[Kyoto] A Must for Vegetarians! 5 Restaurants That Serve Superb Shojin Ryori

One of Kyoto’s quintessential dishes is yudofu, a simple but majestic dish that consists of boiled tofu. Yudofu is a precious source of protein in a cuisine that doesn’t make use of meat or fish such as shojin ryori. Its origins are said to trace back to the region of Higashiyama, and more specifically the area surrounding Nanzen-ji Temple.
Located right next to such temple, Yachiyo is a restaurant with a spectacular garden that you should definitely visit in order to try this delicacy. The tofu is made the traditional way using water pulled from the well every morning and it’s served with a special sauce made with dashi (stock) – the soul of Kyoto cuisine – and customized to particularly suit the dish. This carefully handmade yudofu will warm your body as well as your heart. The graceful taste of the soft tofu is sure to delight you.

*The restaurant has an English menu.

The view from the terrace seats is delightful with the special illumination at night.

Tobajin is a Kyoto cuisine and shojin ryori restaurant with more than 120 years of history, located at the foot of Daigoji Temple, a World Heritage Site situated in the southeast region of Kyoto. The restaurant conserves the architecture of traditional merchant houses with beautiful tatami mat rooms and a gorgeous inner garden. You can feel their heart-warming hospitality in every little detail. The excellent shojin ryori dishes make use of handmade sesame tofu, yuba (a delicacy made of tofu skin), nama-fu (small cakes of steamed wheat gluten), and seasonal vegetables from Kyoto.

Situated in the town of Uji, Manpuku-ji is a temple of the Obaku Sect of Zen Buddhism that serves a Chinese variety of shojin ryori called “fucha ryori”. Differently than its Japanese counterpart, fucha ryori incorporates many elements of Chinese cuisine in the recipes, offering flavorful and colorful dishes fried in oil. In Japanese shojin ryori, the food is served in individual portions to every person partaking the meal; however, in the case of fucha ryori, four diners are supposed to sit around the table and share the food that is served in large plates. You’ll be surprised with the ingenuity this cuisine applies to prepare dishes that look as if they were prepared with meat and fish (called “modoki ryori” in Japanese), but that in fact are strictly made using vegetables typical of Kyoto.