Getting truly vegan Japanese food can be tricky outside of certain very accomodating restaurants or Buddhist establishments. Some things that might look vegan but *generally* aren't are: Miso soup, udon noodle soup, soba noodle soup, and other sauces. The culprit is almost invariably "bonito" fish broth/flakes ("katsuo-dashi" in Japanese). You may try requesting a dish made with "kombu-dashi," or seaweed broth instead. Many people are surprised to learn that there are many vegan sushi options, since sushi doesn't mean "raw fish," but roughly "vinegared-rice finger food," of which the seafood varieties are best-known in the US.
Alice and Friends (Chicago) Himalayan Spirit...root vegetables with mock beef on skewers, bento-style. The presentation is more Japanese than the food.
Matsuya (Chicago) Interesting variant of "Tofu Steak." This one had a nice broth and lots of extras. Served cold and not like a beef steak at all, but still great.
Matsuya (Chicago) This shows inari-zushi (sushi rice in a sweet tofu-skin wrapper), mushroom rolls, and a spinach salad with miso-ginger dressing. All yummy.
Takai home, Kyoto, Japan Beautiful spread featuring vegetable tempura, fresh tofu, korokke, and more.
Fancy sobaya, Nara, Japan Wonderful plate of "zaru soba," cold buckwheat noodles with dipping sauce. *
Tachi-gui soba, Kyoto, Japan "Tachi-gui" means "standing-eating." This is traditional fast food, and cheap. *
Ishii home (Ebina, Japan) Tofu stew with potatoes, onions, carrots, etc. Served w/ miso soup, rice, tsukemono.
Takai home, Kyoto, Japan A real summer dish—"soumen" noodles. Served cold with cut veggies/condiments. Great.
Alice and Friends (Chicago) Fried dumplings. These are like Japanese Gyoza, and are stuffed with lots of goodness.
Alice and Friends Veggie Donburi. Fake meat in kind of a stew with shrooms, broccoli and more. Oishii!
Alice and Friends (Chicago) Donkatsu breaded cutlet. This dish is totally, totally amazing. You must try to believe.
Buddhist Temple of Chicago Sekihan, a favorite summer dish of sticky rice, red beans, sesame seeds and ginger.
* sauce/broth was probably not vegan. Damn fish broth in everything!
