A small, friendly Taiwanese restaurant on the edge of Yokohama Chinatown serving an everyday menu with a genuine set of plant-based choices — vegetarian mapo tofu, meat-free dumplings and vegetable dishes — and English is spoken, which is rare for the area. A full vegetarian course needs a reservation, though à-la-carte vegetarian dishes do not. As with all Chinese kitchens, confirm whether items use chicken stock, oyster sauce or egg if you are strictly vegan.
★ Seasonal kaiseki of Kamakura vegetables, tofu and wheat gluten in a garden dining room
A serene garden-side kaiseki house in temple-filled Kita-Kamakura, descended from a rice-ball shop founded in 1964 in front of Kencho-ji, a few minutes' walk from the station. Its everyday menu is seasonal kaiseki built on Kamakura vegetables, tofu and wheat gluten, but it will prepare a fish-free Buddhist shojin (vegetarian) course for vegetarian and Muslim guests when booked in advance — so reserve and state your needs rather than assuming the standard course is meat-free. Closed Thursdays.
★ Seasonal set meals built from pesticide-free vegetables, rice and house seasonings
A small lunch-focused vegetarian restaurant a few minutes from JR Nara Station, run by a committed-vegan chef who uses pesticide-free and organic vegetables with no meat, fish or seafood — a reassuring option in a city where most cooking still leans on bonito dashi. Most dishes are plant-based and dairy-free; strict vegans should still confirm egg and honey when ordering. It is effectively lunch-only (around 11:00–14:30) and closed Mondays and public holidays, so plan around its hours.
★ Vegan takoyaki, kushikatsu and ramen versions of Osaka street food
A fully plant-based izakaya in Shinsekai (opened 2023) serving vegan, gluten-free versions of Osaka street food — takoyaki, kushikatsu and ramen — with no animal products and no fish dashi by design, so it sidesteps the bonito-dashi trap. 'Gluten-free' is the venue's own claim rather than a certification, so celiac diners should confirm dedicated-fryer and cross-contamination handling directly.
★ Creamy soy-milk ramen with rice-flour noodles and gluten-free soy sauce
A vegan and gluten-free ramen specialist in Gion run by patissier Yukiko Uno, using rice-flour-and-kelp noodles and gluten-free soy sauce in a soy-milk broth — one of Kyoto's most reliably gluten-free, fish-dashi-free ramen options. The strongest 'dedicated kitchen' claims come from third-party listings rather than the venue itself, so celiac diners should confirm cross-contamination protocol directly with staff.
★ Creamy soy-milk ramen with a kombu-and-soy broth (no fish dashi)
A small fully-vegan soy-milk ramen shop in quiet Shimogamo, vegan since 2018, with a creamy kombu-and-soy-milk broth and no fish dashi at all — one of the cleanest strict-vegan ramen options in Kyoto. It also avoids the Buddhist five pungent spices (onion and garlic). The noodles contain wheat, so it is vegan but not gluten-free; closed midweek, so check days before visiting.
★ Vegan tempura soba and zaru soba with a plant-based broth
A small standing-style soba shop in Shimokitazawa (opened 2024) serving ni-hachi soba with a fully plant-based kombu broth and toppings, so there is no bonito or fish dashi. The noodles are ni-hachi (80% buckwheat, 20% wheat), so it is vegan but not gluten-free; it is daytime-only and closed early in the week, so check hours before visiting.
★ Refined Cantonese banquet courses and seasonal dim sum
The grande dame of Yokohama Chinatown, founded in 1892 and still the district's most famous Cantonese restaurant (a Tabelog 'Chinese EAST 100' selection for 2026), serving refined banquet courses and seasonal dim sum in formal dining rooms. It is an occasion restaurant — dinner runs to the top price band — and publishes no halal or vegetarian certification, so diners with restrictions should call ahead about specific dishes and dashi/stock bases rather than assume accommodation. Closed Mondays.
