Aug 113 min read

Vegan in Atami | Organic Restaurant REFS Atami & Sightseeing

Recently I went to Atami in Shizuoka Prefecture to enjoy the towns popular beach. It turned out to be a rainy day though, so I didn’t end up having a swim or anything. It was still fun to look at it though! Another famous area is the traditional shopping street near the station, but more on that later! Unfortunately, vegan options are extremely rare in Atami.

The more exciting it was to find out about REFS, an organic restaurant about 10-15 minutes from Atami Station.

About REFS

Refs is a charming restaurant with a vegetable shop and they offer one vegan lunch plate option on their menu. The lunch plate is accompanied by a salad and soup.

When you enter the restaurant, you are greeted on the first floor with a variety of fresh seasonal vegetables and other food products. There are even more downstairs on the basement floor! All in all, apparently 300 different seasonings and processed products from eastern Shizuoka are on offer.

The restaurant area is on second floor and depending on your seat you can have a beautiful view of he shop. I loved the wooden and minimalistic furniture.

After ordering, they first brought out a green salad. The leaves were so fresh and crisp, I enjoyed it a lot. They gave us a variety of high quality oil, sauces and some pink salt to season our salads ourselves. It was amazing because that way everyone can season it to their own taste.

Next was a small vegetable soup. It was a clear broth with different veggies inside, especially mushrooms. I personally am not a fan of mushrooms, so I tried my best to just eat the other veggies. But the broth was delicious!

The lunch plate itself included pile of white rice in the middle and a variety of vegetable dishes and tofu around it.

They all were already well seasoned and some even pickled, but they also gave us some pastes to season them with ourselves which I found very creative.

Unfortunately they didn’t offer vegan desserts, but the lunch was super delicious and filling. I definitely recommend checking the restaurant out, and not only because it is the only vegan option in the area.

Price

1380¥

Hours

Mondays: 10:30 -14:30

Wednesday – Sunday: 10:30 – 18:00

Closed on Tuesdays

Adress

7-29 Sakimicho, Atami, Shizuoka 413-0019

Map

Website

http://fujiyama-veggie.com/topics_9939.php

Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/refs.kitchen?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

Things to do in Atami

Atami Ekimae Shopping Street

1 min by foot from Atami Station

There are two traditional shopping streets called Nakamise and Heiwa-dori located right next to Atami Station. They are extremely lively, with unique, long-standing shops that have been in business for more than 60 years. While there are no vegan foods available, it is still worth checking them out to enjoy the atmosphere or to grab some souvenirs!

Address

6-6, 11 Tahara-honmachi, Atami, Shizuoka 413-0011

Map

Atami Sun Beach

12 min walk from Atami Station

Although it is located in an urban area lined with hotels, the 400-metre-long sand beach lined with palm trees and the gentle waves creates a resort-like atmosphere, making it a popular beach with many tourists.

At night, apparently the beach is lit up and during summer you can enjoy fireworks.

Address

地先 Higashikaigancho, Atami, Shizuoka 413-0012

Map

Kinomiya Shrine

20 min by foot from Atami Station

According to the shrines website, Kinomiya Shrine is located in Kinomiya, and has long been worshipped as a deity of good fortune and luck.

It is said that in the early Heian period, the great barbarian general Sakanoue-no-tamuramaro prayed to the deity for victory in a battle and enshrined its spirit in various places, and today the shrine is worshipped as the general shrine of 44 Kinomiya Shrines throughout the country.

When the deity Itakeru-no-mikoto settled in Atami, he gave an oracle to protect the local people and incoming travelers, which is why many travelers to Izu come to visit the shrine.

The sacred tree of the shrine is over 2,000 years old and was certified as the second largest tree in Japan in a 1992 survey by the Ministry of the Environment. It has been designated a national natural monument.