Sébastien Duval

Author: Sébastien Duval

  • Vegan Japan Tour — Guiding Now

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    Sébastien Duval
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    From 16 February to 01 March 2025, I’m guiding and interpreting for a vegan group across Japan. We explore the Japanese countryside (Ibaraki, Kochi, Wakayama prefectures) in addition to the usual current & past capitals (Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara). I’m excited to make Japan travel more inclusive, to connect Japanese producers to world gourmets (including an…

  • Kura Sushi — With Plant-Based Foods

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    Sébastien Duval
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    Surprisingly, the standard menu of Kura Sushi chain restaurants in Japan includes diverse plant-based sushi and desserts. We just savoured: Kura Sushi operates 543 restaurants in Japan. Its 61 restaurants in the USA and 56 in Taiwan have different menus. In the frame of the 2025 world expo in Osaka, Kura Sushi launched an Expo…

  • Expo 2025 World Cuisines — Everywhere In Japan!

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    Sébastien Duval
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    Today, world cuisines of 70 countries appeared at Kura Sushi chain restaurants all over Japan as part of a 2025 World Expo campaign. For practical reasons, each restaurant only features one world cuisine in addition to the standard menu. You’d currently have to eat at 70 restaurants to taste all the dishes… Still, that’s great…

  • Male Geisha Met In Tokyo

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    Sébastien Duval
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    The flurry of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) discussions following the start of the 2025 Trump presidency reminded me of my most surprising encounter in 20 years in Japan: a male geisha! Respect to him for overcoming stringent Japanese traditions, respect to his community for making it happen, and respect to Tricolage travel agency for…

  • Atomic Bomb Survivor Met In Nagasaki

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    Sébastien Duval
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    Nowhere else in the world, and only for a few more years due to ageing… Meet an atomic bomb survivor in Japan like I recently did thanks to Nagasaki International Tourism & Convention Association! Discussing with this 90 y.o. Japanese was my most special moment of 2024 ✨ It also gave a special feeling to…

  • On Bluesky As SebastienPlus

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    Sébastien Duval
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    I just created my Bluesky account “SebastienPlus“. My first post was: Hello Blue Sky! Excited to join the community 🙂 I’m Sébastien Duval, based in Tokyo. My passions include unearthing unique Japan, rejuvenating hot springs, delicious vegan cuisines… and helping develop regenerative tourism. Like-minded? Let’s chat! I’m looking forward to this fresh start on social…

  • Onsen ♨️ Japanese Hot Springs

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    Sébastien Duval
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    “Onsen” Japanese hot springs are one of the best things in Japan, especially after hiking in the countryside 🙂 Foreigners typically have two problems with onsen: (1) embarrassment to be naked in front of strangers and (2) restrictions due to tattoos. Associated to crime in Japan, tattoos close the door to most rejuvenating onsen. I’m…

  • Kyoto

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    Sébastien Duval
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    Kyoto is an ancient capital of Japan. Its region (Kansai) is the cradle of Japanese Buddhism so you can easily savour cruelty-free shojin-ryori Buddhist cuisine in Kyoto.

  • Tokyo

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    Sébastien Duval
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    I live in Tokyo and enjoy it. It’s very convenient with its public transportation (subways & trains), shinkansen high-speed trains (going to Nagoya/Kyoto/Osaka every few minutes) and its international airport Haneda. Surprisingly, HappyCow ranked Tokyo as the world №12 vegan-friendly city in 2025 🙂 Note: Despite its name, Tokyo Disney Resort (Tokyo Disneyland + Tokyo…

  • T’s Tantan 🍜 Vegan Ramen & More

    T’s Tantan 🍜 Vegan Ramen & More

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    Sébastien Duval
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    T’s Tantan stores exist in Japan inside Narita airport, Tokyo station (“Gransta Tokyo”), and Ikebukuro station. I frequently eat at T’s Tantan Tokyo station before riding my train back home. Their healthy menu includes permanent dishes and seasonal dishes. So far, all the dishes I tasted were flavourful. My favourite seasonal dish so far was…