Pescatarian Tokyo: the easiest city in the world to eat fish-first

Why Tokyo is a pescatarian's dream

Japanese cooking is built on the sea. Sushi, sashimi, grilled and simmered fish, seafood rice bowls (kaisendon), and seafood-and-vegetable tempura are all naturally yours — no special menu required. A market-fresh sushi counter or a kaisendon near Toyosu is, for a pescatarian, simply lunch.

What to look for

• Sushi & sashimi — pure fish and rice. A nigiri omakase counter is the purest expression; sashimi without rice is for chopsticks.
• Kaisendon — a bowl of rice topped with raw seafood; point at what you like.
• Tempura — the best counters fry only seafood and vegetables (no meat), so a tempura course is naturally pescatarian.
• *Grilled fish set (yakizakana teishoku)* — rice, miso soup, pickles and a whole grilled fish; the everyday backbone of Japanese eating.

The hidden meat to watch for

The one trap is dashi and stock. Many "vegetable" simmered dishes use katsuobushi (bonito) — fine for you, but worth knowing. The real catches:

• Ramen and gyoza usually contain pork.
• Mixed dishes — fried rice, hot pots, izakaya platters — may hide chicken or pork; ask.
• Chawanmushi and some egg dishes are fine, but check the broth if you also avoid certain stocks.

Where to start

For market sushi at its source, Sushi Dai and Daiwa Sushi inside Toyosu Market are legendary; in the Tsukiji Outer Market, the 1889-founded Tsukiji Sushisei and the seafood bowls of Kaisendon Marukita are easy, welcoming introductions. For a special evening, the aged-tuna omakase at Hakkoku and the seafood-and-vegetable course at two-Michelin-star Tempura Kondo show how far fish-first dining can go.

Not gluten-free, though: soy sauce contains wheat. If you also avoid gluten, ask for tamari and see our gluten-free guide.