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 influencer), and to share mind-blowing foods at places I love through this vegan Japan tour 💚

This is the first vegan Japan tour that our company Japan Travel organises for a group, and we hope that success will lead to annual planning. Interestingly, I got the request to organise this vegan Japan tour via LinkedIn. I attended the first meeting with the client (group leader) and the manager of our travel department, taught my colleagues about vegan issues, made recommendations (foods, activities and spots based on nationwide consulting & holidays over 20+ years) to the tour designer, and accompanied a colleague inspecting businesses in Kochi. I was looking forward to the diverse, delicious and healthy meals 🙂

Questions & comments welcome in my Bluesky thread.

For reactions from professionals, see the comments & reposts on my LinkedIn post.

Day 0

I welcomed travellers at Narita airport, which looked super Japanese and fantastic for fans of Disney, Pokemon and video games wherever I looked: Pikachu, Mario, kimono-wearing Mickey & Minnie… See photos in my Bluesky post.

That evening, our group gathered near Narita airport at ANA Crowne Plaza Narita hotel to get to know each other before starting the tour: mostly Americans, mostly first-time visitors of Japan, all excited about Japanese vegan food. Unexpectedly, one adult is abroad for the first time! Great vibes 🙂

Day 1

After an hearty vegan breakfast at the hotel (photo in Bluesky post), we rode a bus to Ibaraki Prefecture.

Walking along lotus root fields, touching harvest, watching staff, talking with owners, and tasting lotus roots fried/hashed/… was special. I’m grateful to Renkon-san-kyodai for welcoming us during this exclusive visit (journalists came but we were the first travellers). See the video on Bluesky.

Lunch at the silver-prize winner of the International Beer Cup 2018 was a success. The owner farmer organically grows wheat and soy beans to make miso, pizzas, soy-based gelato… With advance notice, Paradise Beer Factory is great for vegans 👍🏻 No alcohol for me, guide on duty. See the photos on Bluesky.

After a 2-minute walk, we enjoyed unusual views at Kashima-jingu, oldest (2,600 y.o.) Shinto shrine in the Kanto region (⅓ of Japan’s population): Mitarashi reflecting pond where believers used to cleanse themselves before praying, statue of Takemikazuchi restraining an earthquake-causing catfish… See the photos on Bluesky.

Riding the bus during sunset, we admired from afar the 120m-tall statue of Buddha in Ushiku, tallest statue in the world until 2008 (now 5th?). See the photo on Bluesky.

Finally, our dinner at Ritz’n vegetarian restaurant included an excellent spinach curry, lasagna, and diverse cakes (chocolate, spices, walnut…) 👍🏻 Several travellers bought vegan foods in the shop section before leaving. See photos on Bluesky.

Day 2

Still in Ibaraki, we met sweet incense makers at Komamura Seimeido, maybe their last generation… Few Japanese want to gather 50 y.o. cedar in mountains, sun-dry it, hand-pick leaves, ground them using a stream-powered water wheel, shape the powder into sticks without binding agent… The makers’ dedication and quality of their incense motivated many in our group to buy incense. See my video on Bluesky.

Next, we attended a Japanese food cooking class at Asahi Satoyama School, making miso & udon from scratch with excitement & flour in the air. We then ate our noodles mixed with somebody else’s miso (and somebody will eat our miso after fermentation in 6+ months). This experience was fun, and the vegan dish was both tasty & well-textured. See photos on Bluesky.

Taking advantage of a beautiful blue sky, we went for a hanami (flower viewing) on Mount Tsukuba, where we walked among ubiquitous pink & perfumed plum blossoms (video on Bluesky). Personally, I prefer plum & peach blossoms to the more famous cherry blossoms, which are scentless.

In line with our countryside focus, we dined at a renovated kominka, experiencing another architecture & kotatsu. The chef cooked vegan sushi, tempura, carrot soup, Beyond Meat cabbage rolls, matcha tiramisu, strawberry desserts… and a plate of appetizers that a traveller called worthy of a Michelin star! Photos on Bluesky.

Day 3

Hotel Nikko Tsukuba impressed me with its vegan breakfasts. The chef prepared sandwiches differing on Day 2 & 3, complementing a diverse buffet including excellent fig jam and banana jam. The illustrated labels with English proved useful. See the photos on Bluesky.

Still in Ibaraki, our visit of Kurosawa Soy Factory felt special. First, we compared the taste of four of their soy sauces on tofu. Second, we walked around the factory, notably admiring rare 120+ y.o. wooden barrels (less than 1% of soy sauce factories in Japan still use wooden barrels). Convinced travellers bought several bottles of soy sauce. Photos on Bluesky.

A big thatched house with vegan course and friendly staff bringing unknown ingredients to help understand the lunch made Touemon restaurant memorable! The soup containing Jerusalem artichoke was widely praised. See the photos on Bluesky.

Our group slept in Tokyo’s artificial island Odaiba so those ready to walk despite the cold could photograph its Statue Of Liberty (Bluesky photo), the Rainbow Bridge, and a giant robot (Bluesky photo) that attracts Gundam otakus and worldwide manga/anime fans.

Day 4

I started the day with a fun 40-minute walk near the hotel: Doraemon on a bench, giant Gundam robot, clear Mount Fuji… See the photos on Bluesky.

The highlights of that morning were a bread-making cooking class with our CEO Terrie Lloyd and a first attempt of Miyoko Schinner at making vegan mayonnaise from sake lees (photo on Bluesky). A traveller being allergic to cats, I did not attend these and instead guided nearby. I look forward to attending next time as the group apparently had much fun and learnt a lot.

During lunch at Alishan Park, our group could directly discuss with the founder/owner in English.

We dedicated the afternoon to sightseeing in Tokyo. We started with forest bathing at the Shinto shrine Meiji-jingu, which was peaceful (on the contrary to New Year, when millions come to pray) and whose 3 holy trees looked splendid with a big blue sky in the background (see Bluesky photos). And we finished with a stroll near the imperial palace (see Bluesky photos) including views of Nijubashi Bridge, the powerful statue of samurai Kusunoki Masashige, the former ministry of justice, the police HQ, and the Diet (parliament building). It reminded me of the day I saw the Japanese Emperor & Empress at the imperial palace (possible & free for all on New Year and on the Emperor’s birthday); a cherished memory.

During dinner, we savoured Japanese food at the Michelin-starred restaurant Daigo, where we were well taken care of: staff in kimono, heating floor, shojin-ryori Buddhist temple cuisine… See the photos on Bluesky.

Note: A couple of kind travellers in our group offered me a very good and non-greasy vegan pistachio croissant (photo on Bluesky) bought at Te Cor Gentil. I’ll definitely check that bakery when I’m nearby.

Day 5

I started the day with a 40-minute walk near what’s certainly my favourite construction site worldwide. Fans of manga and street art should look at this:

My favourite construction site worldwide 🤩 This is Japan! #StreetArt #Manga #Odaiba

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— Sébastien Duval (@sebastienplus.bsky.social) 21 February 2025 at 21:55

It was also near my favourite station worldwide (see Bluesky photo) as a Star Trek fan: Tokyo Teleport Station 🖖

A brief bus ride then a brief flight led us to Kochi Prefecture.

See < https://bsky.app/profile/sebastienplus.bsky.social/post/3lioxy5lrtk2n > and beyond.