Japanese
Non-veg
Serves meat, vegan options available. Japanese restaurant specializing in tofu and yamaimo dishes. The one vegan set is okabe-zen. The staff speak Japanese only. Open Mon-Tue 11:00am-3:00pm, 4:30pm-7:30pm, Fri-Sun 11:00am-3:00pm, 4:30pm-7:30pm. Closed Thu.
17 Reviews
First Review by VickyMan
champoun
Points +1567
Fantastic tofu place - Edit
This place is located less than 10 min away from the Hakone Yumoto station.
Read moreThey specialise in tofu dishes and the okabe zen set menu is also vegan.
Delicious real food without anything fried in the typical Japanese way. I wish they had more vegan options.
Staff is friendly and speaks a little English.
Definitely recommend trying this place out.
Updated from previous review on 2024-09-28
Pros: Good delicious food, Friendly and fast service, Location
Cons: A bit pricey maybe but worth it, More vegan options needed
Guest
LewisEatsPlants
Points +1430
Traditional and beautiful - Edit
I had an absolutely wonderful time at Shika-Jaya. The staff were wonderful, and did a good job with their English. They have recently made English menus that make it a lot easier for tourists.
Read moreThe Okabe Zen meal was very delicious (and the staff will remind you it’s vegan/vegetarian when you order it)
The decor is exactly the kind of traditional house that you’d want for a restaurant in Hakkone.
Guest
Ani_vegetarian
Points +69
Menü - Edit
Ich habe ein Menüerhalten mit unterschiedlich zubereiteten Tofugerichten.
Read morePros: Es gab mehrere Gänge., Der Preis war sehr günstig
Cons: Es hätte etwas Abwechslungsreicher sein können., Gemüse als Beilage, Dessert
Guest
Tsukimi
Points +5333
Awsome traditional japanese food - Edit
If you like light and healthy meals you will like it here. The food is served by friendly elder ladies in kimono. The old building is very charming.
Read moreThe okabe zen vegan menu includes 3 little dishes. Cold tofu, yamaimo, and yubatofu. The set comes with rice and tsukemono (pickles)
Updated from previous review on 2024-04-07
Guest
vrechson
Points +65
Had a great experience - Edit
I had a great vegetarian experience, many tasty dishes in a very traditional restaurant. There is many plates saying the staff don’t speak English but when I went I could communicate very well
Read morePros: The dishes are tasty, They might speak english
Cons: I am still a bit hungry but I usually eat a lot
Guest
X0X83X
Points +80
That’s how tofu should taste - Edit
Great vegan tofu dishes (okabe-zen) in a traditional place.
Read moreWhat a nice experience in the middle of the moutains.
Pros: Tofu, Place, Staff
Guest
azuki_monster
Points +906
Very good tofu and yams restaurant - Edit
I really like this place. I don't really get the bad reviews. They have a clearly marked vegetarian option. And the tofu is really good. Everyone was very friendly. Of course, if you don't like tofu and yams, you shouldn't come here.
Read moreThe vegetarian (vegan) set menu costs a little under 2000¥.
Guest
jb055
Points +139
Excellent traditional Japanese - Edit
This is an excellent little shop serving really delicious tofu/mountain yam dishes. The okabe-zen set is the only vegan dish (although on the menu it says “vegetarian”). I confirmed wth the owner that there is no fish-based dashi or any other animal products in it.
Read moreAs others have said if you don’t like slimy foods (think okra or natto) you may not like grated mountain yam. As a note: the business description on here currently says the so-un tofu has egg in it but that’s incorrect. Rest assured the okabe-zen set is fully vegan.
Also worth noting that the older woman who served us speaks some English.
Pros: Traditional, Delicious , Very friendly staff
Guest
MarianeC
Points +75
Pour goûter à une autre cuisine du Japon - Edit
Petit restaurant typique, très peu de touristes (alors que la ville elle, est tout de même très touristique !). Nous y avons dégusté le menu Okabe Zen (précisé végétarien). Très intéressant comme cuisine, on y a découvert plein de nouvelles saveurs.
Read moreNotre hôte était adorable. Ils parlent essentiellement japonais mais connaissent quelques mots d'anglais, et ont un menu en anglais.
Guest
CarlaMaria
Points +38
Não pude avaliar - Edit
Um dia antes fui para reservar e a atendente disse que para opção vegan não era necessário. No dia seguinte, não haviam mais vagas e não pude entrar.
Read morePros: Não teve
Cons: Comunicação falha
Guest
CordThomas
Points +41
Great tofu restaurant in the beautiful town of Hakone - Edit
5 minutes walking from the Hakone Yumoto station, this restaurant was fantastic. Traditional Japanese, but with normal chairs and tables (no need to sit on tatami mats). Unfortunately most of their menus include meat / fish, but they do have a vegan menu. The yams for some are offputting, but I quite enjoyed them as a sauce with the tofu, and the older waitresses were very cute with our tofu cooked in soy milk giving us a timer. Overall a wonderful experience. If you're there in the morning a few steps away is a little tofu factory and store as well.
Read morePros: Tofu restaurant, Authentic, Great Service
Cons: Not fully vegan
Guest
rh92williams
Points +13
Very slimey - Edit
They have one vegan 'set' with a few dishes. If you're looking for a vegan restaurant in the centre of Hakone it's either this place or pizza, so we went here. Super traditional Japanese. I normally prefer my tofu hard and this was very silken. They use a lot of yam which has a very slimey consistency which I just couldn't handle.
Read morePros: Staff members are lovely.
Cons: Food consistency not ideal.
Guest
Rombout67
Points +121
Nice authentic restaurant, too much tasteless soya - Edit
Very Japanese styled restaurant. It didn’t really live up to the expectations, it was a bit tasteless on the whole
Read morePros: Lot of soya and vegan options, Nice atmosphere
Cons: A bit tasteless, Quite expensive if you consider what you get
Guest
hokusai77
Points +13607
Beautiful, traditional Japanese restaurant - Edit
In the middle of Hakone, in a cosy little house, we were welcomed by kind women in their kimono.
Read moreThey offer a vegan/vegetarian menu, "Okabezen", with some great traditional Japanese tofu dishes:
1) wasabi miso yakko: cold tofu with sesame paste, daikon, and miso
2) so-un dōfu: tofu served in seaweed broth with Japanese yam and miso
3) yuba dōfu: tofu in hot soy milk with spring onion and ginger
4) rice and pickles
Definitely recommended.
Pros: beautiful place and atmosphere, kind staff , traditional tofu dishes
Guest
mrmoo2002
Points +102
A nice, light, authentic Japanese meal - Edit
First off, this restaurant is absolutely beautiful!! It really should be a museum in it's own right, with all the history (it used to be a summer home before becoming a hotel and now a restaurant). With ordering, be careful as the big menu is NOT entirely veg/an as they use dashi in some of the dishes. Instead, I recommend you ask for the vegan options directly (thankfully we had a friend with us who could speak Japanese fluently). When we did, the server pointed is to them. We ordered the vegan "Okabe Zen," a 4 course meal.
Read moreThe food is about as authentically Japanese as you can get. The Shinto influence in the food is very prominent and rewards anyone who eats mindfully as the portions in each course are not large, but very deliberate in how they focus on a certain flavour. If you're coming to fill up on food or hate tofu, this is not the place for you. Eat slowly and deliberately with a friend and you'll really start to get a feel for the subtle flavours of each way they have prepared the tofu. Also with he last portion, the rice is bottomless so don't hesitate to ask for more.
So while it's not for those looking for value (lots of food good food for a low price), this is completely worth the price of admission if only to experience something very much it's own type of cuisine.
Pros: Very zen prepartions of tofu , Absolutely beautiful atmosphere!, Very authentic Japanese food
Cons: Portions may not feel large enough for some, The vegan menu options need better labelling, If you prefer something familiar, go elsewhere
Guest
George85
Points +400
Great traditional Japanese food! - Edit
This restaurant has great traditional Japanese food. Many tofu dishes and the grated yam is great. The menu says vegetarian but it's vegan! Go here!!
Read morePros: traditional, vegan, tasty
Cons: not for those that don't like Japanese food
Guest
VickyMan
Points +176
Hate this place - Edit
Whilst I'm trying to be as objective as possible, I really cant find anything good to say about this restaurant. I went there due to lack of veg options (in Hakone) and they were the only Vegan/Veg friendly restaurant in Hakone (that i could find from the net).
Read moreYou will like this place ONLY if you like the following two things:
1) Yam (cooked into a gooey/sticky texture)
2) raw (uncooked) and cold tofu
The flavours were NOT strong enough for me, found it too bland, asked for more wasabi paste but didn't get it. the manager or owner- speaks good English but she was too busy. rest of staff couldn't understand any English. All staff were very polite and courteous though. (nothing new in Japan though)
Pros: Nothing
Cons: Bland food, Not cheap
Guest
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