HealthyTOKYO Plants First Vegan Restaurant at Tokyo International Airport

Haneda Airport has just debuted its first plant-based cafe and shop, HealthyTOKYO. Located in Terminal 2 outside of security (which means anyone can go!), the Japanese health and wellness provider will serve an array of organic coffee, tea and matcha, organic and gluten-free baked goods, salads, sandwiches, lasagne, quiches and desserts. Local and American craft beer will also be available.

“We really wanted to make a cafe that everyone can enjoy,” David Israelsson, Head of Operations at HealthyTOKYO said in a statement. “While all of our offerings are plant-based, we have created dishes that will be loved by vegans and omnivores alike. Our menus are designed to appeal to the tastes of locals and the increasing number of visitors to Japan.”

A popular health resource and online retail shop since 2011, the brick and mortar will feature speciality nut butters, CBD oils, supplements and gifts in addition to their healthy vegan meals and beverage selections. Founded by US-native Michael Bobrove who has called the land of the rising sun home for more than 30 years, HealthyTOKYO began as an expat-friendly healthcare directory with services from primary care physicians, dental, plastic surgery to pediatrics before expanding to an information guide to healthy restaurants, fitness facilities and health food purveyors in Japan.

The fourth busiest airport in the world which exceeds over 80 million passengers traveling through Haneda Airport annually, the opening comes in perfect time as the 2020 Summer Olympics will be hosted in Tokyo. With plant-based diets growing steadily across Asia, from meat-heavy countries like China to the Philippines, the number of vegans and vegetarians in Japan has also been on the rise. Plant-based restaurant finder Happy Cow now boasts over 400 veg-friendly restaurants in Tokyo and a slew of Japanese vegan communities can be found online and off. According to The Independent, vegetarian Facebook group, Tokyo Smile Veggies, are petitioning to get 50,000 restaurants to offer vegetarian dishes in time for the Olympics to cater to the influx of plant-based tourists that will surely arrive. “We don’t want to increase the number of vegetarian restaurants,” said co-founder Aya Karasuyama in the article. “We want vegetarian food to be served in normal restaurants.”

Taste your way through our list of the best vegan and vegetarian Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong here

3/F, Haneda Airport Terminal 2, +81 (03) 4405 6502; Open every day from 6:30AM – 8:00PM

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