日本でビーガンの生活 - Being Vegan in Japan

皆さん、初めまして。エジンバラ大学の三年生のミリアムです。今、横浜国立大学に留学しています。少し日本でビーガンの生活について紹介したいです。近所から旅行の時、ビーガンでいるためのヒントを話しましょう。

Hello everyone, it’s nice to meet you through this website! My name is Miriam, I’m in third year at the University of Edinburgh, and I’m currently studying abroad at Yokohama National University. In this blog post, I would like to introduce you to some tips for being vegan in Japan, especially whilst travelling away from your host university and local neighbourhood.

To begin with, I am aware that a previous blog post states that it was much easier to be vegan in Japan than you might think, but that has sadly not been my experience here so far. As the post was written prior to coronavirus and the subsequent lockdowns, my guess would be that Japan had been more vegetarian and vegan-friendly due to the amount of foreign tourists and students living in Japan, but this popularisation of meatless meals does not seem to have lasted.

Actually, when I first came to Japan and was searching for vegan restaurants in both Yokohama and Tokyo, many of the places I found turned out to have closed down when I got there.

まず、日本でビーガンの生活はとても難しいです。コロナウイルスの前に、多分ビーガンの生活は少しもっと簡単でしたけど、今、あまり肉や魚や牛乳なし料理がありません。

実は、日本に初めて来た時、オンラインで横浜と東京のビーガンレストランと料理をしらべました。でも、そのレストランはいつも閉まっていました。

Unfortunately, many foods which would usually be vegan (or at least vegetarian) in the West contain animal products in Japan. For instance, although most types of bread would be vegan in the UK, almost all bread found in Japanese convenience stores and supermarkets contain eggs, milk, butter, or a combination of all of these ingredients. I’ve even found FamilyMart bread twists which contain gelatine. So, even if you are only vegetarian, please be careful!

日本でたくさんのビーガンとベジタリアンなんべい料理はちくさんぶつが入っています。ちょっと大変です。例えば、イギリスでは、たくさんのパンがビーガンです。でも、日本で、コンビニとスーパーのパンはいつも卵や牛乳やバーターが入っています。私はファミリーマートにゼラチンが入っていたのパンを見つけました。それでは、ベジタリアンだけでも、気をつけてください！

Hence, my first piece of advice is to learn the kanji, hiragana, and katakana for a range of animal products so that you can scan ingredients lists more easily when shopping. Before coming to Japan, I wish I had known to check for a variety of fish names which I was not previously aware of, such as 「さば」.

Additionally, if meat or fish has been added to a product as seasoning, it may not always be written in the allergens or ingredients list as this isn’t required by Japanese law, so please be aware of this. As a general rule to avoid a nasty surprise, I don’t eat convenience store bento boxes or instant ramen seasoning due to this.

そして、私の一番大切なヒントはたくさんのちくさんぶつの漢字とひらがなとカタカナを勉強します。それから、食べ物と飲み物のせいぶんおもてをチェックすることができるようになります。例えば、「さば」、「ゼラチン」と「だし」をよく見かけます。

それ上に、肉と魚のちょうみりょうはよく書きませんですから、私もあまりコンビニのべんとうとカップラーメンを食べません。

This can pose some issues when travelling around Japan, so I would stock up on vegan-friendly snacks when you find them, and carry them around with you when you’re on a trip and won’t be able to cook for yourself. In certain situations, to enable me to go on trips with friends and to make sure I’m still taking care of myself mentally and physically, I have decided to go vegetarian when eating in restaurants. However, this is of course down to each individual’s personal preference. However, if, like me, you struggle from any disabling conditions, I would recommend making this occasional compromise in order to save yourself a lot of pressure, which is unnecessary when you’re already trying your best.

旅行時はちょっと難しいですから、ビーガンお菓子とおにぎりを持ちください。よく大変なので、時々ベジタリアンになりました。しかし、ベジタリアンに変わるのは人によって違います。

I understand that some people may already feel a bit anxious trying to order in a restaurant, let alone in a different country where you cannot speak your first language. Therefore, I would also recommend that you practice certain set phrases so that you feel more comfortable discussing your dietary requirements. The phrases which I use most often are:

“Excuse me, since I cannot eat meat or fish, are there any dishes I can eat here?”

「すみません。肉と魚を食べられませんですから、料理がありますか。」

“Excuse me, as I cannot eat meat, fish, milk, cheese, butter, or eggs, do you have any dishes which I can eat?”

「すみません。肉や魚や牛乳やチーズやバーターや卵を食べられませんですから、料理がありますか。」

少し不安を感じる時、レストランでそれはとても便利な表現です。使ってください。

Unfortunately, since it is not very common in Japanese culture, some Japanese people may still not understand your dietary requirements. For example, once when I was trying to order food in a restaurant, the waitress asked me if I could still eat prawns or beef even after I specified “no meat or fish”. In such cases, other useful phrases for explaining further would be:

“Because I cannot eat meat or fish, food such as only rice and vegetables is good.”

「肉と魚を食べられませんですから、ご飯と野菜だけの料理みたいでもいいです。」

これもとても便利な表現です。

Don’t forget to also remind people that dashi is made from fish, as some Japanese people forget or don’t realise this. Please also remember to thank people for listening to you and trying to accommodate your needs, as veganism is very far removed from modern Japanese culture!

時々、人々はだしが魚からのを忘れますから、レストランでこれについて話してください。それにも、助けてくれた日本人にかんしゃの気持ちを言ってください。

Finally, since the border opened late last year, I have noticed more vegan options and restaurants appearing in Tokyo and Yokohama. However, travelling to other parts of Japan may still be tricky for a while, so please be prepared. Good luck, and I hope you find the least stressful way of eating in Japan so that you can still enjoy your experience here!

最後で、去年末にこっきょうが開けましたから、東京と横浜でもっとビーガン料理とレストランは開けます。でも、他の場所はまだビーガン料理がありませんですから、じゅんびしてください。

日本で楽しいビーガンの生活をしてください。頑張ってください！