This site offers travel guidance based on materials from Japan’s Tourism Agency, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Consumer Affairs Agency and Japan National Tourism Organization, and India’s food safety authority, among others (as of October 2026). What a person eats or avoids varies by religion, family and individual. This article is about communicating your own boundaries in Japan.
In the Japan National Tourism Organization’s guide for vegetarian and vegan travellers, quail eggs appear beside cheese among convenience store items a “vegetarian” might choose.
Someone arriving from India might pause at that. Under India’s labelling rules for packaged food, eggs fall on the “non-veg” side.
The same word, “vegetarian”, draws the line in a slightly different place. Preparing to enjoy food in Japan starts there.
Here are three things to look at.
・Under India’s labelling rules, eggs are not vegetarian, but in Japan “vegetarian” can include people who eat eggs
・So instead of saying only “vegetarian”, name what you do not eat: meat, fish, egg and dashi, and, for some people, onion, garlic and root vegetables too
・On packaged food at a convenience store or supermarket, you can look for the Japanese character for egg yourself
1 Same word, different boundary — at the egg
Under India’s labelling rules, egg is “non-veg”
Under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) rules for packaged food labels, “non-vegetarian food” includes food containing animals, birds, seafood and eggs, among other things. Milk, milk products and honey are excluded from that category. Other food is “vegetarian food” and carries a green dot inside a green square.
In other words, under these rules “veg” excludes egg but can include milk and honey.
In Japan, “vegetarian” can include someone who eats eggs
In guidance for restaurants and accommodation providers, Japan’s Tourism Agency describes vegetarians as people who do not eat meat or seafood, while whether they eat eggs or dairy products varies from person to person.
The national standard JAS 0025, set by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, groups people who eat eggs and dairy, people who eat eggs, and people who eat dairy under “vegetarian”. Of these, the category closest to “veg” on an Indian label is “lacto-vegetarian” (eats dairy products but not eggs).
The Japan National Tourism Organization also says that “vegetarian” is a word borrowed into Japan, whose meaning is unclear and often understood broadly. Simply requesting a vegetarian meal may not be enough.
The quail eggs at the start are a clear example. The same guide describes okonomiyaki as vegetarian but not vegan because it uses egg.
Eggs can be hidden in a dish
Eggs do not always look like a fried egg.
In examples for restaurants from the Tourism Agency, regular tendon (tempura rice bowl) uses egg in the batter, which is removed when adapting it for vegetarian or vegan diners. Its regular miso-nikomi udon example also contains egg, which is removed from the vegetarian or vegan version.
Vegetable tempura is one of the dishes the Japan National Tourism Organization suggests for vegetarians. If you do not eat eggs, it is reassuring to ask whether the batter contains egg before ordering.
2 Hidden ingredients to check, especially if you are from India
Dashi
Japanese dishes often use dashi stock, which may be made from fish such as bonito flakes. The Japan National Tourism Organization says bonito flakes and similar ingredients often appear even in dishes with no visible meat or fish, and that the sauce supplied with convenience store natto often contains dashi.
For dashi, and how to say “I can eat dashi made from kombu or shiitake mushrooms”, see “Allergy Card for Japan (Allergies, Vegetarian, Halal)”.
Japanese curry
Japanese curry may be the biggest surprise for someone from India.
In its guidance for restaurants, the Tourism Agency lists lard, beef fat, and animal-based stock or extracts among the animal-derived ingredients that may be in curry roux. Even if the curry appears to contain only vegetables, the roux itself may contain animal-derived ingredients.
If you want to try it, ask not only about the vegetables but also, “Does the roux contain any animal-derived ingredients?”
3 For Jain travellers — what you avoid varies from person to person
The survey shows no single boundary
In a Pew Research Center survey of about 30,000 people in India (2019–2020), about two-thirds of Jain respondents said they do not eat root vegetables such as garlic and onion. That also means not everyone said so. Among Hindu vegetarians, those who ate root vegetables and those who did not were each roughly half.
So this article does not define a single “Jain diet”. Write down what you avoid.
A “vegetarian or vegan” adaptation may still contain garlic
In the Tourism Agency’s example of peperoncino for restaurants, bacon is replaced with mushrooms to make it vegetarian or vegan, but the garlic remains.
The adaptation removes animal-derived ingredients. If you also want onion, garlic and root vegetables left out, say so separately.
Shojin ryori does not use garlic or onion
This is where temple cuisine, or shojin ryori, catches the eye. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, shojin ryori is traditionally vegan and does not use strongly scented ingredients such as garlic or onion. It also says dairy products may be used and recommends checking in advance. The guide does not address other vegetables.
Shojin ryori is served mostly at temples; it is not a meal you can count on eating every day of your trip. It may be a special meal on a day when you stay at a shukubo (temple lodging).
4 Write it on a card — name the ingredients
The Japan National Tourism Organization recommends naming specific foods you cannot eat when ordering, and printing a Japanese explanation or card listing them.
You can show the examples below as they are, or add or remove lines. “Allergy Card for Japan (Allergies, Vegetarian, Halal)” explains how to make and show a card.
Example for a vegetarian who does not eat eggs
わたしは、肉と魚を食べません。卵も食べません。
(I do not eat meat or fish. I do not eat eggs either.)
かつお節や煮干しのだしも食べません。
(I do not eat dashi made from bonito flakes or dried sardines either.)
牛乳やチーズなどの乳製品は、食べられます。
(I can eat dairy products such as milk and cheese.)
Example for someone who also avoids onion, garlic and root vegetables
わたしは、肉と魚と卵を食べません。かつお節や煮干しのだしも食べません。
(I do not eat meat, fish or eggs. I do not eat dashi made from bonito flakes or dried sardines either.)
玉ねぎ、にんにく、ねぎ、じゃがいも、にんじん、大根、しょうがも食べません。
(I also do not eat onion, garlic, green onion, potato, carrot, daikon radish or ginger.)
土の中で育つ野菜は、食べません。
(I do not eat vegetables that grow underground.)
Add or remove vegetable names in the second example to match what you avoid. Add the names of any other foods you avoid in the same way. If you also want to avoid food fried in oil used for meat or fish, you can add one line: “肉や魚を揚げた油で揚げた物も食べません” (“I also do not eat food fried in oil used to fry meat or fish”).
A final line, “ありがとうございます。” (“Thank you.”), can turn the moment you hand over the card into a small greeting.
5 Convenience stores and restaurant labels
On packaged food, you can look for “egg” yourself
In Japan, packaged processed foods must carry labels for certain allergens. Egg and milk are items for which labelling is required on packaged processed foods. Egg may be written as “卵”, “玉子” or “たまご”.
These rules are for allergies, but for someone who does not eat egg, the ingredient list also gives a way to check for the character “卵”.
This applies to packaged food. There is no such labelling requirement for food served in a restaurant or made and sold on the spot. Ask about those with your card.
Even on packaged food, pork, beef, chicken and gelatine are only items for which labelling is recommended. As the Consumer Affairs Agency stresses, the absence of a label does not prove that an ingredient is absent.
According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, many convenience store onigiri contain fish, but umeboshi and kombu varieties are usually available too. You can check the ingredient list for egg. However, dashi made from bonito flakes or dried sardines is neither an item requiring allergen labelling nor one for which it is recommended. If dashi concerns you, show your card and ask a member of staff.
What does a “vegetarian” label promise?
According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, many vegetarian establishments now display certification stickers from vegan or vegetarian organisations.
One of these is VegeProject Japan. Its product “vegetarian certification” covers the absence of meat, seafood and ingredients derived from them, but does not list egg among the ingredients to exclude. Its “vegan certification” also excludes egg, dairy products and honey. If a package bears a mark, it is the vegan mark whose criteria include the absence of egg.
These criteria concern animal-derived ingredients; they do not mention onion, garlic or root vegetables. The organisation’s certification for restaurants and accommodation can be awarded to an establishment offering at least one main menu item that meets its vegan criteria. A mark does not mean every dish there meets those criteria.
This article has not checked the criteria behind other organisations’ marks. Whatever the mark, use your card to check ingredients that matter to you.
6 Reservations and accommodation — tell them in advance
The Japan National Tourism Organization recommends telling a restaurant what you cannot eat when booking, especially for a course meal. “Restaurant Reservations in Japan” covers how to book.
If you are travelling outside big cities, a ryokan may be another option. The Japan National Tourism Organization recommends staying at a ryokan, saying that some can prepare vegetarian Japanese meals if you tell them your restrictions in detail beforehand. Some accommodation providers are said to specialise in vegetarian meals. “Ryokan (旅館) Etiquette: A Night at a Ryokan, Step by Step” covers the flow of an overnight stay.
With one card, you can choose a dish together with the staff. Ask about the tempura batter, curry roux or dashi. A dish you asked about and found you could eat becomes a taste of Japan you chose for yourself.
For now, just this
In Japan, “vegetarian” can include someone who eats eggs. Take a card that says “I do not eat eggs either.”
If you avoid onion, garlic or root vegetables, write down each by name. “Vegetarian or vegan” alone may not exclude them.
On packaged food, look for “卵” in the ingredients. Check what a restaurant’s mark actually excludes.
Official sources we checked (8)
・消費者庁：パンフレット（食物アレルギー消費者向け）（PDF） (Consumer Affairs Agency food allergy pamphlet, in Japanese, PDF)
・消費者庁：アレルギー表示について（PDF） (Consumer Affairs Agency allergen labelling guidance, in Japanese, PDF)
・NPO法人ベジプロジェクトジャパン：ヴィーガン認証 (VegeProject Japan certification criteria, in Japanese)