Well, here I am sitting in my flat in lovely Kyoto, by myself, in winter. How did this happen? Why am I here? How far back should I go without boring everyone to tears?

Let’s just say I love Japan and I am a long term vegetarian. These don’t necessarily mix well. The first time we (my husband and I…!) came to Japan, we had very little Japanese language to speak of (haha, I know). This was back in 2007. The only Japanese food phrase we knew basically indicated we didn’t eat meat. What we found very quickly is that Japanese people don’t include fish as meat, so we had to expand our phrase to include both fish and meat. The next problem we found was that dashi stock (fish stock made with bonito fish) is ubiquitous. So, consequently we both lost a lot of weight on that trip.

Our resolve to visit and explore Japan was not quelled, but we made sure we were better prepared for subsequent trips. We often did a large part of our own catering, buying bowls and chopsticks early on and then stocking up on items that could easily be prepared with boiling water and, if we were lucky, a microwave oven. We also brought with us a vegan version of dashi.

The other part of this story, is our love of cooking and catering for others. So, the idea was born of a wish to live in Japan, Kyoto in particular, and to provide a lifestyle for ourselves, while helping others like us (ie vegans and vegetarians) to visit and enjoy this lovely country without sacrificing their appetites and having to buy a new wardrobe.

This blog, then, will be about the joys, and maybe some pain, in setting up our business, as  well as everyday life as a vegetarian in Kyoto, Japan.