For vegan & vegetarian

At Urokorou, we offer vegan and vegetarian meals upon request. If you would like a vegan or vegetarian meal, please let us know when you make your reservation through our contact form.

When making a request, please specify what you do not eat (e.g., meat, fish, eggs, dairy, Japanese dashi (broth made from bonito and seaweed), etc.). This will help us prepare a meal that suits your dietary needs.

Near our guesthouse, you can find convenience stores and supermarkets, as well as the following restaurants that offer vegan-friendly options:

🍛 CoCo Ichibanya – Japanese curry chain with a vegan menu available upon request.
🍔 MOS BURGER – A popular Japanese burger chain offering the plant-based “Green Burger”. (Please note that cross-contamination is possible, so it is suitable for flexitarians.)

Many accommodations in Japan can prepare vegetarian or vegan meals if requested in advance. However, there are a few things to keep in mind:

🥢 Japanese dashi (broth) is often made from a combination of bonito (fish) and kombu (seaweed). If you inform the accommodation that you do not eat bonito dashi, some places may decline your request because traditional Japanese meals rely heavily on this broth.

🍙 Not all hosts are fully familiar with vegan and vegetarian diets. Even if a meal is labeled as vegetarian, it may still contain hidden animal-based ingredients. For example, seasoned seaweed (ajitsuke nori), which is commonly served at breakfast, often contains fish extract.

If you are concerned about your meals, we recommend confirming the ingredients in advance.

To provide more helpful information, we would like to share the experiences of Carissa, a vegan pilgrim who stayed at Urokorou in the spring of 2024.

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🌿 Vegan on the 88 Temples Pilgrimage – Tips & Recommendations 🌿

🍙 Convenience Store & Supermarket Food

• Salted onigiri (shio onigiri) is the safest vegan option. Seasoned seaweed onigiri often contains fish extract, so check the ingredients carefully.
• Hashbrowns and roasted sweet potatoes (yaki-imo) are often available at major convenience stores, usually near the register.
• MUJI (無印良品) has some vegetarian and vegan-friendly packaged foods. If you find a MUJI store during your pilgrimage, it’s worth checking out!
• For more details on vegan-friendly convenience store food in Japan, check this guide:
  🔗 isitveganjapan.com – Vegan Convenience Store Guide

📍 Finding Vegan Meals

• Some places were willing to cook vegan meals for us upon request.
• The Happy Cow app is a great resource for finding vegetarian and vegan-friendly spots in Shikoku.

🏡 Temple Lodging & Guesthouses

• Anraku-ji (Temple 6) – Vegan meals available if requested in advance. We stayed in the Shoin Room, but not sure if vegan meals are possible with smaller rooms.
• Farm House Kurousagi (Kochi) – Delicious vegan meals available if requested in advance.
• Ohenro Guest House Ririan – The host, Lilian, made an amazing Japanese-style vegan dinner for us, including a fantastic tomato soup. Must request in advance. (Website)
• Hotel Bokkaiso – Must request a vegan dinner in advance. They prepared a fantastic hot pot dinner for us. The views from this hotel were the best of our entire trip! (Website)
• Nishiyugyo Minshuku (Uwajima, Ehime) – Must request in advance. They prepared a multi-course vegan Japanese dinner, and it was outstanding!

🍽 Restaurants & Cafes

• Gekko Vegan Cafe (Ehime) – A special macrobiotic vegan meal.
• CoCo Ichibanya (various locations in Shikoku) – Ask for the vegan menu to order vegan Japanese curry.
• MOS BURGER (nationwide, including Shikoku) – A Japanese burger chain offering plant-based “Green Burger”. However, due to possible cross-contamination, it is not strictly vegan/vegetarian but suitable for flexitarians.