Looking for vegan restaurants in Matsumoto, Japan?
Matsumoto is a city in Nagano Prefecture, a mountainous, land-locked prefecture in central Japan. A beautiful mountain range, the Japanese Alps, are located in this region, and Matsumoto City is a great base for exploring the nearby Kamikochi National Park.
Local specialties include soba (buckwheat noodles) and oyaki (stuffed dumplings), both of which typically contain animal products, but it's possible to find delicious vegan alternatives if you know where to look!
This list includes cafés, restaurants and dessert shops. I've covered a range of different foods, including local specialties such as soba noodles, oyaki and mochi, as well as other foods such as cakes and ice cream.
In this list, I have only featured the vegan restaurants in Matsumoto that I personally visited and ate at. There are many more that I haven't visited yet, some of which I have added to the bottom of the post, and I will keep updating this list as I keep visiting more!
Tips for eating at vegan restaurants in Matsumoto:
- Restaurant opening times can be irregular - before visiting, make sure to check the opening days and times to make sure that you are not disappointed by a closed restaurant! Most restaurants are closed at least one or two days per week, and they are usually not open all day.
- Allergies - some of these vegan restaurants offer gluten-free options, but if you have coeliac disease, a wheat allergy or are severely gluten-intolerant, I would recommend double-checking at the restaurant to ask about cross-contamination.
- Portion sizes in Japan tend to be a lot smaller than you might be used to in other countries, so be careful that you order enough food to feel satisfied.
- English menus - Japanese restaurants with vegan options tend to cater mostly to foreigners anyway, and Matsumoto is a popular tourist destination, so you can expect that most vegan restaurants in Matsumoto will have an English menu as well as a Japanese menu.
Cohiludo
Location:
Matsumoto City.
What type of food they serve:
Oyaki, soba noodle dishes, tea, coffee, soft drinks.
Is the restaurant fully vegan?
No, but they have vegan options for the oyaki, and for the drinks.
Gluten-free + allergy-friendly?
The food probably all contains gluten, but most of the drinks should be naturally gluten-free. Ask to double-check.
Comments:
- The oyaki (dumplings) are made in-house using local vegetables, and the seasonings are delicious. It's a great place to try a vegan version of the local specialty.
- The terrace seating area is dog-friendly.
Café Senri
Location:
Matsumoto City.
What type of food they serve:
Ice cream, juice, coffee, soft drinks.
Is the restaurant fully vegan?
No, but they have a plant-based ice cream option.
Gluten-free + allergy-friendly?
The ice cream should be naturally gluten-free, but ask to double-check.
Comments:
I tried the vegan custard pudding-flavour soft-serve ice cream.
Why?
Location:
Matsumoto City.
What type of food they serve:
Salads, sandwiches, pancakes, cakes, smoothies, juices, tea and coffee drinks.
Is the restaurant fully vegan?
No, but they have many vegan options.
Gluten-free + allergy-friendly?
A lot of the dishes are gluten-free, ask to double-check which ones.
Comments:
- I had the peach and tea-flavoured cake.
- The café is open all day, but different dishes are served at different times of day, so if you want to eat certain foods, be careful what time you go.
- For example, the fluffy pancakes looked delicious, but they were only served at a specific time of day so I missed them.
Dolce & Premium Gelato Hare Terrace
Location:
Matsumoto City.
What type of food they serve:
Many different flavours of gelato.
Is the restaurant fully vegan?
No, but some of the gelato flavours are vegan.
Gluten-free + allergy-friendly?
The gelato should be naturally gluten-free, but ask to double-check.
Comments:
- The gelato flavours change depending on the seasons.
- When I went, the triple berry and mango gelato flavours were both vegan.
- I had the triple berry, and it was delicious and creamy.
Kirigamine Venus Line Parking Lot
Location:
Kirigamine.
What type of food they serve:
The parking lot has a restaurant that serves a lot of different local specialty dishes.
Is the restaurant fully vegan?
No, but the "gohei mochi" is naturally vegan.
Gluten-free + allergy-friendly?
Ask to double-check.
Comments:
- Gohei mochi is sticky rice on a stick, grilled and dipped in a salty-sweet miso-based sauce.
- It's really delicious, and this one is made using locally-made miso. Definitely recommend trying this!
Kamikochi Myojinkan
Location:
Kamikochi.
What type of food they serve:
- Savoury dishes such as oyaki, soba noodles, curry.
- Mochi dessert dishes.
- Tea, coffee, soft drinks.
Is the restaurant fully vegan?
No, but there are several vegan options.
Gluten-free + allergy-friendly?
Ask to double-check.
Comments:
- This place is only accessible by walking, and it takes about 1 hour to walk here from the nearest bus or taxi stop in Kappabashi.
- It's a restaurant inside a ryokan (guesthouse).
- They have naturally vegan oyaki (dumplings filled with vegetables) and soba noodles.
- The mochi and sweet red bean soup was also delicious, and came as a set with green tea and salty pickles.
Other vegan restaurants in Matsumoto
I didn't get to try any of these places, but they also all offer vegan food:
- Noodle Stand THREE P's - vegan ramen noodles
- Itoya - izakaya that serves vegan dishes
- Kobayashi Soba - traditional handmade soba noodle restaurant with vegan options
- Pizza Verde - Italian restaurant serving pizza and pasta with vegan options
- Sushi Nori - sushi restaurant with vegan options
- Mount Desert Island Ice Cream - ice cream shop with vegan sorbet options
- 33's Cafe - kakigori shaved ice desserts (probably only during summer)
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