Being the 4th biggest cities in Japan and the capital of Aichi Prefecture, Nagoya is a modern city with a handful of good quality veg restaurants.
Although you won’t be overwhelmed with vegan options, the quality and variety of vegan food in Nagoya will easily make a 3-4 day vegan eating trip enjoyable.
Stay until the end for a map for all the places mentioned in this guide.
Here are the vegan food you can enjoy in Nagoya:
Nagoya Travel Information For Vegans
Best Time To Visit Nagoya
Spring and Autumn are most comfortable in Nagoya. Also consider going in May because that's when the Vegan Gourmet Festival is usually held in Nagoya.
Where To Stay In Nagoya For The Best Food
I'd recommend staying in the Nagoya downtown area for convenience. Sakae is a great area to stay in with access to multiple metro lines and shopping areas. The vegan-friendly places are a bit more scattered in Nagoya, that's why staying in the downtown would make travelling to them easier.
Recommended Tours & Activities
To make your trip to Nagoya even more memorable, these are some of the activities I'd recommend:
- Local tour going to destinations including Nagoya Castle
- Day Trip for Shirakawago ,Takayama and Gujo Hachiman
Internet & Data
Using an eSim for internet access is probably the most convenient way. I recommend this eSim brand where you just need to download an app and install the eSim to get internet overseas.
Colline de Tara
Colline de Tara is an all-vegan restaurant close to Chikusa station that serves great quality food. One of my favourites in Nagoya. I’d highly recommend their dinner set as you can try many different dishes.
The first is an appetizer plate with 3 small dishes: Seaweed, onigiri rice ball and peanuts that looks like natto. All are well-made.
Next is a mini salad of the day.
And then a dish with fried vege balls, and seaweed tempura. The vege ball is made with okara (the pulp of tofu) and mushroom. It is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It’s also extremely flavourful.
Next up is a plate with 3 sushi. They are not trying to mimic any other flavours. Instead, they are simply cooked to let the original flavours shine.
This en men is added to the dinner set for an additional 500 yen. It has nori, sprouts, carrots and spring onion on top of the thin noodles.
The meal ends with a dessert. I chose the tofu cheesecake, which has a soft, mousse-like texture. A great balance between sweet and acidic. The lemon slice on top is candied which shows their attention to detail.
Overall the food in Colline de Tara is simple yet very well-made. This dinner set is about 2200 yen (not including the noodles and drink), but considering it is like a tasting menu, it is worth it.
One other thing to mention is the building that the restaurant is in. It is very open with 3 levels. The wooden decor feels traditional and rustic. It adds to the great experience of the meal.
Address:
3 Chome-16-21 Shinsakae, Naka Ward, Nagoya, Aichi 460-0007, Japan
Hours:
Tue-Sat: 12 - 10pm
Closed on Sunday and Monday
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Pupu Kitchen
Close to Nagoya Castle, Pupu Kitchen is a cafe that’s inside a health food store. It only serves lunch from 11:30am - 2pm. So if you want to try the lunch set, make sure you arrive in time.
The lunch set has a selection of small dishes that changes from time to time. The taste and variety are great. I especially like the slightly wasabi flavoured creamy potato salad.
This seasonal soft serve ice cream parfait tastes as good as it looks. It uses matcha and black sesame syrups, and a scoop of sweet red bean.
Another must-try is this soft serve ice cream thick shake. Yes, this shake uses soft serve ice cream! The result is a thick, creamy milkshake. I chose the matcha flavour which was yum.
The health store outside Pupu Kitchen has a lot of vegan groceries, including noodles, snacks, sauces, and even cookies and ice cream. The owner there seems to be familiar with which item is vegan. When I accidentally picked a non-vegan curry, he was able to let me know.
Address:
2-chōme-15 Jōsai, Nishi Ward, Nagoya, Aichi 451-0031, Japan
Hours:
Lunch Time: 11:30am - 2pm
Cafe and light meals: 10am - 4pm
Closed on Sunday and Monday
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Oteate
Oteate is a vegan cafe a few minutes from HigashiYamaKoen station. It’s a bit out from the city centre (about 5-6 stations), but the quality of food and relaxing environment are worth the trip.
For lunch sets, you can choose between an assorted plate (5-6 mini dishes), a curry with a choice of 2-3 mini dishes, or cold noodles. The lunch is only served until 2:30pm. The rest of the day is for desserts and drinks.
This sesame cold noodles is topped with mince, tomato, carrot, cucumber, sprouts and a scoop of mayo on the side. Mix all the ingredients in with the sesame dressing is the way to go. The noodles are chewy and not too soft. Well seasoned and delicious.
This cherry cake uses a sponge cake based with cream and candied cherries on top. Another dessert I had is this vegan ice cream.
Menu (With English Translation)
Address:
4 Chome-95 Shinikecho, Chikusa Ward, Nagoya, Aichi 464-0027, Japan
Hours:
Tue-Fri, Sun: 11am - 5pm
Sat: 11am - 5pm, 6 - 10pm
Closed on Monday, and every other Tuesday
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Oribio
Oribio is a vegetarian restaurant that has successfully veganised a few traditional Japanese meat dishes, like a katsu bowl with vegan egg. However, there are some underwhelming dishes as well.
The highlight of the meal is this katsu cutlet bowl with vegan tofu egg and burdock. They replicate the egg pretty perfectly using ‘yuba’ which is tofu skin. The texture is soft and melty, just like a runny egg that you’d expect to see in a rice bowl like this. The katsu is also well-made with crispy crust and meaty texture.
Another dish is this omelette rice. Ask for the vegan version of this. It also uses soft tofu skin as the omelette part, covering white rice. The sauce is a basic tomato sauce. Overall it’s not as flavourful as the katsu bowl.
For dessert and drink, I’d recommend a pass if you are not really craving for them. The chocolate cake is average and the blood orange juice tastes pretty bad like a cough drink.
Another thing to keep in mind is that the food doesn’t come out fast. So allocate more time if you plan to go.
Menu
Address:
6 Chome-2-1 Haruokatori, Chikusa Ward, Nagoya, Aichi 464-0847, Japan
Hours:
Thu, Fri: 6 - 9pm
Sat, Sun: 11am - 2:30pm, 5:30 - 9pm
Closed Monday to Wednesday
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Vegefirst
Just a few minutes from Nagoya Castle or Hisayaodori station is this vegan bento place called Vegefirst. The bento includes a selection of 4-5 small dishes and they change slightly everyday. You can also choose between 2 sizes (big and small). At the time of visit, they also sell soy cake and kale smoothie.
The dishes in the bento are well-made. It also has a nice variety of tastes and textures. The one pictured is a small box.
There are only about 7 seats in the shop. So it could get full easily during peak lunch hours.
The downside is that even if you dine in, you are still given the plastic bento box with disposable cutlery.
Address:
〒460-0002, 3 Chome-1-34 Marunouchi, Naka Ward, Nagoya, Aichi 460-0002, Japan
Hours:
Mon-Fri: 11am - 3pm
Closed on Saturday and Sunday
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En-Kitchen Cafe
En-Kitchen Cafe, although not a veg restaurant, has a menu that is almost completely vegan and gluten-free. The two desserts that day, pumpkin pudding and tofu cheesecake, are also vegan.
The vegan curry is quite sizeable with a generous amount of curry sauce. On top of the rice are some simple veggies. The set also comes with a small salad.
The vegan sandwich uses falafel, avo, veggies, and fruit jam on a focaccia. The focaccia, however, is quite spongy and sticky (probably made with rice flour).
Overall En-Kitchen is a nice cafe for vegans in Nagoya with plenty of simple vegan options.
Address:
〒460-0015, 3-31 Oicho, Naka Ward, Nagoya, Aichi 460-0015, Japan
Hours:
Tue-Sun: 10:30am - 7pm
Closed on Monday
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Soranoiro
This ramen shop is originally from Tokyo. This branch in Nagoya has 2 vegan options, a vegan veggie soba noodles and a gluten-free vegan version.
The soup base is made with carrot puree. It’s a good combination of sweet and savoury. On top are an abundance of veggies like mushrooms, sweet potato, tomato, salad leaves, etc.
Overall it’s a delicious vegan option near Nagoya station.
Address:
Japan, 〒450-6216 Aichi, Nagoya, Nakamura Ward, Meieki, 4 Chome−7−1 ミッドランドスクエア4F
In Midland Square shopping center, 4/F
Hours:
Mon-Thu: 11am - 3pm, 5 - 10pm
Fri, Sat: 11am - 10pm
Sun: 11am - 9pm
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Grains
This vegan restaurant is near Komeno Station, which is a quiet neighbourhood just one stop away from Nagoya Station on the Kintetsu Nagoya line. The restaurant is on the second floor and is small with only about 6-7 seats.
This cold tantan noodles has flavourful mince on top, with pickles, fried eggplant, kimchi cucumber, and other veggies. It’s a colourful and tasty dish.
The second dish is a hamburger. It has teriyaki sauce, tomato and lettuce. Simple but nicely made.
Note: they may close unexpectedly. On the day of the visit, the restaurant appears to be closed. But after messaging the owner on Facebook, she came out and greeted me inside. So if you plan to visit, messaging on facebook in advance is a good idea.
As they don’t have an english menu, I translated the menu here:
Address:
2 Chome-26 Taishocho, Nakamura Ward, Nagoya, Aichi 453-0806, Japan
Hours:
Tue-Sat: 11am - 3pm
Closed on Monday and Sunday
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Coco Ichibanya Nagoya Airport
Coco Ichibanya is a chain in Japan that sells curry. Some selected shops use a different vegan curry sauce, and this branch in Nagoya airport is one of them.
At the time of visit, they have one option that is vegan. On this menu, the options with a green vege label are the ones using a vegan curry sauce. But other than the top left option (curry rice with mixed veggies), the rest either have meat or egg.
Address:
Japan, 〒479-0881 Aichi, Tokoname, Centrair, １−1 中部国際空港旅客ターミナルビル４階
Hours:
7am - 9pm
