I found it amazingly easy to eat vegan food in Kyoto. First, most vegetarian food is vegan. There’s not the stigma attached to veganism that you find in the West – because the frame of reference is shojin ryori, which is vegan. I checked out all the shojin and fucha places I know of – Ikkyu, Kanga-an, Shigetsu, Izusen – and none of them used dashi. But it’s not really a vegetarian’s best bet – I only know of one of them that’s open later than 7pm. Some of them are memorable, but not really a way to sustain yourself in Kyoto.
I also got vegan meals in traditional kaiseki places, as well as many other joints that carnivores don’t realise serve veggie food. Chefs in Kyoto understand the term “shojin” and the best ones are enthusiastic to show what they can do. Harise is a traditional, very traditional, kaiseki place, but I had the best shojin ryori of my life there. What’s more, the dishes all resembled my carnivorous companion’s food, but made from entirely different ingredients.
At Misogigawa on Pontocho I didn’t even have to ask – they asked me straight off whether I was vegetarian or had any allergies. The chef there makes it his trademark to cook differently for each person. And the chef at Il Viale once trained as a vegetarian chef, so he can whip up a vego course without blinking. Same goes for Sasajima at Il Ghiottone, who uses the word “shojin” a lot. Tamaki, behind the Manga Museum, was obliging and produced a superb course lunch. On top of all that, I found around 15 proper vegetarian restaurants.
In Tokyo, asking for a vegan version of a dish is like asking the chef to serve it with oven chips. In Kyoto you’re spoiled for choice.
