Shane’s Japan Trip Report Day 13

Day 13: Vegetarian Dining in Tokyo

Today I don’t have much planned. My wife is going to meet a childhoood friend, who now is married with two kids. I might tag along for a couple hours, and then probably go off and wander around Tokyo by myself for a few hours. This evening, I’ll meet the friend I met a couple nights ago, who wants to introduce me to her yoga instructor. Might be interesting, so cool.

The day ended up being pretty uneventful. We spent the bulk of it at my wife’s childhood friend’s apartment in Fuchu, a suburb of Tokyo. I had some work to do, so I borrowed the computer and took care of some business.

Banda Cafe

In the early evening, I met my friend as planned and we had dinner at a unique, off-the-beaten-track restaurant in Shibuya called Banda Cafe, a mostly organic, vegan restaurant with a unique atmosphere. The restaurant was located in a repurposed single-family home, painted bright orange. The entrance was extremely narrow. The restaurant itself was tiny, with old lounge chairs and just a few wooden tables. A strange, avant garde video was projected on one wall, and some colorful paintings covering the other walls. Lighting was dim so my pics didn’t turn out great.

Cool lounge music played in the background. The menu featured mostly vegan, organic dishes. We ordered a salad and a brown rice, tempeh dish and a kind of bean dip appetizer. All were quite good and the portions, by Japan standards, were generous. The main dishes were 1,000 yen each and the appetizer 650 yen. The restaurant also had a large selection of coffee, tea, alcohol and cocktails, most of which, in my opinion, were overpriced, so we avoided those and just sipped water.

I recommend this restaurant if you are looking for healthy, vegan/veggie cuisine in a unique atmosphere off the beaten track in Tokyo. The main challenge is finding the restaurant in the first place. In fact, I don’t remember exactly how we got there, but it is within easy walking distance of Shibuya Station. Click on the Google Map below, which shows the way to Banda Cafe from Shibuya Station.
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