Have you already been to Vegan Sushi Tokyo in Shibuya? This unique restaurant serves sushi made entirely without animal-derived ingredients—meaning no fish at all. You might be wondering, What does sushi without fish even mean? But if you think about it, inari sushi and cucumber rolls are already fish-free!
Vegan Sushi Tokyo takes it to the next level by creating incredibly delicious sushi, using various vegetables and vegan meats. I’ve never actually had traditional fish sushi, but even though the flavors may be different, I don’t think it’s any less delicious. Even if you’re not vegan, I highly recommend giving it a try!
About Vegan Sushi Tokyo
Vegan Sushi Tokyo was founded by Kudo-san from Vcook and opened in June 2024 as a limited-time restaurant dedicated to serving completely plant-based sushi.
According to the menu, when they decided to open a vegan restaurant, they thought carefully about which type of Japanese cuisine to focus on—and eventually landed on sushi. To ensure top quality, they brought in Akira Tanimizu, who has over 14 years of experience in vegetable-based sushi, to supervise the menu. By the way, they’re planning to open a Kyoto location too!
Now, let me share my personal experience visiting Vegan Sushi Tokyo.
My Experience
The restaurant is incredibly popular, so I highly recommend making a reservation online. Just a heads-up—when booking, you’ll need to enter your credit card information, and if you’re more than 15 minutes late, you’ll be charged 3,000 yen per person, so be sure to arrive on time!
The restaurant itself is a bit tricky to find, but once you step inside, it has an atmosphere that feels exatly how we as foreigners would imagine Japan. I bet they made it on purpose to make the restaurant popular among foreign tourists.
During the day, from 11 AM to 4 PM, the space operates as a sushi restaurant, but at night, it transforms into a completely different bar. Essentially, Vegan Sushi Tokyo rents the space only during the day.
They offer both à la carte sushi and three different sushi sets. No matter which set you choose, you’ll get 10 pieces of sushi and miso soup. Depending on the set, it includes extras like a drink or dessert. Naturally, the price varies based on what’s included.
One thing I really appreciated was that if there are any sushi types you don’t like, you can customize your set! You order on your phone by scanning a QR-code. There’s a customization option—just check the box, and a staff member will bring you a form where you can choose up to 10 pieces. Once you’ve filled it out, just hand it back to the staff.
Also, if you find a particular piece you love and want another serving, you can order more individually.
One thing that surprised me was that you must prepay using your phone and a credit card before placing your order. It felt a bit inconvenient to manually enter my card details, and I wondered what people without a credit card would do. If you’re going with friends and want to split the bill, it might be best for each person to order separately.
Of course, they also offer dessert.
About the Food
Full menu: https://vcook.co.jp/vegansushitokyo/en
Gari (Pickled Ginger in Amazake)
This side dish made from sweet and sour pickled ginger was so yummy and went perfectly with the sushi!
Organic Soybean Miso Soup
The miso soup is made from kombu dashi, giving it a rich, authentic Japanese flavor.
Sushi
All the sushi here is already seasoned, so you don’t necessarily need soy sauce—it’s delicious as is! But if you want, you can ask for soy sauce.
Since I had a customized set due to not being able to eat mushrooms and some ohter things, I am going to introduce only the pieces I tried.
Tempura
This was my absolute favorite! It looked like fried shrimp, and the crispy crunch when I bit into it was amazing! It was super crispy, topped with a delicious sauce, and just so good. The “tail” was actually made from carrot, which I really appreciated since it didn’t taste like shrimp.
Eggplant
The eggplant was grilled to perfection—soft and melty, with the perfect balance of ginger and soy sauce.
Japanese Ginger
The amazake-pickled vegetable had a refreshing, slightly crunchy texture.
Vegan meat
This yakiniku sushi was my second favorite! It was topped with Next Meats’ plant-based yakiniku, along with sauce and green onions. Absolutely delicious!
Scrambled eggs
The sushi was wrapped in nori (seaweed) and filled with vegan egg salad, which had a texture just like real eggs. It tasted really good!
Kaba (Tofu & Yam)
I’ve never had real unagi (eel) before, so I can’t compare, but this veganized version was soft and fluffy, with a taste reminiscent of aburaage (fried tofu) and shiso. I love shiso, so I really enjoyed it!
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for an amazing plant-based sushi experience, Vegan Sushi Tokyo is definitely worth a visit! Whether you’re vegan or not, the creativity and quality of the sushi make it a unique and delicious dining experience.
Would you give vegan sushi a try? Let me know what you think in the comments!
Details
Price span
3300¥-6000¥
Hours
11:00-16:00 (l.o. 15:45)
Closed on weekends
Adress
日本、〒150-0043 東京都渋谷区道玄坂１丁目１７−２ 第２野々ビル 2F
Homepage
Reservation
What is Veganism?
"Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.“
- The Vegan Society
Reasons to choose vegan alternatives:
Protect animals from suffering horrendously and getting killed
A whole-food plant-based vegan diet has the least environmental impact
A whole-food plant-based vegan diet is extremely healthy and can help reversing various diseases like type 2 diabetes or heart diseases.
For people, as a vegan diet requires only one third of the land needed to support a meat and dairy diet.
PLANT-BASED: A Guide to a more Sustainable Lifestyle
Check out my Kyoto Sightseeing x Vegan Food Guides
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