natural House grocery store, on the second floor is the Seijo Tara Cafe.

monday september 17

This weekend i did meet with Martin from the Alishan Cafe. We had a dinner at the Brown Rice Cafe and later went to a bar. Martin drunk two beer and me i drunk two orange juice.

For the next days i have to change hotel. Don't know if i have internet connection, so maybe i wont have change to update the site for several days.

tuesday september 18

Good news is i have internet connection but i sure will miss the onsen.

Poster in the subway : Printed with SOY INK
Just like the Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide, this Subway Promotion Poster is printed with vegetable ink, which is less damaging to the environment than the conventional mineral inks.

good!

wednesday september 19

I did have a lunch with Tom and Jane from England. It's their first visit to Japan and I was so glad to hear that each day they visit a vegan restaurant from the Pocketguide. :-)

Tom told me that sometimes the maps in the Pocketguide are dificult to read.
Yes i know it. Actually, i am now making much efforts to make new and better maps for the next edition.

We had a very nice Vegan Talk and delicious lunch in the SaiShokuKenbi.

tom and jane

thursday september 20

My camera was getting cranky. Maybe some raindrops came inside the camera and messed up the electronics...

So today i did buy a new camera. Where? AKIHABARA of course!! :-P
Its a Panasonic DMC-FZ18 (51000 yen)
I did buy this camera because it has a good lense; both wide angle as well as a good telelens. I need wide-angle for making photos inside a restaurant. And telelens is good for taking pictures of animals and people.
The camera isnt too big, it still fits in my handbag.

               beautiful pink
AUTUMN has come!!
Just ten days ago the Lotus Flowers in Ueno park were beautiful and pink.
Now they did loose the pink leaves. But they are not "dead", they are making many seeds inside.

                i am a cat
Stray cat in Ueno park. The cat looks a bit sick but also so very gentle and sweet. "Get better soon, dear cat!"

                hello turtle san
The 18X optical zoom with stabilisator lets me make this picture of a turtle taking a sunbath in the pond in Ueno Park.

subway
The zoom is great! Also the camera isnt that big so it can be pointed at people without disturbing them.
This is person sitting in front of me in the subway

sunday september 23

This sunday was the first Vegan Lunch Party organised by VeganJapan. We did meet in the Vegan Healing cafe, Chibuya-ku in Tokyo, enjoyed a good vegan meal and very very delicious cakes!

It was so very nice and inspiring to meet with new vegan people, listen to eachothers stories and have such a nice time, and all in a 100% vegan restaurant.
We started at 12.00 and it was well after 15.00 when we finished.

From left to right : Emi (we were a little bit worried because she couldnt find the restaurant, but finally she came, she is interesting person), Jane (i did meet her and Tom a few days ago in another veggie restaurant), McVegetarian (he is very nice and friendly person), Herwin (that's me), Tom, (after the lunch he did go to manga shop), and Rie. (she is active person with animal rights.)

tuesday september 25

www.seashepherd.org

This weekend i ran into Allison Lance from Sea Shepherd! If you don't know, she is an animal rights activist who visited japan some years ago and did save dolphins from being killed by fisherman. For this she was arrested by police.
read more about the Taiji Dolphins

Today Allison Lance is back in japan and started a Hungerstrike to protest against the killing of Dolphins and the eating of this toxic meat by school children.
As many independent laboratories, including independent japanese ones, again and again concluded, the dolphin meat is contaminated with too high levels of the toxic heavy metal Mercury. In other words, dolphin meat is "toxic waiste", and to feed this to children is criminal.
Read more about it in the Japan Times

I took this photo last weekend, sunday, from the Sea Shepherd team. Three brave women fighting against injustice to animals and children.
In the middle Allison Lance.
Today she started her hungerstrike.
Read the statement of Sea Shepherd

wednesday september 26

If you buy something in any shop, even just one item, it will be put in one or two plastic bags, and maybe accompanied by a plastic spoon and disposable chopsticks.

Even at a macrobiotic shop food items are seperately packed in plastic bags and than all together packed in yet another bigger plastic bag. (photo)

what...!

So much unnecesary plastic is really bad for environment.
At the shop i always say, before the staff has a change to put it in a bag ( you have to be quick though...) "this way is fine!" (kono mama de ii desu!) Meaning, "no plastic bag is needed."

Yesterday in a department store in Shinjuku i saw an older lady at the counter who brought her own plastic bag! Great.

Recently i see much "printed with soyink" . This time i saw it in the manual of my new camera.

eco friendly!

thursday september 27

eat me!

Today Kanae is making vegan cookies. They are made with fresh quality ingredients and without sugar.
They will be sold at the Vegetarian Festival this weekend. The little bag of cookies (photo) will only cost 100 yen.

friday september 28

Today the Muffins are being made for tomorows Vegetarian Festival in Oyogi Park, Tokyo. It is getting very late though, well past midnight. >_<
If you have a change, please visit us , buy the Pocketguide and a muffin, and have a nice vegan talk with us.

Last week the magazine TOKYO WALKER had a Special about Vegetarian Buffets on page 6 and 7.

vegetarian article

sunday september 29

This weekend is the Vegetarian Fair. It is much bigger than last year, with lots of good vegetarian/vegan food, music, workshops about various things like yoga, and animal rights issues.
Vegan Japan sold all saterday Pocketguides and Vegan Cookies and Muffins. The Cookies and Muffins were a big succes and at the end of the day we were sold out!!
This means today, Sunday, we will not be at the Vegetarian Festival.

here are some photo's from the Vegetarian Festival

sunday september 29

MY VEGAN LOVE AFFAIR

Everyday we wrote long emails, in the morning, at night, and whenever there was time. It took me hours to read and write back, because we did write in japanese, but i really enjoyed reading her emails so much.
She did send me nice things by postal mail, and i did send her nice things. We started to like eachother very much, and we gave eachother special names.

Than finally we did meet near Nezu station in Tokyo! >_<
I will not forget that moment! :-) We were both nervous but we were happy to meet. From that day, almost everyday we did　meet, visit vegetarian restaurants and talk. We are always happy together. I think she is great. She is my first vegan girlfriend and i am so happy.

But recently she is 'tired" sometimes, and dont have much time to be together. Today she was tired and sick, and we couldn't meet. She was even too tired to answer my emails.
I was feeling unhappy and sad for being alone and worried that she was sick.
But today i did find her blog on the internet (She never told me she had blog.)
And in her blog she writes about she did give her "darlin" a coffeemaking machine for his birthday. It was TODAY!
So she was not sick and in bed, but she was meeting with her "darlin"
Can you understand what a sad experience?

I decided to go to her house and talk with her. It takes almost one and half hour by train. Finally i meet with her at the station. She doesnt know that i did read her blog on internet. So when i ask her about today, with a sincere face she pretends she doesnt know anything. "what do you mean? i was sick today" she says. But when i tell her i did read her blog and know everything, she laughs a bit. It must be amusing for her.

For me it is not amusing. i find a girl who is very special for me and i love, and than she meets with other guy.
Now at the station she tells me "i dont love you, i just like you."

Okay, so she made her choiche and the other guy is the big winner. And i am the looser. But at least i am the looser who treated her always with respect, and i always was honest with her, and i made her happy because i love her. I did loose her, but i didnt loose my selfrespect.

When i leave her she rans after me and grabs me before i can enter the gate at the station. She cries and cries, eyes are all swollen and red.
It is dificult to say goodbye.

I will miss you >_< you were special! Allways happy to be with you!
take good care of yourself...

THE END (of my Vegan Love affair)

monday october 1

I am packing my suitcase. Tomorow i have to get up early and get to Narita airport, because i am going back to Holland.

It is time to say Goodbye to all the people i did meet and enjoyed their company for the past 5 weeks. Many people i did meet for the first time!

First of course thank you, Ayako for translating very much text for the website, and also Mico from SF who recently started helping translating.

Goodbye to all the nice people i did meet in the Bookshops Junkudo, Kinokuniya, Maruzen, ABC and Libro.

One of my best memories will be the people who came to me at the Vegetarian Festival and said that they read my website and they like it. >_< I am so happy to hear! You are my friends!
And the people who bought Pocketguide at the festival, and made a talk with me, thank you!

I enjoyed seeing Martin from the Deva Deva. And of course my friend from Okinawa!

Martin from Tengu, Ako, Joshi Veggie who i did meet for first time (you are so friendly!), Rie (she does write for the website occasionally but i never did meet with her until this trip), Tod from usa visiting the Science Fiction convention, Tom and Jane from GB who made a Vegan Restaurant Tour in Tokyo, the staff from my hotel, and Miki from Fukushima.

Now we come at the part of the BIG thank you's, the "i really was so happy to see you" part.
Of course i mean the fabulous wonderful cool inspiring butt kicking Danielle, Sassy and Allison from Sea Shepherd who i was so lucky to meet with them by coincidence.
Take care and i love you all!! :-)

Thanks for Kanae who helped me with selling the Pocketguide, and who i will miss. Don't forget me. And please take time to think.

One very dear special girl i cannot forget to mention. She is my little daughter Suzume.
Of course i was happy to see her! She is such a beautiful, happy and playful child.
We did go to Disneyland together, me, she and her mummy, and had a great time. See you next year dear Suzume!!

my daughter

Did i forget to mention somebody? >_<
well, to everybody i did meet, i want to say, thank you!!
(even the old lady in a shop who told us the Pocketguide is too expensive and there are too much grammatical misstakes in it, so it cannot be sold in her shop. It was very funny.)

Tired, gotta go to sleep...

this is the last day of my travel. It will be next monday before the site is updated again.

Bye