This channel seriously deserves more exposure. Nicholas’s presentation style and larger than life persona, along with the production values consistently make for videos that bring a smile to my face. Cheers!
One other piece of advice for vegetarians in Japan, on top of what Sharla said: the Japanese do not consider fish to be a meat. Like, "niku" does NOT include "sakana." So if you ever ask a waiter or waitress, "niku ga haitteimasu deshou ka?", they may tell you no, only for your food to arrive and have a big honkin' cut of fish in it. Always remember to ask about the fish, too! Unless you're a pescatarian, in which case, you're good.
More accurately, it isn't that the Japanese "do not consider fish to be a meat." It's that words in different languages often are not 100% interchangeable. "Niku" is the closest Japanese equivalent to the English word "meat," so that's how people translate it, but in reality, it's a more specific term, and there is no Japanese word that encompasses "any and all animal flesh used for food." You can be much more successful in avoiding confusion if you simply say you're a vegetarian, as opposed to asking if the dish contains "niku, " unless you really want to play it safe and say, "niku to buta to tori to sakana to..."
@@jc3drums916 Well, tori and buta ARE regarded as niku, or at least have been in my experience. And the problem I've run into in the past with asking if something is vegetarian is that a lot of Japanese people don't entirely understand what that means -- I've definitely asked that question before only to be met with a blank stare, or an uncertain and dismissive (and unconvincing) "ee," only to ask "niku ya sakana ga haitteimasu deshou ka?" and get a definitive answer. I'm sure that's changed a bit now, as I am talking years and years ago here, but the fact that the word "vegetarian" was barely understood by most restauranteurs in my experience definitely left a lasting impression on me.
@@jc3drums916 If you say you're vegetarian, you got the same problem like Sharla pointed out in the video. "Vegetarian meat made with beef", "vegan egg bun", "vegetarian bonito flake ramen". I think "no animal products (except for)" would be the safest way to go, no one can tell me they think fish is not an animal
@@LaNoir. They... kinda do. Like, if pressed, they'd admit fish is an animal, but if you just ask them, "chikusanbutsu ga haitteimasu deshou ka?"... yeah, you might still run into the same problem, as they may not immediately consider fish to be within that category. You really do need to SPECIFICALLY mention fish if you want to be sure no fish is included. That's the thing I'm trying to stress here. I'm not vegetarian myself, but I've dined out with vegetarian and even vegan friends in Japan dozens upon dozens of times, and fish broth was the bane of their existence. If they didn't very specifically mention fish when asking about dishes on the menu, almost every time, there'd be fish in there somewhere. It was practically an inevitability. ;)
Dude! I'm so glad I found this channel through Ryotaro and Chris, and now Sharla is added to the Junk Food Japan universe. Fantastic editing and production overall, keep up the great work.
It's amazing how these cooks spend time practicing and perfecting their skills to do those kind of dishes. Shows how much respect they have towards food and how creative they can be with it. I hope this series never end XD. Great host, great guests, great editing team and amazing restaurants owners. As always, I love it! Thank you :)
It's a real letdown that they would go as far as to replace whipped cream, mayonnaise and eggs in pancakes, but then use milk and eggs in the burger buns...vegan buns are the easiest thing to make, you find them everywhere. This makes it just harder to identify a legit shop, not just for vegans and vegetarians, but also for people with dietary restrictions and allergies. Glad you pointed it out tho, it's an important matter.
When I was living in Japan as a Vegetarian, at the beginning it seemed extremely difficult to find some options to eat because literally Japanese People put Fish or Meat in almost every product on the market... and I also wanted to enjoy some good food. So Happy Cow is quite useful and there are some restaurants in Tokyo Station which offer Vegeterian Ramen etc. and at the Airport is also a Vegan/Vegetarien Restaurant with a bunch of options like Gyoza. In Roppongi around my work place was also a really nice Falafel Kebab Store. Also there is a really nice Shabu Shabu Restaurant ON-YASAI where you can just order ALL YOU CAN EAT vegetarian friendly food (even its for meat) there are a bunch of meat free options. Or there are Skewer self made Restaurants, where you can enjoy all kind of vegetables (All you can eat) and fry them by yourself :)
@@imp187 yeah I also ate Indian food in Japan but I was mainly looking for japanese vegetarian options because its not easy to get authentic food outside of Japan.
Ahh, I truly love seeing more guests from the Chris Broad extended universe on here. And Sharla is one of the best, I'm a regular viewer of hers, another amazing vlogger with genuine vibes. Who will be the next guest, I wonder? Natsuki? Tokyo Lens? The Trash Taste boys? Regardless, I'll be back for more because the quality and editing are just chef's kiss 👌 UMAI!!!
I'm quite impressed with how far vegan food has come, although it is somewhat understandable for Japan to still have a general confusion. I personally still don't think it perfectly mimics meat, though it is getting incredibly close.
Yeah, I had some vegan burger and vegan karaage (tofu) at a vegan restaurant in Kyoto, and the vegan karaage was quite disgusting in my opinion. I wouldn't even let a dog eating it. XD lol I could tell the burger was vegan too. Pretty mushy, but decent as a last resort I guess.
@@JunkFoodJapan Nowadays people are looking towards plant-based alternatives not only for personal beliefs but also for the health benefits. When Japan reopens for independent travelers and when I’m in the area, I’ll be sure to give this place a look!
Your enthusiasm is contagious, the editing is great and I was genuinely bursting out laughing a various points. I'm glad Chris did the Spartan Challenge so I could find your channel!
Wow! Great episode! Totally Enjoyed every minute of it! Once again you're making me incredibly HUNGRY!! 🤤 Sharmander is a great foodie with good tastes! We actually have a ton of really great and special vegetarian restaurants in and around NYC that serve 'mock-meats'; and as a carnivore, I can tell you that they do not disappoint, since it's very difficult to tell that you are not eating real meat - the meals are that savory and scrumptious! 🤩👍 At some point in time you absolutely must visit New York and New Jersey to experience little slices of food heaven! 😁😇✌ Now GO hit the gym hard! 😉💪
I really appreciate the range of foods that you have tried, especially since I didn't know if vegan based foods were going to be featured. Love the variety and I'm excited for other surprising foods
The quality of the video and editing feels like a channel with way more subs. Awesome content and personality. Really cool to see collab with sharla too
Great segment! I've got to try that place. Another excellent Japanese vegan place, which is down in Tokyo, is Ain Soph Journey, which is right by the Shinjuku Sanchome 3 bus stop exit at the far east end of Shinjuku Station. They have some awesome pancakes, too. Ain Soph also used to have a burger stand ("Ripple" in Kabukicho), but alas, it's closed now. =(
Thank you for making a vegan fast food optioN! Some very nice options, especially those pancakes looked superb. Albeit I did have a facepalm moment at those buns, it looks like there's still quite a big misunderstanding on what vegetarian/vegan is. (for example all those so called vegan meals with bonito flakes)
Nic pointing out that it's a cultural thing they started back in 737 when already living mainly vegan does explain it a little (thanks a lot for the history lesson!), especially if you consider food wasn't as easily accessible as it is nowadays, and that they live in the middle of the ocean. In the end, veganism and vegetarism are philosophies created by humans so they don't follow natural rules, but ofc it's easier if the definition is the same everywhere. Maybe it would help Japan to join in on the food labels we use here in Europe, basically everything with a vegan stamp² on it got inspected beforehand and is safe to eat, tho a lot of companies still don't use it despite their food being safe to eat (e.g. Oreos) because they don't want to bother with those inspections, or are scared that they will sell less because people that like meat boycot them (sad times). ²only proofed labels are protected, some companies could invent their own ones without putting the exact definition out there and use those to deceive the customer. Safe labels are V-label (vegan/vegetarian, yellow background with green font), PeTA-approved Vegan, Vegan Society(green sunflower), EcoVeg, Fairtrade
This has quickly become one of my new favorite channels. Maybe it's because I'm also Italian with a similar sense of humor, or maybe it's because of the insane quality... or it's probably both lol
I've been eagerly awaiting this video since the teaser from the last episode, but mostly because I wanted to see what you were going to eat with Sharla. But this looked so good that I might have to try that next time I'm in Sendai (but who knows when that will be.) Should you go to the gym? Yes. But it's been over ten years since I was in my best Crossfit shape. Now I'm more of a blob shape, ideal for couches. On the plus side my uncle once told me you need a bit of a belly to look good in Japanese formalwear, but I don't have any Japanese formalwear. :)
Great video man, thanks for doing a plant based video, as a vegitarian, I've been really mmm not nervous but I guess excited to see the vegitarian options in Japan.
Just had a try of the Lemon Pepper Burger myself. Good recommendation. Not vegan or vegan myself, but always open to try good dishes like this (although the bun not being vegan is a minor letdown). Would've gone for the vegan pancakes too, but seasonal item was on the menu and wasn't going to pass that up :P Edit: Also had the girl in the interview at the register when I paid and asked (in simple English) whether they'd had many customers as a result of this video. Hopefully they continue to get more customers that are visiting Sendai :D
While vegetarian/vegan isn’t mainstream in Japan, Shojinryori is pretty well developed. The problem is mostly that it’s usually a religious thing and most don’t observe or practice it as a regular thing(naturally, if you visit monks/temples they’ll be well versed/devout, but outside of temple grounds, some of them will elect to not be so strict on their dietary guidelines).
@@JunkFoodJapan Good luck~ It's an interesting form of cuisine when combined with the foraging/seasonal aspects of Japanese cuisine, but the rules do create a bit of limitation to how some items can be used/leveraged(with Japanese cuisine using fish in dashi stocks, whereas shojin style limiting that to konbu and vegetables, that often means mushrooms and some more flavor dense vegetables/roots)
@@JunkFoodJapan Indeed. Even though I'm not a vegetarian.. many of friends are and the soy based derivatives are really tasty ( we call them chaap here).
Glad to see you still kickin it in media since samurai spirit. Perhaps one day you'll have a video of how you took the leap of faith from traditional media to youtube?
Yeah sure thing. I have plans of doing live streams and things like that once the channel is big enough. First Mike stone was 10,000 then it was 25,000 but now it’s 100,000 hang around for more and let’s see if we can grow it together. I prefer TH-cam over Japanese TV to be honest, mostly because I get a real chance at seeing comments like yours. It makes it so much more fun than just shooting and never knowing what people feel about it. The Samurai Spirit series are still great content to watch and probably my best TV work ever.
We have lots of these kind of vegetarian options in most parts of India afaik. I've always had these fried soy chunks for snacks in the evening, when I return home from school.
Randomly saw this video in my recommended and I decided to give it a watch because as a vegetarian living in Japan, shit's rough sometimes. See the intro, and realize this is the first time I've ever seen a TH-cam video of an exact place I've been before. I live in Sendai and that's right outside Sendai station. 🤯
That sucks for sure if you are a true fan. Trust me I get it. If someone ever tried to use my boxing gloves in the gym I would throw them out and buy new ones. My way is my way and my beliefs are my beliefs, trust your instincts and feelings when it comes to your life. Osu
I'm really, really, REALLY, really, REALLY beginning to enjoy this channel ... before I didn't ... jk jk ... I always did, but now I "get it". Fun to watch. Thanks for making these episodes man.
I have never been more tempted to try "vegan" food. But I will wait till the next time we go to Japan. As an aside about Japanese coffee shops, over the years we've been going to Japan the coffee has been getting better and better and more widespread. So much so that the last time we went to Japan we decided that the coffee we had in Japan (all over, from Tokyo down to Nagasaki) was better than any we can get in Melbourne now. Much of the it was inspired by Melbourne's coffee scene, but sorry Melbourne you've been dethroned. 😁
Vegetarians dont eat eggs though. I mean I am talking from the vegetarian capital of the world where the veg dishes are in delicious in a dimension that no other country's food can touch. 🇮🇳 Outside India there maybe more varieties of this word.
Hey Nick, I came up with an idea for you man. You gotta eat that Don Quixote pizza slice. You know - the one that's wrapped in plastic wrap, hanging on a hook. Haha, someone's gotta try it on TH-cam, and it's gotta be you!! 😆😉
0:54 not to nitpick here but as a vegetarian i can say that eating fish is not vegetarian. It's still an animal soooo Of course there are people that call themselves vegetarian and eat fish, but in the strictest definition they are not vegetarian. (I've even met a person that said she was vegetarian but did eat chicken, i guess it's still confusing to some people 😁)
great vlog guys! very infomative. I myself am not a vegan however Iam open to trying some of the stuff in this vlog. I have had veggie burgers in the past. Nobody needs to go to the gym.
The recent surge of plant-based burgers and hotdogs is linked to the huge carbon footprint associated with meat farming. Commercially available stuff like Impossible or Beyond use proteins from soy and peas and plant based oils like coconut for the fat. Some folks might object to the GMOs used in Impossible, that stuff "bleeds" because of the modified soy. Personally, I don't really mind these plant based substitutes, as they can taste pretty good as their own thing.
@@idraote That's why it's important to know about the ingredients, people can be allergic to wheat, soy or nuts, the last one being particularly dangerous.
@@JunkFoodJapan You should try plant based hotdogs too, you can tell those aren't exactly meat, but then real hotdogs aren't always exactly meat either. 🤣
I've tried many, many different vegan/vegetarian meat alternatives, but for some reason, all of them do a number on my stomach. I try to cut down on the actual amount of meat I eat, but I don't think there's a lot of hope of me adopting veggie/vegan burgers.
Warnings if you are visiting Japan. Japanese restaurants are using cheap rice and other crops from Fukushima radioactive area for foreigners because local Japanese don't eat them due to many cases with cancer.
My curiosity.. supposedly, Japan buys 90 percent of the Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (beans) crop. Have you seen a Coffee Shop that offers this coffee. If so, I think this would be an interesting part of one of your video episodes...
They sell these beans 🫘 the real deal ones in some select places and also offer it as coffee in some places. I used to buy 100gram for about ¥2500 and make my own coffee… it’s one of my favorite beans for sure.
The burger king plant based whopper isn't vegan in Japan. The buns contain eggs and dairy, and the mayo is egg mayo. So it's vegetarian, but not vegan like Sharla said.
Sugar is plant-based, so plenty of junk food options, along with deep-fried stuff and starchy carbs....Tartar sauce is mayo with pickled relish mixed in. If their sauce is mayo with onions, then it’s an onion sauce, not tartar sauce....You can gain as much weight eating vegan or vegetarian as you can eating a diet that includes animal products. The “clean diet” is a myth that sells a lot of products. Also, too much soy is harmful in its own way, and soybeans are often grown with a lot of pesticides, so it’s important to know the source. Soy is also an allergen for many people, and is not well-tolerated by the digestive tracts of many others (soy and other beans contain short-chain carbohydrates that cause significant gut distress, not just gas).
It all looked yummy but let's admit it... It was only borderline junk... The healthy food vibe was definitely there. That's all Sharla's fault 😁 By the way, the junkiest food of them all is vegan anyway: fries! I could eat tons of them, no sauce, just salt. Now, off to the gym with you, Sir 😃
It kinda forces a tiny smile on me; it makes me just a smidge happy inside that there are still modern countries that are like “ummm, No thx lmao” to vegan and vegetarian lifestyles & that guilt and crap.. ha-ha!
The funniest thing about vegetarian/vegan burgers I’ve seen multiple times is someone ordering one and then asking for bacon & cheese added. Maybe they were just anti-beef?
One thing I know, vegans may be in for a surprise or insane prices. They do not have the land to cultivate for the population, so chemicals would become super common more than now I reckon. Also wonder if they are strict with not mixing the same cookware as should be done for strict vegan. Seen few places locally doing yeah we vegan and then go slap a nice big steak in a pan just after cooking a soy alternative in the same oils. So be aware it may not be as vegan as people hope it should be. Not vegan myself but can say it is a pain in ass and interesting at same time when friends come over as some are vegan, some can only eat halal… so yeah it gets super interesting preparing food and a long time in kitchen affair. Buggers are lucky I like cooking. Friend of mine had a vegan restaurant which was really super strict only vegan, it was good. But the customer base was not quite there. Maybe in bigger cities they could have done much better. Both of them are vegan. That Italian restaurant in one of other videos, should tell that dude to make spaghetti so pomodoretti. Super simple takes 10 minutes super amazing and he can do vegan approved food too then. That would be lovely to see if that dude can get that going. For conbini thing at end. I think conbini jumped on it just because yeah chemicals cheaper than actual product! Look at what they doing with egg sandwiches now…. Best veg, get your Gobo! Lol but seriously gobo is the best freaking thing ever. Love that stuff but I’m not vegan or vegetarian.
Mosburger does offer a Vegan portion. But I asked them as out the grill and deep fried oil they use and they told me it’s mixed so not that friendly for real Vegan. It’s not really truly caught on in Japan at this time and I think if you are a true vegan and want to stay true while traveling here, better to prepare most of your food yourself.
great quality content... but you need to improve how you describe the food.. that "marinated tomato" was a salad. kinda put me on the fence if this guy cooks or not. much like chris broad trying to sound all sophisticated about the food he eats... but at the end of the day its just fried chicken
Aw man it’s rough watching back this video while I’m on a diet😂🥲
Hey! Thanks for coming on the show and educating us on plant based food in Japan. It was so much fun to grab a burger! Let’s do it again
I can imagine, especially whilst rewatching yourself eating those pancakes.
We might both be vegans but that beefcake is tempting 😂
Just think back to this food, when eating your current food ;)
You can remember this for one of your 'cheat days' :p
This channel seriously deserves more exposure. Nicholas’s presentation style and larger than life persona, along with the production values consistently make for videos that bring a smile to my face. Cheers!
Completely agree with all points!
Thank you so much for sharing your amazing comment. Hang around for more food stories to come. We have some good ones coming for sure
Junk Food Japan and Abroad in Japan are my go to channels !
One other piece of advice for vegetarians in Japan, on top of what Sharla said: the Japanese do not consider fish to be a meat. Like, "niku" does NOT include "sakana." So if you ever ask a waiter or waitress, "niku ga haitteimasu deshou ka?", they may tell you no, only for your food to arrive and have a big honkin' cut of fish in it.
Always remember to ask about the fish, too! Unless you're a pescatarian, in which case, you're good.
Valid point !
More accurately, it isn't that the Japanese "do not consider fish to be a meat." It's that words in different languages often are not 100% interchangeable. "Niku" is the closest Japanese equivalent to the English word "meat," so that's how people translate it, but in reality, it's a more specific term, and there is no Japanese word that encompasses "any and all animal flesh used for food." You can be much more successful in avoiding confusion if you simply say you're a vegetarian, as opposed to asking if the dish contains "niku, " unless you really want to play it safe and say, "niku to buta to tori to sakana to..."
@@jc3drums916 Well, tori and buta ARE regarded as niku, or at least have been in my experience. And the problem I've run into in the past with asking if something is vegetarian is that a lot of Japanese people don't entirely understand what that means -- I've definitely asked that question before only to be met with a blank stare, or an uncertain and dismissive (and unconvincing) "ee," only to ask "niku ya sakana ga haitteimasu deshou ka?" and get a definitive answer.
I'm sure that's changed a bit now, as I am talking years and years ago here, but the fact that the word "vegetarian" was barely understood by most restauranteurs in my experience definitely left a lasting impression on me.
@@jc3drums916 If you say you're vegetarian, you got the same problem like Sharla pointed out in the video. "Vegetarian meat made with beef", "vegan egg bun", "vegetarian bonito flake ramen". I think "no animal products (except for)" would be the safest way to go, no one can tell me they think fish is not an animal
@@LaNoir. They... kinda do. Like, if pressed, they'd admit fish is an animal, but if you just ask them, "chikusanbutsu ga haitteimasu deshou ka?"... yeah, you might still run into the same problem, as they may not immediately consider fish to be within that category.
You really do need to SPECIFICALLY mention fish if you want to be sure no fish is included. That's the thing I'm trying to stress here.
I'm not vegetarian myself, but I've dined out with vegetarian and even vegan friends in Japan dozens upon dozens of times, and fish broth was the bane of their existence. If they didn't very specifically mention fish when asking about dishes on the menu, almost every time, there'd be fish in there somewhere. It was practically an inevitability. ;)
Dude! I'm so glad I found this channel through Ryotaro and Chris, and now Sharla is added to the Junk Food Japan universe. Fantastic editing and production overall, keep up the great work.
You had me at Junk Food Japan universe…
The opening monologue and editing was really well done. Properly got me hyped for the rest of the video.
Yeah, I liked the quick montage of cuts from the food prep.
It's amazing how these cooks spend time practicing and perfecting their skills to do those kind of dishes. Shows how much respect they have towards food and how creative they can be with it.
I hope this series never end XD. Great host, great guests, great editing team and amazing restaurants owners. As always, I love it! Thank you :)
Junk Food Japan is here to stay! ITADAKIMASU
It’s lunchtime here, and those sandwiches made my mouth water! They looked amazing.
It's a real letdown that they would go as far as to replace whipped cream, mayonnaise and eggs in pancakes, but then use milk and eggs in the burger buns...vegan buns are the easiest thing to make, you find them everywhere.
This makes it just harder to identify a legit shop, not just for vegans and vegetarians, but also for people with dietary restrictions and allergies. Glad you pointed it out tho, it's an important matter.
I am sure Junk Food Japan team will investigate more options out there
@@JunkFoodJapan I would love that! 🤗
When I was living in Japan as a Vegetarian, at the beginning it seemed extremely difficult to find some options to eat because literally Japanese People put Fish or Meat in almost every product on the market... and I also wanted to enjoy some good food. So Happy Cow is quite useful and there are some restaurants in Tokyo Station which offer Vegeterian Ramen etc. and at the Airport is also a Vegan/Vegetarien Restaurant with a bunch of options like Gyoza. In Roppongi around my work place was also a really nice Falafel Kebab Store. Also there is a really nice Shabu Shabu Restaurant ON-YASAI where you can just order ALL YOU CAN EAT vegetarian friendly food (even its for meat) there are a bunch of meat free options. Or there are Skewer self made Restaurants, where you can enjoy all kind of vegetables (All you can eat) and fry them by yourself :)
Hey I some times go to the Falafel brothers in Roppongi. Was actually thinking of doing a show there… I’ll talk to the team about it
@@JunkFoodJapan oh, yeah i think it was that place :)
Indian cuisine should have vegetarian options, no? Think I saw some indian curry placesa around.
@@imp187 yeah I also ate Indian food in Japan but I was mainly looking for japanese vegetarian options because its not easy to get authentic food outside of Japan.
This is a super fun video! I love when people genuinely enjoy their food, and this menu looks UMAI!!
It was so much fun!
Ahh, I truly love seeing more guests from the Chris Broad extended universe on here. And Sharla is one of the best, I'm a regular viewer of hers, another amazing vlogger with genuine vibes.
Who will be the next guest, I wonder? Natsuki? Tokyo Lens? The Trash Taste boys? Regardless, I'll be back for more because the quality and editing are just chef's kiss 👌 UMAI!!!
BoooM and thank you for hanging around. Your name stands out for sure so I know you have been here a while.
The coconut cream is an amazing idea. Thanks Sharla for the idea!!!
Spot on !
This has just reminded me to subscribe to Sharla ! Great video guys 👍😊
LoL 😂 that way ? That’s humbling
Notifaction gang
Rise
This channel is underrated, honestly. Just good vibes
Thank you 🙏 let’s share and grow together
Whenever I feel a little down this channel comforts me. Sounds a little gloomy? It's not, I'm thankful for content like this.
You had me at gloomy TOMODACHI
Everything looked so delicious! Those burgers in the beginning... *drool*
So delicious for sure
I'm quite impressed with how far vegan food has come, although it is somewhat understandable for Japan to still have a general confusion. I personally still don't think it perfectly mimics meat, though it is getting incredibly close.
It’s pretty darn good I’ll tell you that
Yeah, I had some vegan burger and vegan karaage (tofu) at a vegan restaurant in Kyoto, and the vegan karaage was quite disgusting in my opinion. I wouldn't even let a dog eating it. XD lol I could tell the burger was vegan too. Pretty mushy, but decent as a last resort I guess.
I love the chemistry of you two together! Such a great dynamic! And the food looks fantastic as well!
The burgers were actually as good as I say they are
@@JunkFoodJapan Nowadays people are looking towards plant-based alternatives not only for personal beliefs but also for the health benefits. When Japan reopens for independent travelers and when I’m in the area, I’ll be sure to give this place a look!
what a delightfulman. good energy here! would love more vegetarian/vegan content!
We are on it for sure more to come
Your enthusiasm is contagious, the editing is great and I was genuinely bursting out laughing a various points. I'm glad Chris did the Spartan Challenge so I could find your channel!
BoooM me too and you are welcome to the channel TOMODACHI
Wow! Great episode! Totally Enjoyed every minute of it! Once again you're making me incredibly HUNGRY!! 🤤 Sharmander is a great foodie with good tastes! We actually have a ton of really great and special vegetarian restaurants in and around NYC that serve 'mock-meats'; and as a carnivore, I can tell you that they do not disappoint, since it's very difficult to tell that you are not eating real meat - the meals are that savory and scrumptious! 🤩👍 At some point in time you absolutely must visit New York and New Jersey to experience little slices of food heaven! 😁😇✌
Now GO hit the gym hard! 😉💪
Yeah right! Junk Food Japan hits the east coast! Can’t wait to do that series
I really appreciate the range of foods that you have tried, especially since I didn't know if vegan based foods were going to be featured. Love the variety and I'm excited for other surprising foods
Yeah just wait for some crazy things coming up
Awesome as usual with the perfect host for this kinda stuff!
good to hear! the next one is crazy inspired bread and...
Great video! The historical part was really cool.
Yeah I feel like I learned something new too
The editing is amazing and the food looks delicious!!
BoooM
The quality of the video and editing feels like a channel with way more subs. Awesome content and personality. Really cool to see collab with sharla too
Yeah it’s really cool to do food stories with like minded awesome friends
I really appreciate the way the vlogger community supports one another. It's nice to see!
Everyone is really nice 👍
The editor is killing it, had me rolling at 8:30
LOL 😂
Great segment! I've got to try that place. Another excellent Japanese vegan place, which is down in Tokyo, is Ain Soph Journey, which is right by the Shinjuku Sanchome 3 bus stop exit at the far east end of Shinjuku Station. They have some awesome pancakes, too. Ain Soph also used to have a burger stand ("Ripple" in Kabukicho), but alas, it's closed now. =(
CoooL info JFJ might have to investigate that place
YES! Two of my favorite "JVloggers" combined. Great stuff!
BoooM right here on Junk Food Japan
I absolutely love this channel! Yet another amazing video.
BooooooM
Thank you for making a vegan fast food optioN! Some very nice options, especially those pancakes looked superb. Albeit I did have a facepalm moment at those buns, it looks like there's still quite a big misunderstanding on what vegetarian/vegan is. (for example all those so called vegan meals with bonito flakes)
Junk Food Japan is happy to investigate more…
Nic pointing out that it's a cultural thing they started back in 737 when already living mainly vegan does explain it a little (thanks a lot for the history lesson!), especially if you consider food wasn't as easily accessible as it is nowadays, and that they live in the middle of the ocean. In the end, veganism and vegetarism are philosophies created by humans so they don't follow natural rules, but ofc it's easier if the definition is the same everywhere. Maybe it would help Japan to join in on the food labels we use here in Europe, basically everything with a vegan stamp² on it got inspected beforehand and is safe to eat, tho a lot of companies still don't use it despite their food being safe to eat (e.g. Oreos) because they don't want to bother with those inspections, or are scared that they will sell less because people that like meat boycot them (sad times).
²only proofed labels are protected, some companies could invent their own ones without putting the exact definition out there and use those to deceive the customer. Safe labels are V-label (vegan/vegetarian, yellow background with green font), PeTA-approved Vegan, Vegan Society(green sunflower), EcoVeg, Fairtrade
This has quickly become one of my new favorite channels. Maybe it's because I'm also Italian with a similar sense of humor, or maybe it's because of the insane quality... or it's probably both lol
OK you had me at favorite channel… welcome and hang around for more food stories for sure
Once again Nick knocks it out of the ball park. Can't wait for the crazy stuff in the next one
It’s gonna be good!
I've been eagerly awaiting this video since the teaser from the last episode, but mostly because I wanted to see what you were going to eat with Sharla. But this looked so good that I might have to try that next time I'm in Sendai (but who knows when that will be.)
Should you go to the gym? Yes. But it's been over ten years since I was in my best Crossfit shape. Now I'm more of a blob shape, ideal for couches. On the plus side my uncle once told me you need a bit of a belly to look good in Japanese formalwear, but I don't have any Japanese formalwear. :)
LoL 😂 funny comment. You round is a shape too… I am still looking for my abs
The burger is absolute ready for a commercial shooting. Gosh I'm drooling.
I thought we were the commercial ?
@@JunkFoodJapan good one 🤣
haha I love the enthusiastic dad taking the kids to his favorite food stall vibe
LMFAO 🤣
Great job Nick and crew! Don't worry Nick, I agree, no need to work out after this one! 😂
Oh I just spent a whole week working out…
Holy crap, I can barely watch this channel as it makes me wanna try and eat my tv!
Fun, amazing video and omg that food looked amazing!
BoooM your comment is so cool 😎
11:57 subtle, I love it
Nice one right? That team is good
Great video man, thanks for doing a plant based video, as a vegitarian, I've been really mmm not nervous but I guess excited to see the vegitarian options in Japan.
We are still far from general awareness around it all in Japan. But at least our channel is off to a good start
You'd be surprise how many top athletes are vegetarians. Swarzenegger is a big veggie head but he does love his meats too.
I do like my animal protein sources but this was really cool
Just had a try of the Lemon Pepper Burger myself. Good recommendation. Not vegan or vegan myself, but always open to try good dishes like this (although the bun not being vegan is a minor letdown).
Would've gone for the vegan pancakes too, but seasonal item was on the menu and wasn't going to pass that up :P
Edit: Also had the girl in the interview at the register when I paid and asked (in simple English) whether they'd had many customers as a result of this video. Hopefully they continue to get more customers that are visiting Sendai :D
Dude! Priceless. Thank you for sharing TOMODACHI
While vegetarian/vegan isn’t mainstream in Japan, Shojinryori is pretty well developed. The problem is mostly that it’s usually a religious thing and most don’t observe or practice it as a regular thing(naturally, if you visit monks/temples they’ll be well versed/devout, but outside of temple grounds, some of them will elect to not be so strict on their dietary guidelines).
I see… Junk Food Japan needs to learn more about this
@@JunkFoodJapan Good luck~ It's an interesting form of cuisine when combined with the foraging/seasonal aspects of Japanese cuisine, but the rules do create a bit of limitation to how some items can be used/leveraged(with Japanese cuisine using fish in dashi stocks, whereas shojin style limiting that to konbu and vegetables, that often means mushrooms and some more flavor dense vegetables/roots)
Awesome presentation as always!
Imma have to say "go to the gym" because well...going to the gym helps make room for more (junk) food! :D
I know right!
He seems particularly hyped for the vegan food, considering his very strong intro
I was pumped!
*pumpkin'd (srsly, vegan autumn food is the best, you have to try it)
Damn! I can feel the awesomeness of those burgers through the screen!!!
BooooM you said it
Yeah another great video man. Those burgers look so good I need to get some myself right now..
Hit it Rizal and then hit the gym too
You had me at pancakes…. Bring it on!!!!! Another great video!
Right? And I don’t eat sweets normally
Aye.. Good I'm early (RIP YT notifications though lol)
Been a while since last video. I'll enjoy this video along with my delicious dinner 😋😋
It was really good actually! And Sharla is such a nice person and knowledgeable about the plant based food struggles in Japan
@@JunkFoodJapan Indeed. Even though I'm not a vegetarian.. many of friends are and the soy based derivatives are really tasty ( we call them chaap here).
Glad to see you still kickin it in media since samurai spirit. Perhaps one day you'll have a video of how you took the leap of faith from traditional media to youtube?
Yeah sure thing. I have plans of doing live streams and things like that once the channel is big enough. First Mike stone was 10,000 then it was 25,000 but now it’s 100,000 hang around for more and let’s see if we can grow it together. I prefer TH-cam over Japanese TV to be honest, mostly because I get a real chance at seeing comments like yours. It makes it so much more fun than just shooting and never knowing what people feel about it. The Samurai Spirit series are still great content to watch and probably my best TV work ever.
We have lots of these kind of vegetarian options in most parts of India afaik. I've always had these fried soy chunks for snacks in the evening, when I return home from school.
Interesting, I have seen amazing Indian food on TH-cam but not from Japan, so I feel like the show needs investigate...
Randomly saw this video in my recommended and I decided to give it a watch because as a vegetarian living in Japan, shit's rough sometimes. See the intro, and realize this is the first time I've ever seen a TH-cam video of an exact place I've been before. I live in Sendai and that's right outside Sendai station. 🤯
You got that right! Place is really nice and so easy access too. Happy to hear you found the channel and hope you hang around for more food stories
Even in California fast food chains grill plant based burgers on the same grill as the beef.
That sucks for sure if you are a true fan. Trust me I get it. If someone ever tried to use my boxing gloves in the gym I would throw them out and buy new ones. My way is my way and my beliefs are my beliefs, trust your instincts and feelings when it comes to your life. Osu
I'm really, really, REALLY, really, REALLY beginning to enjoy this channel ... before I didn't ... jk jk ... I always did, but now I "get it". Fun to watch. Thanks for making these episodes man.
and yes, you have to go to the gym haha
LoL 😂 thank you for hanging around for our food stories
I have never been more tempted to try "vegan" food. But I will wait till the next time we go to Japan. As an aside about Japanese coffee shops, over the years we've been going to Japan the coffee has been getting better and better and more widespread. So much so that the last time we went to Japan we decided that the coffee we had in Japan (all over, from Tokyo down to Nagasaki) was better than any we can get in Melbourne now. Much of the it was inspired by Melbourne's coffee scene, but sorry Melbourne you've been dethroned. 😁
Wow that’s some serious dethroning
Vegetarians dont eat eggs though. I mean I am talking from the vegetarian capital of the world where the veg dishes are in delicious in a dimension that no other country's food can touch. 🇮🇳
Outside India there maybe more varieties of this word.
Hey Nick, I came up with an idea for you man. You gotta eat that Don Quixote pizza slice. You know - the one that's wrapped in plastic wrap, hanging on a hook. Haha, someone's gotta try it on TH-cam, and it's gotta be you!! 😆😉
Whaaat that hasn’t been done yet? Junk Food Japan Team assemble !
@@JunkFoodJapan Finally!! Haha, hope you survive man!
0:54 not to nitpick here but as a vegetarian i can say that eating fish is not vegetarian. It's still an animal soooo
Of course there are people that call themselves vegetarian and eat fish, but in the strictest definition they are not vegetarian.
(I've even met a person that said she was vegetarian but did eat chicken, i guess it's still confusing to some people 😁)
It’s all good. Appreciate the feedback. And the pit falls of plant based, vegan, vegetarian food is quite something
Awesome video as always!!
Thanks KillerTacos I can’t wait to show some killer tacos from Tokyo
great vlog guys! very infomative. I myself am not a vegan however Iam open to trying some of the stuff in this vlog. I have had veggie burgers in the past. Nobody needs to go to the gym.
Oooh I need the gym for sure
@@JunkFoodJapan you shouldn't doubt yourself 😊👍
I don’t, but I know I need that gym time for sure lol 😂
Love your energy dude
Cool and welcome here to Junk Food Japan!
damn, i already ate but this is making me hungry for junkfood
BoooM mission accomplished
Very entertaining 😃👍 Chris send me here 😁👍
Say Hi to Dr. Broad from us! We love him
Love this channel
The recent surge of plant-based burgers and hotdogs is linked to the huge carbon footprint associated with meat farming. Commercially available stuff like Impossible or Beyond use proteins from soy and peas and plant based oils like coconut for the fat. Some folks might object to the GMOs used in Impossible, that stuff "bleeds" because of the modified soy. Personally, I don't really mind these plant based substitutes, as they can taste pretty good as their own thing.
Soy is an allergenic food as is.
OGM soy has been associated with an increased risk
I just really loved the burgers 🍔
@@idraote That's why it's important to know about the ingredients, people can be allergic to wheat, soy or nuts, the last one being particularly dangerous.
@@JunkFoodJapan You should try plant based hotdogs too, you can tell those aren't exactly meat, but then real hotdogs aren't always exactly meat either. 🤣
Never skip the gym!
You got that right!
Good video!
Thank you 🙏 please hang around for more food stories and help share it so we can grow together!
I've tried many, many different vegan/vegetarian meat alternatives, but for some reason, all of them do a number on my stomach. I try to cut down on the actual amount of meat I eat, but I don't think there's a lot of hope of me adopting veggie/vegan burgers.
You never know? Every burger’s got it’s day
I think everything deep fried is pretty much delicious. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
This is kinda true
time to jump into the fryer I guess, if that finally makes me a snacc
😂
You got that very right
Warnings if you are visiting Japan. Japanese restaurants are using cheap rice and other crops from Fukushima radioactive area for foreigners because local Japanese don't eat them due to many cases with cancer.
OMG? what ? seriously? I hope you are having a great day
My curiosity.. supposedly, Japan buys 90 percent of the Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (beans) crop. Have you seen a Coffee Shop that offers this coffee. If so, I think this would be an interesting part of one of your video episodes...
They sell these beans 🫘 the real deal ones in some select places and also offer it as coffee in some places. I used to buy 100gram for about ¥2500 and make my own coffee… it’s one of my favorite beans for sure.
Dude!! I busted out laughing at 08:31 :D
They are good them boys
The burger king plant based whopper isn't vegan in Japan. The buns contain eggs and dairy, and the mayo is egg mayo. So it's vegetarian, but not vegan like Sharla said.
Yeah and use the same grill as the regular meats… so I am guessing it is pretty far off topic all considered
Notification gang +1
Yumm
You got that right!
My imagination is too good! I can f-n taste those pancakes!
Now I need to find coconut cream D:
I love coconut’s
Great and fun video with Sharla! I wonder who'll be featuring in your upcoming/future video, Nic... Natsuki? Joey? 𓁹‿𓁹
I wonder too ?
That Editing and song were really good, does anyone knows the name of the song?
Team? Can you please share?
Sugar is plant-based, so plenty of junk food options, along with deep-fried stuff and starchy carbs....Tartar sauce is mayo with pickled relish mixed in. If their sauce is mayo with onions, then it’s an onion sauce, not tartar sauce....You can gain as much weight eating vegan or vegetarian as you can eating a diet that includes animal products. The “clean diet” is a myth that sells a lot of products. Also, too much soy is harmful in its own way, and soybeans are often grown with a lot of pesticides, so it’s important to know the source. Soy is also an allergen for many people, and is not well-tolerated by the digestive tracts of many others (soy and other beans contain short-chain carbohydrates that cause significant gut distress, not just gas).
Great feed back. Thank you for sharing
I sometimes come back and watch the beginning montage it is really good, what is the name of the song?
@paul ? What’s the song ?
It all looked yummy but let's admit it... It was only borderline junk... The healthy food vibe was definitely there. That's all Sharla's fault 😁
By the way, the junkiest food of them all is vegan anyway: fries!
I could eat tons of them, no sauce, just salt.
Now, off to the gym with you, Sir 😃
Hai!
You will work of that food in no time during the karate camp in Bulgaria 💪🏻
As we speak!! OSU! 👊🏻
Osu!
That looks so good! That tofu looks like chicken!
If you deep fry it almost anything looks like chicken 🐓
It kinda forces a tiny smile on me; it makes me just a smidge happy inside that there are still modern countries that are like “ummm, No thx lmao” to vegan and vegetarian lifestyles & that guilt and crap.. ha-ha!
Japan can sometimes get really confusing
Nick pulled out his senpai card when she said 17 years.
😂 yeah 31 years is kinda loooong time
I'm so hungry now
Yeah every time I rewatch I want to go back too
I like to eat while watching the videos, and so... ITADAKIMASU!!!
Enjoy!
So the vegan joint isn't a vegan spot... LMAO! damn it.. XD
Yeah when you go full vegan it’s really hard, I actually find it really interesting to understand the dilemmas of eating proper vegan.
Hope Sharla's eardrums are okay after that itadakimasu.
LoL she did look really confused…
as Eastern we dont eat separately, lettirraly !
Sorry? What is it you don’t eat separately?
The funniest thing about vegetarian/vegan burgers I’ve seen multiple times is someone ordering one and then asking for bacon & cheese added. Maybe they were just anti-beef?
LMFAO 🤣 that’s a real thing?
Of course Vegan is Junkfood, french fries and chips for the win!
You got that right!
One thing I know, vegans may be in for a surprise or insane prices. They do not have the land to cultivate for the population, so chemicals would become super common more than now I reckon. Also wonder if they are strict with not mixing the same cookware as should be done for strict vegan. Seen few places locally doing yeah we vegan and then go slap a nice big steak in a pan just after cooking a soy alternative in the same oils. So be aware it may not be as vegan as people hope it should be. Not vegan myself but can say it is a pain in ass and interesting at same time when friends come over as some are vegan, some can only eat halal… so yeah it gets super interesting preparing food and a long time in kitchen affair. Buggers are lucky I like cooking. Friend of mine had a vegan restaurant which was really super strict only vegan, it was good. But the customer base was not quite there. Maybe in bigger cities they could have done much better. Both of them are vegan.
That Italian restaurant in one of other videos, should tell that dude to make spaghetti so pomodoretti. Super simple takes 10 minutes super amazing and he can do vegan approved food too then. That would be lovely to see if that dude can get that going.
For conbini thing at end. I think conbini jumped on it just because yeah chemicals cheaper than actual product! Look at what they doing with egg sandwiches now…. Best veg, get your Gobo! Lol but seriously gobo is the best freaking thing ever. Love that stuff but I’m not vegan or vegetarian.
Mosburger does offer a Vegan portion. But I asked them as out the grill and deep fried oil they use and they told me it’s mixed so not that friendly for real Vegan. It’s not really truly caught on in Japan at this time and I think if you are a true vegan and want to stay true while traveling here, better to prepare most of your food yourself.
Certified banger
BoooM
Just because it doesn't have animal products doesn't mean it can't taste good. It just means they have to work 5 times as hard.
This was real delicious!
great quality content... but you need to improve how you describe the food.. that "marinated tomato" was a salad. kinda put me on the fence if this guy cooks or not.
much like chris broad trying to sound all sophisticated about the food he eats... but at the end of the day its just fried chicken
Roger that
Nick, now you have to take Sharla to the gym then do some workout. 😜😂😂😂 Just to make it fair to Chris… 😂😂😂
LoL we could all do a workout! My wife would enjoy that!
Vegan junk food, about time!
I seriously have never tried anything like it before
@@JunkFoodJapan subscribed, hoping for content like this in the future. Well done!
ITADAKIMASU!!!!
ITADAKIMASU!