Hoping to help travelers searching for great vegan eats in the following locales: Seoul-Tokyo-Koyasan-Kyoto.

By no means exhaustive, it’s up to date at present time. Yes, these places indeed do still exist (although hours may be a bit crazy at times).

Please get HappyCow app to find addresses, phone numbers and mostly accurate operating hours.

SEOUL

Bread Blue Bakery

For cookies n’ cream cake, wonderfully innovative, piping hot ginger tea, and assortment of breads with various fillings.

Drunken Vegan

If you’re looking for an erotically charged dinner, surround yourself with sex toys as you enjoy the best vegan lasagna my Mom ever had (oh, shit, those elements don’t really relate well, do they? Honestly, we were not expecting the sex toys.)

Lasagna’s very pricey and took forever to serve, but delicious. Parm on top was the best part.

Monk’s Butcher

Pricey joint in Itaewon area, but wonderful atmosphere–perfect for special occasions. This food is art. You will not be able to refrain from taking photos.

Check it out:

Well worth the price if you’re prepared to spend some quality time there.

Plant

Has earned its plaudits on HappyCow.

Great spot for Western comfort foods.

Don’t forget to finish with a nice chai tea and some cake.

And dang it, do not forget to buy a brownie to carry with you. Luscious!

Maru JaYeonSik Kimbap

Local vegan folks in vegan attire serving up traditional Korean foods veganized in a warmly heated outdoor seating area.

TOKYO

Been to Ain Soph.Ripple about ten times by now. A real go-to place for me that I always eagerly await.

You absolutely must get the French Toast.

Wired Bonbon

Although not all-veg, this joint deserves plaudits for its solidly all-vegan dessert menu, including soft serve ice cream in a vegan cone (our Japanese vegan waitress certified this for us).

These desserts are legit.

How often do vegans get something like this?:

Check out their Okinawa taco rice entree, too:

Ain Soph.Journey

More expensive sister to Ripple but well worth a trip. Get their early, just before opening hours. This place will fill up.

Check the pancake meal:

T’s Tantan

Indulged at two locations–Ueno station and Tokyo station. Both incredibly convenient stop-offs while traveling through Tokyo.

First time eating real ramen.

Very impressed.

Try the black sesame tantan.

Their gyoza dumplings are small yet powerfully delicious.

Wish we had this chain in Shanghai!

KYOTO

Itadaki Zen

Go here today. I don’t care how far away you live. Just buy a plane ticket now.

Amazingly warm, traditional atmosphere. Employees like family. I would move to Kyoto to live next door to this place.

Carefully prepared dishes from a small menu. Everything fresh, excellent.

I want to go back straight away!

Don’t give up finding the place. Like many places in this wonderful city, it’s tucked into a quiet, narrow neighborhood street, but not far from a slightly more busy thoroughfare of shops (beneath a long awning).

Just like Family

Morpho Cafe

Fish sandwich with tartar sauce is great but fried. You cannot leave here without trying the chocolate cake–some of the best ever, honestly. Zero frosting. Pure cake

Only size of a muffin but punches way above its weight.

Premarche Gelateria

Not all vegan, but over a dozen vegan gelato flavors and a vegan cone (waffle cone NOT vegan).

Delicious!

Veggie Cafe

Just down the road from gelato place, this vegan joint serves up a great veggie burger. Although small, it’s worth trying.

KOYASAN MOUNTAIN

At least 115 vegetarian (and possibly all of them vegan) kitchens within a 15km radius atop the sacred mountain Koyasan.

Yes, you read that correctly.

Stay in one of the 52 temples accepting guests and eat true Buddhist monk foods, shojin ryori.

I highly recommend staying at Myuroko-in, a 1,000 year old temple with copious amounts of fascinating foods custom prepared just for you by professionals trained in the ancient art of temple foods.

Amazing experiences here!

Breakfast