It’s just as hard in Japan as in Europe to find a breakfast spot that opens early. We did find a couple of solutions to that in Kyoto, and I’ll supplement the post by telling you about some of the more widely available breakfast options on the go in Japan.

Breakfast Udon

This place opens at 7am! Rejoice! When we arrive in a new location, Dr HH likes to filter Happy Cow to places open at 7:30am, which is how we found this spot. There is a sign outside the restaurant identifying that there are vegan options. Ordering was a little tricky – there are no menus on the tables, you have to go up and read the menu and order at the counter, making it difficult to take your time over it. You can ask for most of the dishes to be made with vegan broth instead of meat – this is all explained in English on the menu. You pay when you order, and have to go and pick up your order from the counter when it’s ready. You’ll hear the staff shouting when it’s time.

We both ordered the kitsune, which had nice spongy bits of tofu and lots of spring onions. The broth was a bit disappointing though, it wasn’t strongly flavoured at all. Even when we added two different types of pepper from the assortment of seasonings, it was still quite bland. But the noodles were thick and delicious, and the tofu was good too. Also, the food was ready in mere minutes. The benefits of having a small menu, I suppose! This place is only open 7-10am, so you do need to get there early. The same restaurant opens later in the day as an Italian restaurant. I was initially confused by all the bottles of wine on display!

koe donuts

I may be cheating a bit by including this, as it opens at 9am. We stopped by around 6pm to get some donuts to takeaway for breakfast the next day. They have three vegan doughnuts you can either eat in or take away, and one that is eat in only – a fancier “dessert” donut, if you will. The menu changes every month. One option was sold out when we arrived at 6pm, so there were three to choose from.

We both chose coconut chai donuts to take away. The topping was quite generous – a bit heavier on coconut, but there were some nice spices in there too. The dough was good and fluffy. They were a little small, but tasty. Definitely a fun breakfast (or dessert) option to have.

Convenience Store Breakfasts

Moving on to some non-Kyoto specific options. For most of our breakfasts (and packed lunches, when we were on the go) in Japan, we relied on onigiri from the convenience stores.

It turns out that the only vegan onigiri option in the main convenience stores (7-11, Lawson, and Family Mart) is the salt rice ball. Dr HH found it a bit too boring, but I think it’s quite pleasant for a totally neutral breakfast.

It’s never too early for something sweet though! We like to supplement our rice ball with one of these delicious snack bars, available in all the main convenience stores. It’s a puffed rice bar with some nuts and dried fruit in, coated in dark chocolate. It is absolutely delicious!

Starbucks Breakfasts

We never go to Starbucks at home, but when we’re on holiday it’s hard to argue with the convenience. Also, Japanese Starbucks is amazing for vegans.

They always label the cups for each plant-based milk in a very reassuring way. There’s always a menu on the counter when you go up to order, so it was very easy to point at the drink and milk we wanted to ensure there was no confusion due to the language barrier. I drank a lot of matcha lattes on this trip!

In summer 2024 there was a vegan sugar donut on the menu. Vegan food items are clearly labelled with a “plant based” sign in the cabinet, and we also confirmed the options on the official website in advance so we knew what we were looking out for. The donut was very sweet from the sugar glaze, and very sticky too, but it was perfect for a breakfast on the go. We did a lot of day trips, so it was convenient to pick up some donuts and drinks at a Starbucks at the train station and eat on our journey.

Dr HH was a fan of the blueberry bagel. I was worried it would be too sweet, but he insisted it was well balanced. This does not get heated up in store, you buy it already spread with vegan cream cheese.

We agreed that the mushroom keema curry hot tortilla was delicious! This one was heated up so the cheese melted. The mushrooms were good and meaty and it was really tasty.

The lemon cube cake was not very breakfasty, but I’ll include it here anyway. The sponge was good, and it was really sharp with lemon.

All in all, a good range of vegan options and perfect for when we were on the go. I know Japan has a reputation for being tough for vegans, but we found the convenience store and Starbucks options to be significantly better in Japan than in any of the other countries we visited on this trip (Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Malaysia). It’s good that there’s demand in Japan at least.

Activities in Kyoto

Kokodera Temple was a bit of a last minute addition to our itinerary. Dr HH had learned about it from a TV programme about moss, and sure enough it is an extremely mossy place, with over 120 different variants. It was very green and very beautiful! There’s a short loop to walk through the grounds, but there’s no limit on how many times you can walk it. To protect the grounds, there are limited visitors per day and reservations are necessary. We made our reservation online the day before (apparently you used to have to send a postcard requesting to visit and await a response – I’m relieved that things have changed!). It’s a bit pricey, but we really enjoyed it. When you arrive, you are encouraged to try some Japanese calligraphy to clear your mind. I always smudge my writing, so I found it extremely stressful! Fortunately the gardens helped me relax again.

From there, we took the bus to Daikaku-ji which is another temple with some beautiful nature connected to it. The buildings were pleasant, but it was all about this beautiful pond for us. With a ticket, you can walk around the lake and enjoy the spectacular views. So peaceful!