So which noodles are vegan in Japan? As a general rule, udon noodles and soba noodles are vegan, while the majority of ramen noodles are not. (The soup or sauce that comes with udon, soba and ramen in non-vegan restaurants contains animal products like fish stock, etc.). However, udon and soba noodles are not always vegan, so vegans still need to be careful to check for animal ingredients. Below are some examples of vegan and non-vegan noodles in Japan.

How about pasta? That’s not such a problem. We’ve also included some examples of vegan and non-vegan pasta.

PASTA

It’s easy to find vegan pasta in supermarkets. Recently many supermarkets have begun carrying a small selection of whole-grain pastas as well. Vegans have to be careful with colored pasta. Black pasta can sometimes be colored with cuttlefish ink/イカスミ. Below are some examples of pasta available in Japan.

• Hagoromo 7 Minute Spaghetti/はごろもフーズ　ポポロスパ7分結束. Ingredients: Durum wheat semolina.

   

• Mitoku Whole Wheat Organic Penne Pasta/ミトク フェリチェッティ オーガニック全粒粉ペンネ. Ingredients: Organic durum wheat whole grain flour.

   

• Della Costa Disney Princess Tricolored Pasta/ダラコスタ ディズニープリンセス . Ingredients: Durum wheat semolina, spinach, tomato. Photo from website.

• De Cecco Fettucini no 303 All’uovo is not vegan because it has eggs. Ingredients: Durum wheat seminola, eggs.

The word “all’uovo” indicates that the product contains eggs/卵/tamago.

   

However, not all kinds of fettucini have eggs. The below product from Mujirushi Ryouhin does not.

• Mujirushi Ryouhin Fresh Pasta Fettuccine/無印良品　生パスタ　フェットチーネ. Ingredients: Durum seminola wheat flour, salt (Product contains wheat and buckwheat.)

   

Below are some photos from a pasta display in a grocery store. Other than the fettucini first on the left on the top shelf in the first photo, which has egg, all the other products appear to be vegan. The gnocchi second from the left on the top shelf in the first photo has emulsifier and flavorings of unknown origin. (The two products at the right on the top shelf in the first photo are rosti potatoes, not pasta, and one has cheese).

   

Smaller health food and specialty stores will sometimes carry non-seminola pastas. The photo below was taken at a small shop in Kurashiki, Okayama and shows green peas fusilli, red lentils fusilli and chickpeas fusilli.

You may be able to find the following made-in-Italy chickpea and brown rice pasta in Aeon or Aeon-affiliated stores. The Vegetive line of the TopValu Aeon house brand has some (but not all) animal-ingredient-free options. 

• TopValu Vegetive Spaghetti-Type Made with Chickpeas and Brown Rice/ひよこ豆と玄米からつくったスパゲッティタイプ. Ingredients: Chickpea flour, brown rice flour, potato starch.

Product includes buckwheat (soba) and soybeans.

Products containing eggs and wheat are handled in the same production process.

Photo from website. 

Bio C’ Bon supermarkets have vegan cheese-filled ravioli, imported from Italy.

• La Spiga Bio Pasta Fresca Ravioli with Demeter Vegetables. 

• La Spiga Bio Pasta Fresca Ravioriselli Spreadable and Spinach. Ingredients: Durum wheat seminola, processed sprouted brown rice product (sprouted brown rice drink (sprouted brown rice, salt, apple vinegar), coconut oil, starch syrup, lemon juice), panko bread crumbs, spinach, onion, dietary fiber, miso (contains soybeans), salt, brown rice, sunflower oil, dehydrated spinach, nutmeg, thickener (agar, polysaccharide thickener), flavoring.

Products that include eggs and dairy are manufactured at the same facility.

   

SOBA

The first soba is not vegan as it contains egg white (卵白):

• Yude (boiling) Japanese Soba. Ingredients: Wheat flour, buckwheat flour, wheat protein, egg white, salt.

   

The soba below appears to be vegan.

• Nama (raw) Soba. Ingredients: Wheat flour, buckwheat flour, salt, reduced starch syrup, alcohol, acidity regulator, modified starch.

   

TOFU NOODLES

This product was found in a Family Mart in May 2021. Roasted sesame was used to create the sauce. It is meant to be eaten cold, without cooking. Open the noodle container and throw out the water, then add the sauce to the noodles and eat.

This product is made by a company called Kibun. In 2018, we confirmed that the previous version of this product, Tofu Noodles in Sesame Sauce, (sold by Kibun itself, not under the Mom’s Dining Room label at Family Mart) used amino acids made of plants, however, the manufacturer could not confirm if the sugar used in the product was bone-char processed or not. It’s not clear if this same information is still applicable to this version that Kibun produced for Family Mart, however the ingredient list and allergen information on the package is still the same as the previous version, so the information about the amino acids and sugar may still be valid as well. 

• Mom’s Dining Room Kibun Tofu Noodles in Sesame Sauce/お母さん食堂　　焙煎ごま入り　ごまだれ付き　胡麻だれ　とうぶそうめん風. Ingredients: 【Noodle-shaped tofu】 Soybean (USA, Canada), starch components, salt/thickening materials (processed starch, sodium alginate, polysaccharide thickener), coagulant (calcium chloride, magnesium chloride) (Product contains soybeans.)【Attached Sauce Packet】 Sugar, soy sauce, salt, sesame seed paste, sesame oil, yeast extract/seasoning (amino acid etc), thickener (processed starch), coloring (caramel), flavoring. (Product contains wheat, sesame and soybeans.) 

Of the 27 specified allergens, product contains wheat, sesame and soybeans. 

The tofu noodles are processed on shared equipment with items containing egg. 

       

However, the regular flavor of Mom’s Dining Room Kibun Tofu Noodles is not vegan as it contains skipjack tuna/かつお/katsuo and mackerel/さば/saba. 

   

Kibun’s own flavors of tofu noodles (not sold in Family Mart under the Mom’s Kitchen name) currently all show animal ingredients in the ingredient lists. 

Kibun Tofu Somen Style/紀文　とうふそうめん風 and Kibun Tofu Somen Style with Mentsuyu Sauce/紀文　とうふそうめん風麺つゆ付き both contain fish in the sauce, katsuo/かつお/skipjack tuna (bonito) and saba/さば/mackerel.

    

These Topvalu Tofu Noodles (Aeon house brand) don’t come with any sauce, but you could add soy sauce or another sauce yourself. The photo was taken in a branch of MyBasket in April 2021. 

•  TopValu Tofu Noodles/トップバリュ　とうふ麺. Ingredients: Low-fat soymilk (includes soybeans), soybeans/gelling agent (sodium alginate), emulsifier, coagulant.

UDON

Co-op supermarkets sell a 7-allergen-free udon noodle. More detailed information about the ingredients is given here (Japanese).

•  Co-op Smile Dish 7-Allergen-Free Udon Noodles/Co-op Smile Dish ７品目を使わない　うどんタイプ ９０ｇ. Ingredients: White rice flour (white rice (domestic)), germinated brown rice flour (germinated brown rice (domestic rice)), rice puree/modified starch, thickener (alginate, thickening polysaccharide).

Photo from website.

These Gluten-Free Meister White Rice Udon Vegan noodles were spotted in a branch of Co-op supermarket in January 2021. (White Rice Wave Ramen Vegan noodles are also pictured on the right).

• Gluten-Free Meister White Rice Udon Vegan/Gluten-Free Meister　グルテンフリー白米うどんタイプ.

• Yude (boiling) Udon. Ingredients: Wheat flour, salt.

Manufactured in a facility that also makes products containing soba and egg.

   

• Yude (boiling) Udon. Ingredients: Wheat flour, salt/modified starch, acidulant.

Product contains wheat.

Manufactured in a facility that also makes products containing egg, soba, soybean, and yamaimo.

   

RAMEN

We’ll discuss just the noodles for ramen here. For products sold with the soup, check the Cup Noodles and Instant Noodles section further down the page. 

Although there may be a few choices for fresh or dried ramen noodles in the grocery store, probably 80-90% of ramen noodles are not vegan as they contain egg. Fresh (nama) ramen may also come with a non-vegan sauce packet.

Vegan ramen is available at some restaurants like T’s Tantan, Kyushu Jangara and Chabuton. See our Fast Food section for more details. T’s Tantan also has vegan noodles to take home, detailed below.

These Gluten-Free Meister White Rice Wave Ramen Vegan noodles were spotted in a branch of Co-op supermarket in January 2021. (White Rice Udon Vegan noodles are also pictured on the left).

• Gluten-Free Meister White Rice Wave Ramen Vegan noodles/Gluten-Free Meister　グルテンフリー白米ウエーブラーメンタイプ.

• Nama (raw) Ramen. Contains whole egg powder. Fired calcium, 焼成カルシウム, can also be derived from shells or eggshells.

   

Here is another example of an ingredient list of ramen noodles that are not vegan because they contain calcium derived from shells (貝殻カルシウム), spotted at the Ramen Museum in Yokohama.

Chinese noodles/chūkamen/中華麺 are often used in ramen. Co-op supermarkets sell a 7-allergen-free Chinese noodle. More detailed information about the ingredients is given here (Japanese).

•  Co-op Smile Dish 7-Allergen-Free Chinese Noodles/Co-op Smile Dish ７品目を使わない　中華めんタイプ ９０ｇ. Ingredients: White rice flour (white rice (domestic)), germinated brown rice flour (germinated brown rice (domestic rice)), rice puree/modified starch, thickener (alginate, thickening polysaccharide), colorant (gardenia yellow).

Photo from website.

Let’s move on to discussing some cup noodles, which only need hot water added to them (no stove necessary) and are convenient to take with you while you’re on the go.

CUP NOODLES

It can be hard to find vegan cup noodles in stores in Japan and there’s a high probability you’ll have to head to specific stores to find them. More can be ordered online from websites like iHerb.        

Per the PR Times, Ikea Plant Ramen, Salt and Ikea Plant Ramen, Curry launched at Ikea stores 4/25/2020 and feature non-fried noodles. Both are free of palm oil.

Indomie Mi Goreng noodles, imported from Indonesia, may be free of animal ingredients. We wrote to the company in March 2021 to try to confirm but did not receive a response. The ingredient list doesn’t show anything that’s clearly of animal origin. In Reddit’s Vegan forum an email was shared from 2019 where the UK branch of the Indomie company stated they don’t use any animal ingredients in any of their products and all the flavoring is artificial flavoring (there may be cross-contamination). Check it out here (English). However, the Australian Indomie website FAQ, Vegetarian section (English) states:

This product contains palm oil per the ingredient list. Per the same Australian Indomie FAQ section, 

Photos from the import shop Kaldi’s website.

   

The following product is yakisoba noodles in a sweet sauce. It is certified vegan by VegeProject Japan. The photo was taken in a branch of Bio C’ Bon, a supermarket chain with branches in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture. It might be found at health food stores or natural marts. 

• Kaze to Hikari (Wind and Light) Organic Vegan Yakisoba/風と光　有機ヴィーガン焼きそば. Ingredients: Organic noodles (organic wheat flour (domestically produced), salt), attached organic seasoning (organic tomato, organic sugar, organic apple, organic soy sauce, organic brewed vinegar, salt, organic wheat starch, onion, kombu extract, yeast extract, shiitake mushroom extract powder, spices, carrot), toppings (dried cabbage)/lye water.

Product contains wheat, soybeans and apples. 

Products including soba are manufactured on the same production line. 

Online purchase link: Bio c’ Bon 

   

The vegan restaurant chain T’s makes instant vegan cup noodles in three flavors, using non-fried noodles and as few additives as possible. T’s vegan cup noodles are reported to contain palm oil by the blog sushivoyage.net (Japanese).

• T’s Vegan Noodles Hot and Sour Noodle Soup. Ingredients: Noodles (wheat flour, salt, soy dietary fiber), soup (soy sauce, sugars, brewed vinegar, salt, vegetable oil, miso, spice, yeast extract, garlic paste, flavor oil, shiitake extract, kelp powder) toppings (tofu, corn, bok choi, chili)/thickener (guar gum), lye water, caramel pigment, antioxidant (vitamin E), spice extract, red pepper pigment. (Product contains wheat, sesame and soy.)

• T’s Vegan Noodles Tantan Noodle Soup. Ingredients: Noodles (wheat flour, salt, soybean dietary fiber), soup (sesame seeds, salt, sugars, vegetable oil, yeast extract, broad bean chili sauce, onion powder, spices, flavor oil, sweet soybean paste, protein hydrolyzate, shiitake extract), toppings (bok choi, sesame, granular soybean protein, edamame, spices)/lye water, thickening polysaccharides, caramel pigment, antioxidant (vitamin E), acidulant, red pepper pigment, spice extract. (Product contains wheat, sesame and soy)

A third flavor, soy sauce, was added in late 2020.

• T’s Vegan Noodles Soy Sauce Ramen. Ingredients: Noodles (wheat flour (domestically produced), salt, soybean dietary fiber), soup (vegetable oil (rapeseed oil, sesame oil), salt, soy sauce, sugar, protein hydrolyzate, yeast extract, spices, Chinese cabbage extract, kelp powder), toppings (tofu, corn, bok choy)/modified starch, caramel coloring, flavoring, lye water, fine-grain silicon dioxide, antioxidant (vitamin E).

Product includes wheat, sesame and soybeans.

The older version of the product is shown below. There may still be some online retailers selling this older version:

• T’s Noodle Hot and Sour Noodle Soup Ingredients: noodles (flour, salt, soybean dietary fiber), soup (soy sauce, sugar, salt, brewed vinegar, vegetable oil and fat, miso, spices, yeast extract, garlic paste, flavor oil, shiitake mushroom extract, kelp powder), condiments (cabbage, tomato, granular soybean protein, red pepper), lye water, thickener (guar gum), caramel colorant, antioxidant (vitamin E), spice extract, capsicum pigment. (Product includes sesame.)

• T’s Noodle Vegan Tantan Noodle Soup Ingredients: noodles (flour, salt, soybean dietary fiber), soup (sesame, salt, sugar, vegetable fat, miso, onion powder, yeast extract, chili bean sauce, spice, protein hydrolyzate, flavor oil, shiitake extract), condiments (sesame, granulated soybean protein, corn, bok choy, red pepper), thickener (processed starch, guar gum), lye water, caramel pigment, antioxidant (vitamin E), acidulant, capsicum pigment, spice extract.

    

They have been found at (availability may vary):

• some Natural Lawson (not regular Lawson) convenience stores in Chiba, Saitama, and Kanagawa Prefectures, as well as Tokyo
• TIAT DUTY FREE SHOP CENTRAL,  Haneda Airport 3rd floor around gate area 109~111. 12 pc/ 2280 jpy
• T’s Tantan noodle shop at JR Tokyo train station (behind the ticket gates)
• T’s Tantan noodle shop at JR Ueno train station, Tokyo (behind the ticket gates)
• T’s Tantan noodle shop at JR Ikebukuro train station, Tokyo (behind the ticket gates)
• T’s Tantan noodle shop at Narita Airport (NRT), Terminal 2, Main Building, 4F (before passport control)
• T’s Tantan noodle shop at Narita Airport (NRT), Terminal 1, South Wing 3F, near Gate 51 (after passport control)
• T’s Restaurant, Jiyugaoka, Tokyo
• online – T’s website. Tantanmen  Hot and Sour Noodle Soup  Soy Sauce Ramen
• online -Amazon Japan- the seller is New Touch, the manufacturer. Tantanmen Hot and Sour Noodle Soup
• once in awhile, in regular supermarkets in larger cities in Japan

Although they don’t appear to be carried in any physical stores, Shojin Ramen Zendo cup noodles can be purchased online in sets of 12. They don’t use animal ingredients or the five pungent roots. There’s an in-depth article about this product here at Sora News. The company has made other flavors of animal-ingredient free noodles before, but these are soy sauce-flavored with soy meat and menma.

Newtouch, the maker of the T’s Vegan Noodles, also makes one vegan flavor in another line of products called Soup de Pasta. The final production is done in Japan. It may be necessary to order it online.

• Soup de Pasta Soup Spaghetti Type Ripe Tomato For Vegans/Soup de Pasta 完熟トマトforヴィーガン. Ingredients: Noodles (wheat flour (domestically produced), durum wheat semolina, starch, soybean dietary fiber), Soup (sugars, tomato powder, protein hydrolyzate, salt, yeast extract, onion, cabbage extract, potato powder, vegetable oil (rapeseed oil), spices), Toppings (tomato, onion, parsley)/thickener (guar gum), trehalose, flavoring, acidulant, fine-grain silicon dioxide, gardenia pigment, Monascus purpurea pigment.

Product includes wheat, soybeans, and apples.

Photo from website.

Kaldi, the import shop, sometimes has Vegan Green Curry Noodles. They began carrying the product in late 2021.

• Vegan Green Curry Noodle/Vegan グリーンカレーヌードル.

•  Zen Foods Shojin Ramen Zendo, 12 pc/禅道　醤油ラーメン12個入. Ingredients: Fried noodles: Wheat flour, vegetable oil, processed starch, salt, calcium carbonate, soy sauce, lye water, carotenoid pigment, antioxidant (vitamin E), vitamin B2, vitamin B1. Soup: Soy sauce, protein hydrolysate, water, sugars, alcohol, salt, yeast extract, caramel pigment, menma powder, fermented seasoning, thickener (xanthan gum), kelp. Seasoning packet: Processed soybeans, pak choi, wheat gluten, carrot, pumpkin, caramel pigment, Monascus purpureus pigment, antioxidant (vitamin E).

Product contains wheat and soy.

Photos from website.

    

INSTANT NOODLES

Vegan instant noodles that require cooking on a stove are rare in Japan. As with vegan cup noodles, it’s likely you’ll need to head to a specific store to get them, or order online.

Harajuku-based noodle shop Chipoon is selling two kinds of instant ramen, both available with or without toppings, in their online vegan ramen shop (Japanese).

   

Unusually, these vegan ramen from Imasuke Japan were found in the refrigerated section of a branch of a regular food & liquor shop called Shinanoya. The packages state in Japanese that animal ingredients (and also chemical seasonings) are not used/動物性原料化学調味料不使用. 

• Imasuke Japan Raw Type Vegan Ramen Pork Flavor Style/Imasuke Japan　ヴィーガンラーメン豚骨風.

• Imasuke Japan Raw Type Vegan Ramen Soy Sauce Flavor/Imasuke Japan　ヴィーガンラーメン醬油味.

Photos taken in June 2021. 

   

Another option for online ordering is Maisen. The company lists some products on their website as animal-ingredient-free/doubutsu genryou fushiyou/動物性原料不使用, including this brown rice ramen. The product page also states it is suitable for vegans, gluten-free, and that the top 7 allergens are not used. Like the T’s product above, it comes with both the ramen noodles and the soup.

• Maisen Brown Rice Ramen, Soy Sauce Flavor/玄米ラーメン. Ingredients: <Noodles> Brown rice flour, potato starch, vinegar <Soup> Soy sauce, hydrolyzed protein, vegetable oil, salt, sugar, yeast extract, starch, dried shiitake mushrooms, garlic, seasoned bamboo shoots, ginger (Contains sesame and soybeans), spirits, thickener (xanthan gum, alginate ester), lye water, gardenia pigment, dusting powder (processed starch).

Online purchase link: Maisen website

Photos from website.

       

Mazemen is a type of ramen that doesn’t have soup. This one was found in a branch of Bio c’ Bon supermarket in August 2021. The package has an English-language “plant-based” symbol. Both the package and the Marushima website say the item has zero animal ingredients, 動物性原材料ゼロ/doubutsusei genzairyou zero. 

• Marushima Onomichi Mazemen/マルシマ　尾道まぜ麺. Ingredients: Fried noodles (wheat flour (wheat (domestically produced)), vegetable oil (palm oil), potato starch, wheat protein, salt), organic soy sauce, raw sugar, rapeseed oil, processed soybean product, onions, fermented seasoning, salt, starch, ginger, paprika powder, apple vinegar, yeast extract, jumbo garlic, garlic, chili powder/antioxidant (vitamin E).

Product includes wheat, soybeans and apples.

Online purchase links: Bio c’ Bon, Marushima

       

A Korean company called Nongshim sells a product called Shin Ramen.

Per the company as of February 2020, the bag version of Nongshim Shin Ramen sold in Japan does not contain animal ingredients. The individual bag version is sold in 7-11 convenience stores and you can also find a three-pack for sale online and in some stores. A five-pack is also available – we’ve spotted it in a branch of the store Don Quixote.

However, there is another bag version which does appear in stores from time to time that appears to be made for the local Korean market that contains eggshell calcium/卵殻カルシウム, beef seasoning/ビーフシーズニング　and pork bone seasoning/豚骨シーズニング. All are listed on the ingredient list in Japanese. This nonvegan version has been spotted on Rakuten and at Carnival import store.

We will show photos of both versions, the one without animal ingredients and the one with animal ingredients. Check the ingredient list before you buy.

• Nongshim Shin Ramen/Nongshim シンラーメン. Fried noodles: Flour, starch, vegetable oil, salt, vegetable seasoning. Soup: Flavor seasoning, salt, chili seasoning powder, sugars, soy sauce, yeast seasoning powder, pepper, garlic powder, miso, shiitake powder, onion flavor powder, ginger extract. Toppings: (Bok choy, shiitake, seasoned soy protein, carrot, green onion, chili flake)/processed starch, seasoning (amino acids, etc.), lye water, thickener (gum arabic), emulsifier, spice extract, antioxidants (vitamin E, green tea extract), acidulant, niacin, vitamin B1, iron, vitamin B2, folic acid.

Product includes wheat and soybeans.

Products containing pork, beef, sesame, soba, egg, dairy, peanuts, shrimp, crab, chicken, squid, and mackerel are processed in the same factory.

Photos of 3-pack without animal ingredients.

   

Photo of five-pack without animal ingredients. The ingredient list is the same (no animal ingredients), but has been resized to fit the package:

Here are photos of the version that appears to be made for the local Korean market. It contains eggshell calcium/卵殻カルシウム, beef seasoning/ビーフシーズニング　and pork bone seasoning/豚骨シーズニング. We have underlined those ingredients in the photo below.

   

Per the company, the large cup version has sardines/イワシ off-label. The mini cup version has multiple animal ingredients listed in the ingredient list.

Another brand you might be able to find, for example at vegan food festivals or by ordering online, is Samurai Ramen. It has been sold in both a less expensive plastic pack and a gold gift pack. They both say “vegan” on the package.

There is also a version available that does not use the five pungent roots. It says “vegan” and “plant-based” on the package.

• Samurai Ramen UMAMI. Ingredients: Noodle (flour and salt), soup (soy sauce, sesame paste, miso, garlic, maple sugar, salt, yeast extract powder, rice refined oil, chili oil, garlic extract, starch, ginger powder, seaweed powder, black pepper and red pepper) Spices (cayenne pepper powder), lye water. (Includes wheat, soybeans and sesame.)

Chemical condiments & additives & preservative-free.

Photo on the left from website.

   

The following version does not contain any of the five pungent roots.

• Samurai Ramen, Five-Pungent-Roots-Free/Samurai Ramen UMAMI 五葷. Ingredients: Noodles (flour (domestically produced), salt), soup (miso, soy sauce, protein hydrolyzate, sesame oil, salt, kokuto sugar, sesame paste, ground sesame, yeast extract, ginger paste, chili oil, kelp seaweed extract, shiitake extract powder, spices)/lye water, thickener (processed starch).

Product contains wheat, soybeans, and sesame.

   

In March 2021, the now-defunct blog/Facebook group Vegana No Japão confirmed with customer service that the TopValu Miso Ramen doesn’t have ingredients of animal origin (Facebook link (Portuguese)). It’s sold in single bags, packs of five, or cases of thirty pieces. 

• Topvalu Miso (Soybean Paste-flavored) Ramen/トップバリュ　コクのある味わい みそラーメン. Ingredients: Fried noodles [wheat flour, vegetable oil, salt], Soup [salt, miso (including soybeans), sugar, spices (garlic, ginger, red pepper, black pepper), Powder seasoning (includes soybeans and wheat)]/processed wheat flour, seasoning (amino acids, etc.), caramel pigment, lye water, acidulant, antioxidant (vitamin E), gardenia pigment.

Photo from website.

       

If you have a health food store near you, you’ll probably be able to find more kinds of vegan instant ramen there, or order online. Some examples of vegan instant ramen available at health food stores are shown below.

Ohsawa Veggie Brown Rice Ramen, manufactured by Sakurai Foods, comes in five flavors, soy sauce, miso, salt, sesame miso and dandan noodles. They all read “does not use animal ingredients/動物性原料不使用” in Japanese, and some of them may say “For Vegan” in English on the package. They use non-fried noodles. They don’t use chemical seasoning or sugar. See all the flavors here (Japanese).

• Ohsawa Veggie Brown Rice Ramen, Miso/オーサワのベジ玄米ラーメン(みそ). Ingredients: Noodles (flour, brown rice flour, wheat gluten, salt), miso, soy sauce, fermented seasoning, maple sugar, spice, vegetable oil (sesame oil), salt, yeast extract, kelp powder. (Product includes wheat, soy and sesame.)

Products containing shrimp, crab, soba, egg, milk, and peanuts are processed in the same factory.

Uses domestic wheat and brown rice flour. Does not use lye water.

   

• Ohsawa Veggie Brown Rice Ramen, Tantanmen/オーサワのベジ玄米ラーメン(担担麺). Ingredients: Noodles (flour (from Hokkaido and Iwate), brown rice flour (domestic), wheat gluten (Australia), salt), soup [sesame, salt, mirin, edible vegetable oil (sesame oil, paprika), sake, soy sauce, miso, maple sugar, yeast extract, spice (garlic, ginger, chili pepper, pepper), potato starch]

Uses “shimamars” salt, which is made by dissolving imported solar salt in Okinawa sea water and slowly boiling it in a flat pot over time.

Products containing shrimp, crab, soba, egg, milk, and peanuts are processed in the same factory.

Uses domestic wheat and brown rice flour. Does not use lye water.

   

Sakurai Foods, headquartered in Gifu, is a company making various types of vegan instant noodles. They can be found in health food shops or ordered online. From the English section of their website: “Our history begins in 1910, when the Sakurai family purchased a machine to process noodles in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Maintaining operation through World War II and onward, in 1968, the Sakurai family business started to produce and sell additive-free and natural products without artificial coloring. At that time, the commercial industry was moving heavily into mass production and mass consumption, creating an era where efficiency in production was top priority. It was during this era that the Sakurai Foods defined their mission to commit to quality rather than to efficiency.”

To guarantee the safety of our goods, we are committed to manufacturing and selling a variety of food products with ingredients from domestically contracted farmers who use organic or ecologically friendly methods to produce their agricultural products.

Our imported food items have cleared both national JAS-certified organic standards and organic standards abroad.”

• Sakurai Foods Organic Miso Ramen/桜井食品　有機育ち　味噌ラーメン. Ingredients: Organic noodles (organic wheat flour (wheat (domestic)), salt), organic miso, organic soy sauce, organic brewed seasoning, organic sesame oil, organic coconut sugar, salt, organic yeast extract powder, garlic, kombu seaweed powder, ginger, black pepper, chili.

Product contains wheat, sesame and soybean.

Marked “vegan” in English on the package.

Online purchase link: Bio c’ Bon

Photo from website.

The package of the same company’s Organic Soy Sauce Ramen looks extremely similar.

• Sakurai Foods Organic Soy Sauce Ramen/桜井食品　有機育ち　しょうゆラーメン. Ingredients: Organic noodles (organic wheat flour, salt), organic soy sauce, organic brewed seasoning, organic sesame oil, salt, organic coconut sugar, organic yeast extract powder, onion extract, garlic extract, green onion extract, kelp powder, black pepper.

Product contains wheat, sesame and soybean.

Marked “vegan” in English on the package.

Online purchase link: Bio c’ Bon

Photo from the Sakurai Foods website.

• Sakurai Foods Vegetarian Soymilk Spicy Noodle/桜井食品　豆乳ぴり辛めん. Ingredients: Fried noodles (wheat flour (domestically produced), vegetable oil (palm oil, sesame oil), wheat protein, potato starch, salt), sesame, soymilk, soy sauce, vegetable oil, salt, yeast extract powder, chili oil, spices, cabbage extract.

Product contains wheat and soybeans.

Marked “vegan” in English on the package.

The package of the following product says RSPO certified sustainable palm oil is used.

• Sakurai Foods Vegetarian Miso Ramen/桜井食品　ベジタリアンのためのラーメン （みそ）. Ingredients: Fried noodle (wheat flour, wheat (domestically produced), palm oil, wheat protein, salt), powdered miso, salt, powdered soy sauce, maple sugar, yeast extract, spices, shiitake extract, fermented seasoning, vegetable extract, kelp powder, malt extract, sesame oil, menma powder.

Product includes wheat, sesame and soybeans.

Marked “vegan” in English on the package.

Photo from website.

The package of the following product says RSPO certified sustainable palm oil is used.

• Sakurai Foods Ramen Vegetarian Shoyu Ramen/桜井食品　ベジタリアンのためのラーメン （しょうゆ）. Ingredients: Fried noodle (wheat flour, (wheat (domestically produced)), palm oil, wheat protein, salt), salt, powdered soy sauce, maple sugar, yeast extract, spices, sesame, powdered miso, vegetable extract, fermented seasoning, kelp powder, peanut powder, almond powder, shiitake mushroom powder, Japanese bunching onion, shiitake mushroom extract, malt extract, sesame oil, menma powder.

Product includes wheat, peanuts, almonds, sesame, and soybeans.

Marked “vegan” in English on the package.

Photo from website.

YAKISOBA

The following product is yakisoba noodles in a sweet sauce. (Crosslisted to the cup noodles section.) It is certified vegan by VegeProject Japan. The photo was taken in a branch of Bio C’ Bon, a supermarket chain with branches in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture. It might be found at health food stores or natural marts. 

• Kaze to Hikari (Wind and Light) Organic Vegan Yakisoba/風と光　有機ヴィーガン焼きそば. Ingredients: Organic noodles (organic wheat flour (domestically produced), salt), attached organic seasoning (organic tomato, organic sugar, organic apple, organic soy sauce, organic brewed vinegar, salt, organic wheat starch, onion, kombu extract, yeast extract, shiitake mushroom extract powder, spices, carrot), toppings (dried cabbage)/lye water.

Product contains wheat, soybeans and apples. 

Products including soba are manufactured on the same production line. 

   

This version of the classic and usually non-vegan dish yakisoba is vegan/oriental vegetarian (does not use the five pungent roots) with no MSG.

• Sakurai Foods Vegetarian Stir-Fried Noodles, Worchestershire Sauce Flavor/桜井食品 ベジタリアンのソース焼きそば. Ingredients: Deep-fried noodles (flour (domestically produced), vegetable oil (palm oil and sesame oil), wheat protein, potato starch, salt), maltose, tomato puree, salt, rice vinegar, apple pulp, vegetable oil, yeast extract powder, cabbage extract, malt extract, spices, furikake seasoning (green laver seaweed, red pickled ginger).

Product includes wheat, apples and sesame seeds.

Marked vegan in English on the package.

Photo from website.

The photo below was taken in April 2021 in a branch of Natural Lawson (not regular Lawson) convenience store. It might also be found in health food stores. The product page claims it’s Japan’s first RSPO certified ramen (using certified sustainable palm oil).

• Sakurai Noodles Yakisoba/(RSPO)さくらいの焼そば. Ingredients: Fried noodles [wheat flour (wheat (domestic)), palm oil, wheat protein, salt], sauce [sugar, tomato puree, salt, brewed vinegar, apple pulp, sesame oil, yeast extract, spices, malt extract], toppings [sea lettuce, dried red ginger],

Product includes wheat, soybeans, apples and sesame seeds.

    

REIMEN (KOREAN COLD NOODLES)

The Shibuya-based Tsurushiko cold noodle shop has launched one vegan flavor in their online shop. Morioka-style reimen was created by a Korean-born resident of Morioka, Japan in the 1950s, who amalgamated the spicy flavors popular in his hometown with the Pyongyang-style dish. Read about Morioka reimen at Visit Iwate (English) (shows non-vegan items containing meat).

• Tsurushiko Vegan Morioka Cold Noodle Soup/ビーガン盛岡冷麵. 

Photos from website.

   

OTHER

These KOKA Signature Spicy Singapore Fried Noodles were found in a branch of Jupiter, an import store, in June 2020. The Koka website (English) lists them as vegan.

   

Due to local labeling laws, the Japanese ingredient list will often appear slightly different from the English one, and does in this case. However, it seems likely that this product is the same version as the one shown on the Koka website.

English ingredient list photo from website.