Vegetarian restaurants in Matsuyama

We've got some friends here in Matsuyama (english teachers) who are vegan/vegetarian - does anyone know any good vegetarian-friendly restaurants in Matsuyama?

Thanks,
Nick

not to laugh at your question but I asked this very same one. Someone told me going to Japan as a vegetarian would be the same as starving myself. Because it's so hard to find meat and animal free things. Just wanted to say how glad i am to see others like me. Good luck.

I do not agree with you that going veg in Japan is like starving. I am strict vegetarin, I do not takes egss, fish, meat or any such thing. But, still I am surviving in Japan from last 2 years.

There are plenty of Indian hotels which serve veg food in TOKYO atleast.

hi, i don know about veggie restaurants in Matsuyama, sorry.
I do know, yeah, its very dificult to find veggie food or restaurants in Tokyo. Becuase of the language barrier (who ever googles for vegetarian restaurants using hiragana?) Tokyo has a bad reputation for veggie things.
The truth is there are many total vegan/vegetarian restaurants in Tokyo, such as Deva Deva with its international cuisine, Chien Fu, a fabulous Taiwanese vegan restaurant, not to mention the famous Brown Rice Cafe with its own Vegan Cooking school, and published various vegan cooking books.
I NEVER did eat as delicious and varied Vegan as in Japan.
By the way, in Deva Deva i saw a small english pocket guide "TOKYO 100% vegetarian restaurant city guide" for just 100 yen. It has about 18 vegetarian restaurants with easy to read Maps. The adres is 2-14-7 Kichijoji-Honcho Musashino in Tokyo. Tel 0422-216220 (owner speaks englis very well)
You can get there with the chuo line, its five stops after Nakano station.
I have a small Map with route description i can send if you wanna go there.. ;-)
Lets Talk Veggie!!! ;-)
herwin1234@hotmail.com

this must be the first vegetarian restaurant pocket guide for japan, i guess :-)
http://members.chello.nl/h.walravens/CHILDRENoftheCARROT.htm

* Try the two Indian restaurants: Spice Ookoku and Ladki.
* If you ask at Mirai Kanai they'll do a vegetarian dish for you.
* Italian restaurants tend to have vegetarian dishes. If not, you can always ask if they'll accommodate!
* Outside of Matsuyama, near Imabari, there's place called Magnolia.

I have just started a website to help share some tips and recipes that I have learned about being vegan in Japan. (http://cookingveganaroundtheworld.blogspot.com)

Also, the Happy Cow website has a pretty comprehensive list of vegan, vegetarian, and veg friendly restaurants all over the world. (http://www.happycow.net/asia/japan/index.html)

Hope some of this helps.

As some people pointed out already, Indian restairants are an excellent option. Avoid Japanese foods unless they are "shyohjin-ryohri". Also except you will have to instruct your server how your foods to be made (personalized) and Jpanese are not very flexible in this area.

first find out EXACTLY what kind of vegetarians or vegans they are. Vegans dont use anything including eggs milk etc

Some might eat fish but not meat some might be okay with soup. Some strictly ONLY plants etc

Find out whats acceptable to them first.

i would stick to the 30 or so strict vegetarian/vegan restaurants in tokyo city, seems a lot of good options to me!regular restaurants are no option, if you are vegan anyway. its like walking in a mine field, not something you do for your pleasure.

try indian restaurants..

just got back from matsuyama meeting with some vegans and vegetarian friends.
near matsuyama in 今治市　is a very good vegan restaurant, its called "Magnolia". in matsuyama itself i find a restaurant with several good vegan options, forgot the name thgough...

hello all, the webadres of the Japan Vegan Restaurant Pocketguide mentioned in this thread is changed www.childrenofthecarro.info

Look at this thread from another site I read. Looks like these vegetarians know thier stuff.

http://www.crisscross.com/forum/m_806525/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm#940454

How you folks can not eat meat is beyond me but meh, to each his own.

Following up on the Indian restaurant theme, I was in Okinawa recently (where SPAM and tacos enjoy significant popularity) and was having a tough time finding a good veg meal. I managed to do well in Italian places (you can get a least a couple pasta or pizza dishes without meat) and I did find a good Indian restaurant, called Nanak. Nanak apparently has restaurants in other cities in Japan, and they have a web page, you can check if they are close to you.

hi my daughter and her family lived in matsuyama for six years. i visited 3 times and never had trouble finding quality vegan food. the last time i visited they had moved to kagawa which is up in the mountains behind matsuyama. we often went to imabari to the magnolia cafe - you must go there. the two ladies who run it about macrobiotic and everything is vegan/ vegetarian and they know the difference. they both our local girls who lived in texas for a while but are now back home. its on the windy old road to imabari and set off the road surrounded by rice fields. they do a 1000 yen ($10 ) daily lunch special so good i took photos and also sell the ingredients they use - like tofu mayonaise and organic lines. they are closed one day a week - i think monday. the food is macrobiotic meets traditional japanese and just out of the world. there are plenty of other foods which are vegan but you need a friend who can read japanese. and matsuyama has two "health food stores" that i know of - natutral house near takeshimaya (sp) is one the other is on the other side of the same block. the other thing you must do is try the ohagi (sp) - traditional japanese tea house sweets - made from azuki and soy beans, seaweed and all natural and vegan ingredients washed down with wonderful teas. there is one of japans oldest ohagi teahouses in matsuyama run by 3 generations of women - its a must and i would go back to matsuyama - i am in cairns in queensland australia - just for those two things - oh and fresh edamane, shitaki and the worlds best tofu, miso and sake.