Guide · checked in September 2026
Kosher and vegan in Japan
Japan is not an easy country for people who keep kosher, but it is much easier than it was ten years ago: there is a fully kosher restaurant in Tokyo, Chabad in three cities, chilled deliveries to anywhere in Japan, and hundreds of vegan places for anyone who is content with plant-based food. Here is what you need to know, in order of importance.
1. The three rules
- Dashi is the problem, not the meat. The basic stock of most Japanese cooking is made from bonito fish. Miso soup, udon broth, simmered vegetables, even an omelette: all of them may contain it. A "vegetarian" dish in Japan is not a dish without fish, unless you asked.
- Book Shabbat by Thursday. The Shabbat meals at Chabad Tokyo and Kyoto require booking ahead, in Tokyo by Thursday at 18:00. On holidays and in sakura season they run out of places.
- The konbini is a friend. White rice, hard-boiled eggs (without a hechsher, according to the lenient authorities), fruit, nuts, packed tofu and soy yoghurt are at the 7-Eleven on every corner, with the ingredient list in a translation app.
2. Supervised kosher: where you actually eat
All the places work by prior arrangement. The phone numbers on the cards are WhatsApp. Details verified in September 2026 against the official websites: Tokyo's kosher restaurant is David's Deli in Mita, which replaced Chana's Place in May 2025: Sunday to Thursday 11:00 to 15:00 and 17:00 to 22:00, and Friday until 15:00. Shabbat meals at Chabad Tokyo are booked by Thursday 18:00. Chabad Kyoto is in the Okazaki district (30 Okazaki Tennocho) and provides Shabbat meals and kosher food by delivery. The Kobe and Osaka community sends chilled kosher meals to anywhere in Japan, usually within 24 hours.
Tokyo
Tokyo · Kosher groceries
National Azabu Supermarket
An international supermarket in Tokyo that stocks a range of imported products, sometimes including products with a kosher certification. It is not a kosher supermarket, so check the kosher mark on each product separately.
Price checked October 2026
Photo: Masayuki (Yuki) Kawagishi / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)
Tokyo · Certified kosher
Jewish Community of Japan
The community synagogue in Hiroo: a mikveh, a library and a meat kosher kitchen. Friday night dinner for guests by sign-up on the website until Wednesday at 14:00, and after that with a ¥1,000 surcharge. You can also order challah for pick-up on Friday.
Price checked October 2026
Photo: Abasaa / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
Tokyo · Certified kosher
David's Deli
Tokyo's kosher restaurant since May 2025, in place of Chana's Place, which closed: shakshuka, schnitzel, hummus, falafel and shawarma, glatt kosher certified by Japan Kosher Services according to the restaurant (in 2025 the supervision was reported as that of the chief rabbi of Chabad Tokyo). At Mita 5-13-13 in Minato, about seven minutes on foot from the Chabad house. Sunday to Thursday 11:00 to 15:00 and 17:00 to 22:00, Friday 11:00 to 15:00, closed on Shabbat. There is also delivery through the website or Uber Eats, for orders placed by 18:00.
Price checked October 2026
Tokyo · Certified kosher
Chabad Lubavitch of Japan, Tokyo
The Chabad center of Japan in Takanawa (Minato), with a synagogue, a mikveh, and Shabbat and holiday meals by advance booking. The kosher restaurant David's Deli is about seven minutes on foot from there. Book ahead through the form on the website.
Price checked October 2026
Tokyo · Certified kosher
Kosher Japan Kitchen
The kosher kitchen of Chabad in Tokyo: meat and fish bento, sandwiches, breakfasts and Shabbat meals, delivered or eaten on site. Order at least four days ahead, and there is a surcharge for delivery far from Tokyo or at certain hours. Good for stocking up before a trip between cities.
Price checked September 2026
Tokyo · Kosher groceries
Aretz Israeli Imported Goods
A delicatessen at Chabad Tokyo with Israeli and imported products, from packaged kosher food to Jewish ritual items. Open on Fridays 11:00 to 15:00, and on other days you arrange a visit in advance on WhatsApp.
Tokyo · Kosher groceries
Nissin World Delicatessen
Another international supermarket in Tokyo with imported products, sometimes including items with a kosher certification. It is not under supervision, so check every package and do not rely on the name of the store.
Price checked October 2026
Kyoto
Kyoto · Certified kosher
Chabad of Kyoto
The Chabad house of Kyoto in the Okazaki district (30-3 Okazaki Tennocho, Sakyo), run by Rabbi Motti and Libby Grumach since 2019: prayers and Shabbat and holiday meals, and kosher food delivered to individuals and groups. Make contact on WhatsApp as early as possible.
Price checked September 2026
Kyoto · Certified kosher
Honke Tankuma Honten
A kosher kaiseki meal under the supervision of Kosher Japan, for groups of five or more: ¥55,000 per person including tax, plus a 15% service charge. In addition you pay on site a supervision fee of ¥88,000 per group. Book at least seven days ahead, and there are no bookings for Friday or Shabbat.
Price checked September 2026
Kyoto · Certified kosher
Kosher Delica, Chabad Kyoto
The kosher catering service of Chabad Kyoto, the first in Japan, operating since 2005: ready meals and products delivered to any city in Japan, to hotels, offices and homes, and also for groups and events. Under the supervision of Rabbi Binyomin Edery, the chief rabbi of Japan. Order at least three days ahead, on WhatsApp or by phone.
Price checked September 2026
Kobe
Kobe · Certified kosher
Chabad of Kobe and Osaka
The community of Kobe and Osaka runs an Israeli kitchen with catering, and sends chilled kosher meals anywhere in Japan, usually within 24 hours. The solution for Hiroshima, Hakone and Hokkaido. Order 3 days ahead and ask the hotel for a refrigerator.
Price checked September 2026
3. What to do between the cities
In Hiroshima, Hakone, Takayama and Hokkaido there is no kosher food. Three solutions that work: a chilled delivery from Kobe or Kyoto to the hotel (order 3 days ahead, and ask the hotel for a fridge); stocking up in Tokyo at "Eretz" (the Chabad delicatessen) before you set off; and a small kitchen in an apartment (an Airbnb with a kitchenette) with disposable dishes, rice, eggs and vegetables from the supermarket. A ryokan with a kaiseki dinner: ask in advance for "shojin ryori" (the vegetarian cooking of the monks), most ryokan know it, and make sure it comes without dashi.
4. Vegetarian and vegan: much easier
The Kosher and vegan category has dozens of vegan restaurants in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, marked "vegan, not kosher" so there is no mistake. The most useful for a traveller: vegan ramen at Tokyo Station (T's Tantan) before the shinkansen, shojin ryori at temples (Shigetsu in Arashiyama, Hanabishi on Mount Koya), and chains such as Ain Soph. In an ordinary restaurant too: vegetable yakitori, onigiri with umeboshi, and vegetable tempura (ask about the sauce).
Japanese phrases you need at a restaurant
Click here to open or close the phrases.
Japanese phrases you need at a restaurant
Click here to open or close the phrases.
Press "Hear it in Japanese" before you speak to the staff.
I do not eat pork
豚肉は食べません。
Butaniku wa tabemasen.
I do not eat seafood
魚介類は食べません。
Gyokairui wa tabemasen.
Is the steak cooked with butter or with oil?
ステーキはバターで焼きますか？それとも油ですか？
Sutēki wa batā de yakimasu ka? Soretomo abura desu ka?
I do not eat meat and dairy together
肉と乳製品を一緒に食べません。
Niku to nyūseihin o issho ni tabemasen.
Does this contain dashi or fish stock?
だしや魚の出汁は入っていますか？
Dashi ya sakana no dashi wa haitte imasu ka?
Dashi is the basic Japanese stock, often made from fish or bonito flakes. It turns up in soups, sauces and dishes that look vegetarian, so it is worth asking.
Do you have kosher food?
コーシャの食事はありますか？
Kōsha no shokuji wa arimasu ka?
5. Shabbat on the trip
The Shabbat and holiday days page has 12 days whose main stops are free and on foot, with a note on each day about which stop to skip and where to sleep. Prayer services: Chabad Tokyo (Takanawa), the Jewish Community of Japan (Hiroo), Chabad Kyoto (Okazaki), Chabad Kobe. Temples and parks are open on Shabbat like any other day, and you do not need a ticket to see most of the beautiful things in Japan.
Kashrut is the responsibility of the venue, under the supervision of the local rabbi, not ours. Before every meal, call, ask who the supervisor is, and decide for yourself. Vegan restaurants are not kosher unless stated otherwise.