Vegan in yakiniku restaurant

We're a group of 4 travelling to Tokyo next month, 3 of us being the omnivores, one being a vegan. now the 3 of us love yakiniku, it's like the best thing ever. But with this vegan coming along i just know it will ruin our meat dinner, i know there are vegetables in yakiniku, but this vegan can't stand the smell of meat(sheesh), and the thought of meat juices mixing with the veggies doesn't appeal to this person. Honestly i don't feel like having to search for "vegan" restaurants in Japan, since 99% of the people there eat Meat, and that's the joy of eating in Japan.

Gripes aside: What would a vegan do in this situation? Almost every thing we suggest falls on deaf ears, and this person insists on just vegan. (my main solution is just don't take this vegan along, but you know, flights booked already)

Buy a good nose clip.
http://vavvi.com/images/2016/04/rauuiw5vp1ytz0t8layw.jpg

1) Ditch the guy or gal in hotel room
2) find him/her a nice Indian or vegan restaurant next to Yakiniku place and leave him/her alone for few hours
3) Have an honest conversation with him/her and hope he would understand and give you the space to enjoy what you want to eat

Really, eating dinner separately is the only solution I can suggest. A big part of coming to Japan is experiencing Japanese culture through its food, and if your vegan acquaintance is unwilling to do that, it doesn't mean that the rest of you need to forego the experience. Just because you're traveling together doesn't mean you need to do every single thing together, especially when people have different interests.

Yakiniku restaurants mostly smell like smoke to me. I'm not sure how discerning your vegan friend's nose is, so you've got a few options IMO:

First, your friend could just eat at a different restaurant the one time you go to Yakiniku. I bet if you are accommodating to their preference during other meals on the trip, it would be no problem for them to understand that for this one meal you'd all like to eat meat.

Or, they could sit at a different table. Yakiniku restaurants always have vegetable platters and other veggie dishes, and the grills are cleaned between guests, so if they were at their own table they could still enjoy their meal.

Or they could sit with everyone else and grill their veggie platter first for everyone to share, then leave once you guys get to the meat if the smell gets too strong for them. If you go during an "off" time (not during a popular time like dinner), there probably wouldn't be many other patrons, so perhaps they could stand it just for a short time.

Also, I think you could be a little less dismissive and a bit more understanding of this person's preferences. For whatever reason, they don't eat meat, and I don't think trying to convince them to eat it during the trip is going to do anything other than cause conflict in your group, which is no fun during travel! Accept that they wont eat meat, and understand that if you had dietary restrictions due to whatever reason, you would appreciate if people were understanding too!

Also, not everyone eats meat in Japan! How about finding your friend a shojin ryori restaurant during your stay? (http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3963.html) You can all enjoy the dishes prepared in vegetarian style, your vegan friend will be happy, and then if you do decide to go to yakiniku, perhaps your friend wont feel so left out!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy your trip to Japan!

I've hosted a group of people here in Japan that included meat-lovers and a couple of very nice vegans by religion. When the meat-lovers went out one night for yakiniku, the two vegans went to another restaurant. They had each other, so that wasn't a problem. When we were all together, the chefs were usually kind enough to prepare special vegan dishes per request if they couldn't suggest any from their regular menu, although it would've been best if we had booked in advance.

How many people are there in your group? If there are more than four, take turns in accompanying the vegan. If your friend is happy, then everybody can be happy.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that it's your vegan friend who should be posting here, not you. I'm amazed that a vegan would want to travel with 3 omnivores who are looking forward to all the amazing food Japan has to offer and expect them to fit in with his/her dietary choices.

Of course, I don't know your relationship with this person but in your place I would make the simple choice to let this vegan worry about his/her own meals and the rest of you go off and eat whatever the hell you want on your holiday.

Sheesh is right...

Thanks for the awesome replies, you're absolutely right, we will ditch this pain in the butt vegan, and he'll have to make do with his own meals, (a shame)

Japan has so much food(meat) to offer, ah well, his loss.

If that person insists on being vegan, let him figure out what he wants to eat. Eat separately, I mean, in different restaurants. For a vegan, "yakiniku" restaurant can be simply appalling, so I agree with all others that he should drop the idea of joining you for that dinner, and he should look for things to eat for himself.

As for looking for vegan food, in Japan it can be tricky; if he is a vegan, he needs to avoid meat, eggs, fish, fish stock, etc., everything, correct? Then he should be looking at websites like "happy cow" to select places he wants to go eat at, and except for maybe once or twice the rest of you might feel like joining him for his vegan food, just let him eat alone.

Well, Japan does have so much food to offer, not all meat, but avoiding anything that has fish or fish stock in it would pretty much limit his food to strictly vegan restaurants :(

It's tricky if the vegan wants to enjoy local cuisine, but if he's not into that he can go to Indian restaurants, which a lot of Hindus do, and tofu restaurants every day. And I realise that you did mention that there are four of you, so I'm sure that one Indian meal per three days won't hurt. Bon appetite!

@AK

Nope, won't bother with the "vegan" nonsense. Japan has way too many awesome food(plants and animals), that guy is on his own. He can't even get sushi (why bother going to Japan).
Pretty sure whale meat is gonna make him freak out hahahahaha.
Whale is delicious.

@Uco
That's his choice in missing out on awesome Japanese food. The 3 of us (non picky eaters)won't waste time/money in travelling to Japan to eat Indian food.

as much as you can blame the "vegan" as you call them (is there need for scare quotes here?), might i suggest you avoid travelling with people who have such different dietary requirements in future? food is such obviously such an important part of your trip, so hopefully you can sort these things out before the holiday is booked next time. if i'm travelling to japan in the middle of rainy season, i'm not going to invite my friend who is allergic to water, am i? i feel like all parties involved probably could have thought this out a bit better. i'm sorry that you won't be able to eat with your friend. hopefully everyone has a nice time regardless.

I actually laughed out loud at the "allergic to water" analogy. I mean truly.

Fair point, but most vegans I know are fine and fun, they lull you into a false sense of security that they are easy going. Until the topic of food comes up, which is when they become passive aggressive and sanctimonious.

It is not widely known, but the word "vegan" is simply a contraction of "veggie nazi".

I don't know if it's fair to make such sweeping generalisations, especially when all we have to go on is anecdotes. Let's not forget that we are talking about a diet, not a personality type. And if the two have any bearing on one another then frankly this topic is not exactly a gleaming advertisement for meat eaters either.

Strewth I hooked that one faster than expected!

Actually my post was tongue in cheek.

OP, come to think of it, you are totally right that you needn't accompany him to alternative restaurants. Instead, it's his business to find another friend to accompany him. Like I said, the vegan guest I hosted did bring along a friend, which was the major reason for us not having problems. It was like having two different friendly groups in one bigger group.

https://www.rankingshare.jp/rank/qfjtkhoklb

Shojin ryori is served at temples as in Koyasan.

It contains no meat, no egg, no fish, but fake meat and fish.

It is one view of Japanese culture.

You all might enjoy the Vegan style japanese dishes.

Your friend will have to accept that in Japan they'll be surrounded by the sight of fish and meat. There's no avoiding that.

Having to eat it is another story. I'm vegetarian and have had no trouble finding menu items at Shabu Shabu, Izakayas and Yakiniku places to suit me. I don't ask what they're cooked in because it's likely that they're cooked in fish stock or oil that has been in 'contact' with meat. I'm not so fussed about this, but for strict vegans this is a problem. The other issue with these places is the price. For meat lovers it's well worth paying the money for 'all you can eat' meat, but for vegetarians and vegans who have limited menu choices, it's kind of expensive. I agree that eating seperately is the best option. If they're vegan they'd probably prefer to do their own thing anyway.

To be honest you seem kind of rude, I mean yes it can be annoying travelling with someone who eats different things to you, but to call them a 'pain in the butt' and ask 'why bother coming to Japan?' isn't necessary. People travel for different reasons, and while some people come to Japan to enjoy the food, others come here for the temples and history and food isn't a priority for them. There's no need to make them feel bad for having different travel reasons to you or to patronise them the way you are on this forum. Japan isn't just about food.

Once I travelled with a meat-lover in Taiwan, and she made me feel really uncomfortable by constantly getting frustrated with me that I wouldn't try the meat at the night markets. It pretty much ruined the holiday for me because I always had to apologise to her. A little understanding from her would have been nice. I never complained about what she ate so it would have been nice if she returned the favor and let me do my own thing rather than asking me to eat meat with her every 2 seconds. I understand that she wanted someone to share the experience with, but she knew before coming on the trip that I was a vegetarian. If food is so important to her I don't understand why she invited herself to travel with me in the first place.

Vegetarians and vegans are used eating seperately from the rest of the group, it's our choice to do so. As long as your friend isn't forcing you to eat curry with them every night, I don't see why you're so angry about it. I feel bad for your friend as he's clearly going to be treated like an 'outsider' for the trip and made to feel like a criminal for being a vegan. Just let him do his own thing, there's no reason to be so uptight about it, at the end of the day it's him who is 'missing out' as you perceive it, not you.

@ Jenn Jett, I think you're letting your personal feelings about being harassed to eat meat in Taiwan interfere with the discussion. As you said, you don't care how things are cooked and generally don't mind eating wherever everyone else is. The OP, however, said the vegan in his group refuses to be near meat and by the sound of it doesn't have much respect for the others in the group choosing to be meat eaters. In my experience that's how vegans tend to be.... they judge, criticise and act like they're better than everyone else. Perhaps there are vegans who aren't pains in the arse but I haven't encountered any. Vegetarians are thankfully different and are more accepting. I've travelled to Japan with a vego and she did her research so as to find places that catered well to her needs and even ours. Meat-eaters don't need to eat meat at every meal, but it's unrealistic and unfair to think that 3 people in a group of 4 would want vegan food. Vegetarian food, perhaps... but vegan? Eh. Completely annoying.

Do all the sight seeing stuff together as group, but when it comes to eating out leave them to cater for themselves!
The 3 of you shouldn't miss out on what you all want to eat just to suit the preferences of this one person. It is their choice to be a vegan and they shouldn't be forcing their ideals onto the rest of the group.

If they want to get funny about it though just give them one of two options. First, they stop being such a rash on the rest of the group and accept that they will be eating alone, whilst the rest of you eat what you wish. Or second, they just don't come to Japan and waste the money that they've already spent on airfares and any accommodation.

Enjoy your trip though, because Tokyo is an amazing metropolis for food!