Visitors to Hamamatsu may be pleasantly surprised to learn about a fully vegan cafe in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka. Yet another surprise would be the Japanese vegan foods and sweets on offer. An unimaginably curious combination – Japanese and vegan!! A truly delightful place for vegans!
Hamamatsu is home to a small cafe, tucked away along the Funakoshi Bypass near the JA Koike store. However, it’s not as easy to find as they might admit! You would turn right from the JA Coin Rice mill and then take the immediate left and find Kuriya down the far left. If getting lost is easy for you, then I recommend using a navigator of some sort to enter the JA Topia Hamamatsu Koike shop.
Kuriya is a vegan food heaven with the tastiest and healthiest food prepared from organically grown ingredients. Yes, there are no animal foods here! One can safely have good food here without the stress of constantly enquiring about ingredients. It is run by two women, determined to make veganism and its benefit known to all through their food. Inside, are showcased local products like clothing, scarves, baby clothes and items like organic cotton face masks and handicrafts.
Functioning as a restaurant from 11am to 2pm, Kuriya thereafter operates as a cafe until the end of business at 4pm. Prior reservations are required for visiting and takeaways. There are 2-3 set plates for lunch, cakes, brownies and pounds, all of which are made from plant-based sources. Desserts are available all day and include banana walnut muffins, banana brownies (all made from bananas and organic rice flour), and macha marble muffins. There is also a special vegan bento lunch box for each day.
Dairy is used only for coffee and tea for those who prefer it over soymilk. Otherwise, there are other hot and cold drink selections to choose from. A big plus is the kids menu, a great relief for parents. There are outdoor seating facilities, and adding to the authenticity is that the staff only speak Japanese and their menu is in Japanese. But that is part of the fun of travelling! Oh, and Kuriya only accepts cash, so please be sure to bring enough.
