Japan guide

Eating out

Vegetarian, halal & prayer rooms

Japanese cooking uses fish stock and small amounts of alcohol in places you might not expect, so a single word like “vegetarian” or “halal” is often not enough. Naming each ingredient works better, and a card in Japanese does that for you.

6 steps · 4 common mistakes· Show in Japanese (3)
A Buddhist temple vegetarian meal (shōjin ryōri) at a temple lodging: small dishes of vegetables, tofu and rice on lacquered trays.

Photo: Szabolcs Arany / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

Telling the restaurant

At a restaurant counter, a guest shows a phone card to the staff; a vegetable dish has a tick, and a fish has a cross.

Step by step

  1. Before you order, show the line below to the staff — or open the food card for a fuller list.

  2. Name each thing you don't eat: meat, fish, fish stock (dashi), egg, pork, alcohol.

  3. Wait for the answer. If the staff aren't sure, they may check with the kitchen or suggest a different dish.

Common mistakes

  • Saying only “vegetarian” — it is often understood as “no meat pieces”, with fish stock still in the soup.

Good to know: Asking when you book, or by phone before you go, gives the kitchen time to prepare.

Vegetarian and vegan

  • Dashi stock is usually made from bonito (katsuo) flakes — it is in miso soup, noodle broth, simmered dishes and many sauces.
  • Kelp stock (kombu dashi) has no fish. Some places can make dishes with it if you ask.
  • Temple cuisine (shōjin ryōri) has no meat or fish. Some temples that offer lodging serve it.
  • Specialist vegetarian and vegan restaurants are easiest to find in big cities.

Common mistakes

  • Assuming a vegetable tempura or noodle dish has no fish — the dipping sauce or broth often does.

Halal

Japan has no single body that certifies halal food, so restaurants use different marks. Check what a “halal” or “Muslim-friendly” sign covers.

  • Look for restaurants with halal certification, or ones that list their ingredients.
  • Pork and lard turn up in ramen broth, dumplings and curry roux.
  • Mirin (sweet rice wine) and cooking sake are common in sauces such as teriyaki.
  • Ask about gelatine in desserts and gummies.

Common mistakes

  • Taking “no pork” to mean “halal” — the meat and the seasonings may still not be.

Places to pray

The sign for a prayer room at an airport, with a pictogram of a kneeling person and the words Prayer Room.Photo: Masahiko OHKUBO / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

Prayer rooms are mostly in larger cities: major airports, some big stations, department stores and Muslim-friendly hotels.

Step by step

  1. Ask at an information desk with the line below.

  2. At the airport, look on the terminal map for a prayer room.

  3. Keep a qibla (prayer direction) app on your phone for times you can't find a room.

Common mistakes

  • Expecting a prayer room at every station — in smaller towns there usually isn't one.

Sources

Sources (checked 2026-11-05). Facts, numbers and prices on this page come from these official pages.

  1. Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)Muslim Travelers(opens in a new tab)JNTO: travel information for Muslim visitors
  2. Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)Vegetarian Guide(opens in a new tab)JNTO: guide to vegetarian food in Japan
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