JR Shinagawa and vegetarian obento

I will be taking the Narita Express from NRT airport to Shinagawa and then transferring to the shinkansen to Kyoto. Is there a place in or very near the station to get a vegetarian (or even better, vegan) obento for my onward train ride?

We will have suitcases and probably a short connection time, so we won't be able to search for vegetarian or vegan food far from the station. Thank you.

It would be better to transfer at Tokyo as there is a larger array of shops.

Veg bento are very easy to find at any location selling bento.

Also at Shinagawa there are several places within the ticket gate to buy food for your trip, including vegetarian options.

If you are vegetarian - it might be good to get a simple translation asking what is available (without Daishi) that is vegetarian.

My mother visited my in Japan and has fructose intolerences. A hotel wrote down a simple question asking what was available without <<insert food cant eat>> and her stomach had no problems after that....

The Happy Cow is also really good in Japan. Along with Indian restaurants always having vegetarian options for something different

Thanks for all the useful replies so far.

I am transferring at Shinagawa because it is a smaller and more user-friendly station than Tokyo.

Speaking of Tokyo station, in 2019, I did find one (and only one) vegetarian (maybe even vegan, can't remember exactly) bento. I don't know if that will be available at Shinagawa and if anything has changed since covid. Hope I'll be lucky.

And I do rely heavily on Happy Cow for my travels, especially in Japan, where vegetarians and vegans cannot count on just walking into any restaurant and finding suitable food, since katsuo no dashi is used in everything. Also, a majority of the veggie restaurants are only open for lunch, and they all have different opening days and times; without careful planning, we will waste a lot of time and energy searching for food!

Maybe itfs difficult to find it as one bento, but in any conbini there are vegetarian options. Just look for the rice balls with plums , Inari sushi, vegetables sticks, some salads.
But yes, Japan isnft an easy country for vegetarians.

Not bento, but The City Bakery is another option. Opens 07:00

Even though it is indeed a challenge to find veggie food in Japan, I love Japan! I lived in Tokyo for 2 years (2007-08) and visit once a year prior to Covid. Looking forward to restarting my annual visits with my upcoming trip next month.

Just in case there are vegetarians and vegans reading this post who may not be familiar with the intricacies of eating in Japan, I would like to offer some tips.

In addition to the omnipresent dashi, be careful of any deep fried foods, such as tenpura and croquettes. Unless you are getting them at a vegetarian/vegan eatery, chances are that they are cooked in the same fryer as other items such as fish and meat.

There is a similar issue of cross contamination due to shared cooking surfaces and utensils. For instance, I love okonomiyaki, but the vegan/vegetarian versions are mostly prepared on the same grill using the same spatulas as the meat versions.

And if, like me, you have a sweet tooth, also be careful of cakes and pies - although this is not unique to Japan - as some of them contain gelatin (for instance, the clear glaze on fruit tarts). Chinese style buns and selected pastries (e.g. famous Hong Kong egg tarts) may be made with lard.

Whether you can find some bento right away would also be up to how strict you are about gvegetarianh too.

I happen to remember an Indian curry restaurant inside the ticket gate of Shinagawa station, Sitaara Diner, in the ECUTE part upstair (but still inside the station). They have vegetarian dishes, and sell take-out, so that might be an option. (But since itfll be take-out from otherwise eat-in restaurant, it might take a bit of time, meaning not really suitable if you are looking at a VERY short transfer time.)

There's a place called "custom salad veggie" on the 3rd floor of Atre, inside the station complex. You can customize a salad with avocado, pasta, beans and the like. It could be an option.
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