What you need to know
Firstly, many people say that Japan or Tokyo are difficult to live in or travel as a vegan to which i usually respond with "NOT AT ALL! Is sooooo easy!" which is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to get people to shut up about how tiring and sad my vegan life must be here.
The truth is, it's not necessarily difficult it's just different to the vegan lifestyle i live in the country i call home.
Japan has a huge history of Buddhism in which monks lived solely on traditional vegan Japanese cuisine named 'Shoujin Ryouri' and in fact, it was only after the introduction of Catholicism in the 1500's when Japanese people even started to eat land animals- an attempt made by the Catholic Church and missionaries to force western traditions and ways of thinking onto the Japanese population to make them easier to convert. While Japan's history with veganism or vegetarianism isn't necessarily common knowledge, there exists an overall consensus that plant-based diets or something similar are healthier than other alternatives-likely due to the fact that Japanese people eat more fruit and vegetables than many other countries combined and focus many of their meals around vegetables as opposed to meat. There is however very little knowledge about specialized diets in Japan such as vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or even halal, as they're considered to be religious concepts like 'shoujin ryouri' and therefore don't pertain to most of the population. This can make it difficult to explain your requirements to people as it may often feel as though its falling on deaf ears. BUT FEAR NOT! For i shall now attempt (massive emphasis on 'attempt' here...) to provide you with some useful Japanese phrases to make sure you can find all the yummy vegan treats that this country (particularly Tokyo as i live here...) has to offer! YAY!
The truth is, it's not necessarily difficult it's just different to the vegan lifestyle i live in the country i call home.
Japan has a huge history of Buddhism in which monks lived solely on traditional vegan Japanese cuisine named 'Shoujin Ryouri' and in fact, it was only after the introduction of Catholicism in the 1500's when Japanese people even started to eat land animals- an attempt made by the Catholic Church and missionaries to force western traditions and ways of thinking onto the Japanese population to make them easier to convert. While Japan's history with veganism or vegetarianism isn't necessarily common knowledge, there exists an overall consensus that plant-based diets or something similar are healthier than other alternatives-likely due to the fact that Japanese people eat more fruit and vegetables than many other countries combined and focus many of their meals around vegetables as opposed to meat. There is however very little knowledge about specialized diets in Japan such as vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or even halal, as they're considered to be religious concepts like 'shoujin ryouri' and therefore don't pertain to most of the population. This can make it difficult to explain your requirements to people as it may often feel as though its falling on deaf ears. BUT FEAR NOT! For i shall now attempt (massive emphasis on 'attempt' here...) to provide you with some useful Japanese phrases to make sure you can find all the yummy vegan treats that this country (particularly Tokyo as i live here...) has to offer! YAY!
Vocab and Go-to phrases: RESTAURANT EDITION
1. 私はビーガン・ベジタリアンです
WATASHI WA BEEGAN/BEGITARIAN DES
I'M VEGAN/VEGETARIAN
2. ビーガン・ベジタリアンの人が食べられるものはありますか?
BEEGAN/BEJITARIAN NO HITO GA TABERARERU MONO WA ARIMASUKA?
DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT VEGANS/VEGETARIANS CAN EAT?
3. 私は肉、魚、乳製品、卵を食べません。
WATASHI WA NIKU, SAKANA, NYUUSEIHIN, TAMAGO O TABEMASEN
I DON'T EAT MEAT, FISH, DAIRY OR EGG.
4. これを肉・魚・乳製品・卵 抜きでできますか?
KORE O NIKU/SAKANA/NYUUSEIHIN/TAMAGO NUKI DE DEKIMASKA?
CAN THIS BE MADE WITHOUT MEAT, FISH, DAIRY, EGG?
5. 「ビーガン」というのは、動物製品を一切食べなくて、使わない人です。
"BEEGAN" TO IU NO WA, DOUBUTSUSEIHIN WO ISSAI TABENAKUTE, TSUKAWANAI HITO DES.
A 'VEGAN' IS SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT USE OR EAT ANIMAL PRODUCTS.
6. ビーガンの人におすすめは何ですか?
BEEGAN NO HITO NI OSUSUME HA NAN DES KA?
WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND FOR VEGANS?
7. 牛乳の代わりに、豆乳を使ってもらえますか?
GYUUNYUU NO KAWARI NI, TOUNYUU O TSUKATTE MORAEMASKA?
COULD YOU MAKE THIS WITH SOY MILK INSTEAD OF COWS MILK?
8. ここに肉、魚、乳製品、卵 が入ってますか?
KOKONI NIKU, SAKANA, NYUUSEIHIN, TAMAGO GA HAITTEMASKA?
IS THERE MEAT, FISH, DAIRY OR EGG IN THIS?
9. ビーガン・ベジタリアンのメニューはありますか?
BEEGAN/BEJITARIAN NO MENYUU WA ARIMASKA?
DO YOU HAVE A VEGAN OR VEGETARIAN MENU?
10. 乳製品のアレルギーです。
NYUUSEIHIN NO ARERUGI DES
I AM ALLERGIC TO DIARY
11. 私は菜食主義者です。
WATASHI WA SAISHOKUSHUGISHA DES
I'M A PURE VEGETARIAN (OLD EXPRESSION)
12. 私は漢字が読めないです。この材料に肉、魚、乳製品、卵が入っていないかを確認してもらえますか?
WATASHI WA KANJI GA YOMENAI DES. KONO ZAIRYOU NI NIKU, SAKANA, NYUUSEIHIN, TAMAGO GA HAITTENAI KA WO KAKUNINSHITE MORAEMASUKA?
I CAN'T READ KANJI. DO YOU MIND CHECKING THE INGREDIENTS FOR MEAT, FISH, DAIRY AND EGG FOR ME?
- ビーガン OR ヴィーガン sounds like BEEGAN - VEGAN
- ベジタリアン BEJITARIAN Note: try not so say BEJITERIAN as you would in English as it can confuse people - VEGETARIAN
- 菜食主義者 SAISHOKUSHUGISHA (Old word for vegetarian that some older generations might better understand than 'vegan')
- 肉 NIKU - MEAT
- 魚 SAKANA - FISH
- 乳製品 NYUUSEIHIN sounds like NEW-SAY-HEEN in an English accent haha- MILK PRODUCTS
- 牛乳 GYUUNYUU - MILK
- 卵 TAMAGO - EGG
- ゼラチン ZERACHIN - GELATIN
- はちみつ HACHIMITSU- HONEY
- 豆乳 TOUNYUU - SOY MILK
- ソイミルク SOIMIRUKU- SOY MILK but may not be 100% soy or have dairy derivatives inside
- グルテンフリー GURUTENFURII - GLUTEN FREE
- グルテンミート GURUTENMI-TO - GLUTEN MEAT
- 大豆 DAIZU - SOY BEANS
- 豆腐 - TOUFU - TOFU
- 小麦 KOMUGI- WHEAT
- 小麦粉 KIMUGIKO- WHEAT POWDER
- パン PAN - BREAD
- ご飯 GOHAN- RICE can also be just 'KOME' or RAISU
- ラーメン RA-MEN- RAMEN NOODLES
- タンパク質 TANPAKUSHITSU - PROTEIN
- 材料 ZAIRYOU - INGREDIENTS
- ビール BI-RU - BEER
- ワイン WAIN- WINE
1. 私はビーガン・ベジタリアンです
WATASHI WA BEEGAN/BEGITARIAN DES
I'M VEGAN/VEGETARIAN
2. ビーガン・ベジタリアンの人が食べられるものはありますか?
BEEGAN/BEJITARIAN NO HITO GA TABERARERU MONO WA ARIMASUKA?
DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING THAT VEGANS/VEGETARIANS CAN EAT?
3. 私は肉、魚、乳製品、卵を食べません。
WATASHI WA NIKU, SAKANA, NYUUSEIHIN, TAMAGO O TABEMASEN
I DON'T EAT MEAT, FISH, DAIRY OR EGG.
4. これを肉・魚・乳製品・卵 抜きでできますか?
KORE O NIKU/SAKANA/NYUUSEIHIN/TAMAGO NUKI DE DEKIMASKA?
CAN THIS BE MADE WITHOUT MEAT, FISH, DAIRY, EGG?
5. 「ビーガン」というのは、動物製品を一切食べなくて、使わない人です。
"BEEGAN" TO IU NO WA, DOUBUTSUSEIHIN WO ISSAI TABENAKUTE, TSUKAWANAI HITO DES.
A 'VEGAN' IS SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT USE OR EAT ANIMAL PRODUCTS.
6. ビーガンの人におすすめは何ですか?
BEEGAN NO HITO NI OSUSUME HA NAN DES KA?
WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND FOR VEGANS?
7. 牛乳の代わりに、豆乳を使ってもらえますか?
GYUUNYUU NO KAWARI NI, TOUNYUU O TSUKATTE MORAEMASKA?
COULD YOU MAKE THIS WITH SOY MILK INSTEAD OF COWS MILK?
8. ここに肉、魚、乳製品、卵 が入ってますか?
KOKONI NIKU, SAKANA, NYUUSEIHIN, TAMAGO GA HAITTEMASKA?
IS THERE MEAT, FISH, DAIRY OR EGG IN THIS?
9. ビーガン・ベジタリアンのメニューはありますか?
BEEGAN/BEJITARIAN NO MENYUU WA ARIMASKA?
DO YOU HAVE A VEGAN OR VEGETARIAN MENU?
10. 乳製品のアレルギーです。
NYUUSEIHIN NO ARERUGI DES
I AM ALLERGIC TO DIARY
11. 私は菜食主義者です。
WATASHI WA SAISHOKUSHUGISHA DES
I'M A PURE VEGETARIAN (OLD EXPRESSION)
12. 私は漢字が読めないです。この材料に肉、魚、乳製品、卵が入っていないかを確認してもらえますか?
WATASHI WA KANJI GA YOMENAI DES. KONO ZAIRYOU NI NIKU, SAKANA, NYUUSEIHIN, TAMAGO GA HAITTENAI KA WO KAKUNINSHITE MORAEMASUKA?
I CAN'T READ KANJI. DO YOU MIND CHECKING THE INGREDIENTS FOR MEAT, FISH, DAIRY AND EGG FOR ME?
Extra materials/recommendations
If the above information isn't enough for you or even too much to remember for your short trip,. please check out some information below that i found on the world wide web!
I found some really useful cards for vegans in Japan from justhungry.com that basically state in Japanese your dietary requirements and you just pass them to the waitress or the chef at the restaurant or even to your host if you're staying at an all inclusive hotel or something similar. You can download the file from here, or below. Please pint them off and cut them out as you need to!
I found some really useful cards for vegans in Japan from justhungry.com that basically state in Japanese your dietary requirements and you just pass them to the waitress or the chef at the restaurant or even to your host if you're staying at an all inclusive hotel or something similar. You can download the file from here, or below. Please pint them off and cut them out as you need to!
dining_out_for_vegans_japanese.pdf | |
File Size: | 300 kb |
File Type: |