Last month I spent a day in Mishima in Shizuoka Prefecture which was a lot of fun! There was just one restaurant open with vegan options, but it was amazing and absolutely worth the visit! I also by chance found vegan wasabi mayonnaise - would you try it?
Vegan Food
RITORNO
Italian food
RITORNO is a small but beautiful Italian restaurant about 12 minutes by foot from Mishima Station.
When you enter, you are greeted with a rustic and inviting atmosphere. The furniture is wooden and every piece is different, yet going together very nicely. The lightning is warm and dimmed, part of the ceiling and counter decorated with beautiful flowers. It really seemed like I stepped into a restaurant in Italy!
Everything on the menu marked with PB (plant-based) is completely vegan, and they even have gluten-free options marked with GF, nut-free options marked with NF and dairy-free (but not necessarily vegan) options marked with DF, which is super convenient for people with allergies!
The menu even states which farms they got their ingredients from, which I think is amazing! They obtain the ingredients locally and I am not sure if all are organic, but at least some definitely are.
Vegan options are: pickles, caponata, minestrone, a panino, green salad, potatoes, ciabatta, rice, roasted nuts, radish nuggets, chocolate cake, banana cake, and soy milk ice cream.
As except for the panino none of them is a main dish, I recommend ordering several dishes. They are not that pricy anyways, so I think that’s good.
I personally tried the caponata, the vegan panino, fried potatoes and two desserts. Everything tasted amazing and I really recommend going there when you are in Mishima! Apparently they don’t get a lot of vegan customers, so they seemed happy I ordered vegan items specifically.
Caponata
For starters, I decided to get the caponata which was very rich in taste and delicious! It was basically vegetables marinated in a flavorful tomato sauce.
Vegan panino
The panino was larger than I expected and absolutely delicious as well! It came with veggies and a kind of hummus I suppose on it, a little bit of carrot salad and soup on the side.
Patatas frittas
These potatoes still had the skin on which I love and they were oven baked. They had herbs sprinkled on and were pretty good!
Torta al cioccolato
For dessert, I tried their rich chocolate cake made with tofu, coconut milk, cacao mass, rum and maple syrup. Yummy!
Gelato
The soy milk ice cream was creamy and had a mild sweetness. It went perfectly with the cake!
Chai tea latte with soy milk
For the chai tea latte, you have to explicitly state that you want it with soy milk. It was smaller than I expected for 700¥, but it came in a cute glass cup and was very delicious! It had a creamy texture and was full of flavor! Honestly one of the best chai latte I ever had!
Price span
350¥ - 1500¥
Opening hours
Monday - Thursday: 11:00 - 22:00
Friday, Saturday: 11:00 - 00:00
Closed on Sundays
Address
14-16 Izumicho, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-0037, Japan
Website
Other vegan options in Mishima
Albero
cake
By chance, when I passed a really cute looking restaurant, I realized that they had vegan cake on their menu! As it was closed on that particular day, I wasn’t able to try them, but might be worth checking out!
Hours
11:00 - 14:30
17:30 - 22:00
Closed on Tuesdays
Address
〒411-0856 Shizuoka, Mishima, Hirokojicho, 1−37 臼井ビル 1階
Homepage
Yamamoto Shokuhin Monzen Seseragi Ten
Wasabi
We also passed by this interesting looking shop and decided to have a look. To my surprise, they had egg-free wasabi mayonnaise! When I checked the ingredients, it seemed completely vegan, so I bought some out of curiosity. I’ve been using it on salad it it’s actually pretty good! It’s quite spicy though.
Hours
10:00 - 16:00
Address
1-28 Taishacho, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-0853
Starbucks
pizza toast, sandwich, sweets
If you’re unlucky and accidentally come on a day where the restaurants I introduced are closed, there is always the option of eating the plant-based options at Starbucks. There is one at Mishima Station.
Sightseeing
Mishima Taisha
10 min from Mishima Station by foot. 7-minute walk from Izuhakone Railway Mishima-Tamachi Station
Mishima Taisha is Mishima’s largest shrine and absolutely worth a visit! When we went there in April, we had no idea it was famous for sakura and were surprised by how many stunning cherry trees there were! It was a breathtaking view, especially at the pond area.
It is unknown when it was established, but he shrine was said to be the greatest divinity of the Tokaido road and is famous for having the founder of the first samurai government in Japan, Minomoto no Yoritomo, pray there when he rose an army and won early victory in many battles.
As the shrine is on the Tokaido Road and the starting pint of the ancient Shimoda Road, its name spread around the country through travelers.
There is also a 1200-yea-old osmanthus tree you should check out!
The main hall has been designated as an important cultural asset and a fully replicated plum-loom-decorated lacquer box called Umemakietebako) inside the treasure hall has been designated as a national treasure.
Hours
Shrine: 24h
Treasure Hall: 9:00~16:30 (Entry up to 16:00)
Charge
Shrine: free
Treasure Hall: Adult: 500¥, High school & university students: 400¥, Elementary & junior high students: 300¥
Address
2-1-5 Omiyacho, Mishima
Tel.
055-975-0172
Homepage
Shirataki Park
Shirataki Park is a small park with a river running through it, making it the perfect spot to rest in summer! There are also these cute dolls pumping water. If you listen closely, you can hear them say „yoisho, yoisho“, meaning „Huff! Huff!“
Address
1 Ichibancho, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-0036
Nakazatoonsuichi Pond
This this pond is surrounded by a park. If you’re lucky, you can have a stunning view of Mt. Fuji from there, but unfortunately it was cloudy when I went.
Address
4, Mishima, Shizuoka 411-0836, Japan
If you go to Mishima, please let me know in the comments if you come across further vegan options and other cool sightseeing spots!
Check out my Kyoto Sightseeing x Vegan Food Guides
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