SHOJIN RYORI WITH KIDS

Shojin Ryori is buddhist temple food is  vegetarian or vegan and completely free of highly processed foods. 
Although Japan was recently ranked the least vegan friendly country in Asia (and I can believe it, unfortunately)  once upon a time, Japanese people were vegetarian or pescetarian.

If you are vegan and are looking for tips on the kanji characters to look for on nutritional labels, I recommend reading this blog post by Alina Sasaki here.

Also, here is my list of vegan restaurants in Kyoto. 

Shojin Ryori a beautiful way to enjoy traditional Japanese food – and I want to share some restaurants who also welcome children. 

SOUGO, ROPPONGI (TOKYO)
If you’d like to try Shojin Ryori and Kaiseki Ryori with kids – then I recommend Sougo in Roppongi.  I would budget approximately 3000 yen per person and lunch time and 20,000 yen per adult at dinner time.

 

SHIGETSU, ARASHIYAMA (KYOTO)
This restaurant is located inside of Tenryu-ji temple near the bamboo forest in Arashiyama.
Shigetsu is only open for lunch and I would budget betwee 3000-9000 yen per adult  (depending on the course you choose) to dine here and please note that there is a 500 yen service charge per person on top of the bill.  Shigetsu accepts most major credit cards.  Some of the seating is chairs and the rest is zaseki (seated on the floor on tatami.). The presentation of the food is outstanding here -a work of art. Children are welcome here but are to also order a course (unless they are a baby, of course) and there is no such thing as a la carte here. 
A reservation ahead of time is a must (it will also avoid disappointment if they  are closed that day for a private function.) 
SHIGETSU, ARASHIYAMA
68 SATATENRYUJI SUSUKINOBABACHO, UKYO WARD, SAGATENRYUJI, KYOTO
OPEN 11AM-2PM
CLOSED THURSDAYS
See here for other family-friendly things to do in the Arashiyama area. 

Please see my article here on how to go about making a reservation for a restaurant in Japan when the website doesn’t have an English website option. 

IZUSEN DAIJI-IN, CENTRAL KYOTO
Izusen Daiji-In is only open for lunch and reservations are required.  Here they exclusively use grains, legumes, and vegetables as their primary ingredients and don’t use any meat or fish.  They accept most major credit cards and is 5 mins walk from Daitokuji-mae Bus Stop.    This restaurant welcomes children.   I would budget for approximately 4000 yen per adult when dining here.   Children older than toddler age should be ordering a course (and a la carte is not an option here.) 
IZUSEN DAIJI-IN, KYOTO
北区紫野大徳寺町4 大慈院内
DAIJI-IN, 4 MURASAKINO-DAITOKUJI-CHO, KITA-KU
OPEN 11AM-4PM
CLOSED FOR THE NEW YEARS HOLIDAYS