{"id":7357,"date":"2026-02-28T10:56:52","date_gmt":"2026-02-28T10:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=7357"},"modified":"2026-02-28T10:56:52","modified_gmt":"2026-02-28T10:56:52","slug":"a-guide-to-tokyos-vegetarian-scene-courtesy-of-chef-tejas-sovani","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/?p=7357","title":{"rendered":"A Guide to Tokyo’s Vegetarian Scene, Courtesy of Chef Tejas Sovani"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Just steps away from the iconic cherry blossom-lined banks of the Meguro River in Nakameguro, Afuri is a fast-paced, counter-style ramen shop serving 100% plant-based bouillon. The broth is slow-simmered with dried tomatoes, onions, and celery for a deep umami profile that defies its light appearance. Sovani views the Rainbow Vegan Ramen as a celebration of Japan’s changing seasons. The signature lotus root flour noodles are crowned with a vibrant rotation of vegetables, featuring crunchy radish, snap peas, and tender nanohana (rapeseed blossoms) in spring, and grilled zucchini, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and cooling cucumber in summer. As the weather turns, the bowl shifts to roasted kabocha (Japanese pumpkin), earthy shiitake mushrooms, and sweet carrots in autumn, followed by steamed broccoli, purple turnips, and hearty hakusai (Chinese cabbage) in winter. \u201cThey do not take reservations, so try arriving mid-afternoon to avoid the peak lunch and dinner rush hour queue,\u201d advises Sovani.<\/p>\n

8. Hemp Cafe Tokyo, Shibuya<\/h2>\n
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Hemp Cafe in Tokyo<\/p>\n

<\/span>Tejas Sovani<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

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Grilled Yakiniku sushi<\/p>\n

<\/span>Siddharth Girish Deshpande<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In Shibuya\u2019s neon-lit heart, Hemp Cafe Tokyo serves innovative yakiniku-style grilled sushi. The industrial-chic, laid-back space celebrates the nutritional power of hemp, using charcoal-infused rice to redefine plant-based Japanese classics. Chef Sovani\u2019s usual order here is the yakiniku-style grilled sushi, which features soy bean meat, handmade kimchi, carrot, vegetable<\/a> mayonnaise, kale, and seaweed in hemp charcoal rice with a smoky yakiniku sauce. “For a treat over a weekend, I like doing the Crispy Fried Maitake Mushroom Burger on a fluffy brioche bun paired with a green ginger ale and a soy milk chocolate cake,” he says. His hot tip is that the menu is extensive, making it a great spot for groups with different tastes.<\/p>\n

9. L for You, Aoyama<\/h2>\n
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Avocado and quinoa salad, soy mushroom sesame burdock soup, and pomegranate tea at L for You<\/p>\n

<\/span>Siddharth Girish Deshpande<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n


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Just steps away from the iconic cherry blossom-lined banks of the Meguro River in Nakameguro, Afuri is a fast-paced, counter-style ramen shop serving 100% plant-based bouillon.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7357\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/foreignnewstoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}