Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with vegetarian and travel

Help me Hivemind: spending money and eating veggie in Japan.

Kirn — Wed, 27 May 2009 10:55:40 -0800

How much spending money do I need for 10 days in Japan? And: help me eat vegetarian while I'm there. I'll be visiting Japan for 10 days from the 8th of June. That's 3 days in Tokyo, 4 days in Kyoto (with a day trip to Nara and possibly another one to Osaka, and a few hours spent in Nagoya), 2 days in Hiroshima (with a day trip to Miyajima island) and finally 1 day in Narita.

I'm trying to get an idea of how much spending money I should take. Flights, hotels and JR pass are all booked already, but I'll pay to get around Tokyo for the first 3 days (subway or trains) and from Narita Airport->Tokyo, as the JR pass is only for the last 7 days. I won't be looking to eat anywhere that expensive, though doing so by accident is quite possible. I'll be looking to take some souvenirs home, but I'm not after anything specific (and unlikely to go for expensive electronics etc.) and travelling carry-on only so space is limited. I'm travelling with friends so we'll probably want to go out drinking some nights, but not clubbing. No specific tourist destinations in mind but we'll be going to see temples, maybe a couple of museums etc.

So: how much spending money should I take?

And... I'd like to make an appeal for advice on eating vegetarian in Japan. I get that this will be difficult and that there's fish stock/flakes in everything - I'm ok with the fish stock/flakes but would like to avoid meat/fish flesh/seafood.

So my second question is: are there any common vegetarian dishes (with or without fish flakes but ideally without) that I can look for in restaurants? Something I can learn the name of and be sure (or at least relatively sure) that I'm getting something flesh-free? (What about convenience stores etc.?)

And finally: if I learn phrases for 'do you have anything without meat, fish or seafood?' and 'can you make it without meat/fish/seafood?', what kind of response am I likely to get in typical eateries? Refusal/bewilderment/misunderstanding/annoyance? (I won't be able to carry on a conversation as I only know a few basic words and phrases, though I will occasionally be accompanied by a fluent Japanese speaker.)

Thanks very much in advance everyone, and sorry for the many sprawling questions - I'm trying to get the most out of my weekly questions before I go! For what it's worth, I'm a 24-year old male from the UK, travelling with 2-3 guys and 1 girl of similar ages.

Help me fly the vegan skies

amtho — Sat, 24 May 2008 17:38:38 -0800

Vegan airport/airline dining - connect and lunch in Dallas (DFO) or Chicago (ORD)? Somewhere else? How long to allow for a connection to assure we can eat at the restaurant you recommend? We're traveling from Raleigh-Durham to San Francisco and it's looking kind of grim for in-flight meals; it's > 7 hours overall travel time but broken into two segments; best advice for not-having-to-pack-lunch? I can't tell if the (currently American Airlines) flights that I'm looking at offer a meal - everything involves a connection, so the individual flights may not be long enough. There's an icon of a dollar sign + knife + fork; I'm guessing that means I can purchase a snack/meal, but none of the purchasable options look even vaguely vegetarian.

The Continental flights I've seen offer no meals. Anybody know of a way to get a vegetarian/vegan meal in the air between Raleigh and San Francisco?

I'd really like to not have to carry food with me and pasta/bread/crackers will not give me the energy I want for starting our trip!

Any advice on dining in airports on the way? I'm currently looking at flights that connect through Dallas (DFW) or Chicago O'Hare (ORD), but if you know of a good food airport en route between Raleigh and San Francisco, please let me know.

I found restaurant listings for ORD - didn't look good. The Dallas airport looked like it might be slightly better, but the listing is broken up into four or five different terminals and nothing leapt out at me.

Time to eat my vegetables

bassjump — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:21:30 -0800

Vegetarian seeks advice for traveling in Korea and China. I'm going on two business trips this year that will take me to Korea and China. I'll spend a few days each in Shanghai and Seoul, and 2-3 weeks in Beijing. I'm also hoping to do a couple more weeks of more laid-back travel in the south of China (Kunming, Dali, Lijiang, Yangshuo). I'm really excited for these trips, but I do want to ask what I can expect as a vegetarian.

I eat eggs and dairy. I do not eat fish, shellfish, chicken, beef, pork, etc. If a broth is meat- or fish-based, I generally eat it. I thought about trying to eat meat for the sake of convenience, but it's been about thirteen years. Recently I accidentally ate a bite of chicken that had sneaked into my tofu curry, and my brain registered it as "not food." So I just can't do it.

I don't know any Korean, but I will be with a bilingual colleague while I'm in Seoul. I'll be more on my own in China, but I've been making my way through the Rosetta Stone Mandarin lessons. Thanks to other AskMe threads, I've ordered "The Eater's Guide to Chinese Characters."

So, I'm looking for advice on what to eat, how to avoid things I don't eat, how to know what's what, and most of all how to be polite and respectful about this. Thanks in advance!

Can you help me pick out vegetarian boots and food for my trip to Alaska this May?

boygirlparty — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 12:07:10 -0800

I'm visiting South-East Alaska in mid-May and am in need of vegetarian recommendations for the best non-leather shoes to buy/bring for the conditions, and best veg restaurants to eat at, too! Recommendations for either, please. We're visiting Alaska in mid-May and plan to do lots of walking, hiking, driving, and all-around out-and-abouting. Reading in the almanac, the Anchorage area seems to be in the 40s-50s with mostly cloudy days. We'll be visiting the glaciers, fjords and mountains, so I think I need rugged, waterproof shoes, so am looking for non-leather, non-suede, vegetarian options for longterm comfortable wear in all these conditions.

I've searched Zappos but it's hard to look for shoes that are both Vegetarian as well as athletic and waterproof, so if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!

Or, if Alaska is going to be pretty easy weather-wise at that point and I'm just over-preparing, let me know and I'll just pack my Onitsuka tiger running shoes.

Additionally, we'll be in Homer, Seward, Anchorage and Talkeetna if anyone can recommend a great vegetarian restaurant we shouldn't miss, too.

Vegetarian thanksgiving options in southern Minnesota?

jennaba — Mon, 30 Oct 2006 07:09:43 -0800

I'm looking for a good vegetarian-focused (as opposed to just vegetarian-friendly) restaurant or buffet for Thanksgiving brunch/dinner somewhere around the Twin Cities area. It doesn't need to be actually in Minneapolis or St. Paul, but within a few hours' driving distance is preferred. Bonus points if the city where this elusive destination also has family friendly Thanksgiving-themed events like hay rides, etc.

tourism and vegetarian food in Madison, WI

KirkJobSluder — Wed, 02 Nov 2005 10:48:57 -0800

We are visiting Madison, Wisconsin at the end of this month. What are the must-see places? Where can two vegetarians find good food? This is a much needed and much overdue romantic vacation to get away from the jobs, phone and computers. We have a car so anything within a 2 hour radius is fair game. Primary interests include good vegetarian food, gardens, historic communities, and art museums. We also have an antipathy for crowded bars, pubs, clubs, and sporting events.

What should we do for our honeymoon?

croutonsupafreak — Thu, 21 Apr 2005 16:00:09 -0800

What should we do for our honeymoon? The soon-to-be Mr. Supafreak and I are planning to get married in summer '06. We have somewhat limited funds, speak only English, and want to learn about the world when we travel. Our ideal vacation: We spend a few months in advance reading about history and culture of a place that's been around for a long time, then travel there and see geographically, culturally and historically significant sites. We eat good (vegetarian-friendly) food every day. We try to do cultural things each day, but also take time to be lazy, sit in cafes, or just roam around with no particular purpose. Urban and rural are both OK. Off the beaten path is great.

We've talked about going to London, which we loved when we both traveled there about six years ago (before we met). I'd also like to see much of Europe, which I gather is reasonably navigable for English speakers.

With current exchange rates, though, I wonder if we should be looking at other parts of the world. We've both traveled widely within the US, and I think we'd be best leaving our native land for this adventure.

Constraints: I'm a vegetarian (eggs and milk are OK, fish and poultry are not). I'd be shocked if we can get more than a week off of our jobs, which leaves us with 9 days including travel. $2,000 each is probably the extreme limit of what we could afford, unless our parents surprise us and offer us more money -- which is entirely possible, but we can't count on it.

Atlantic city question

moift — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:26:18 -0800

Atlantic city site seeing Heading to atlantic city with some friends (where we definitely have a place to stay that's not a casino.)

My friends - well, they're vegetarian (or mostly, just fish) and from a place in PA that is a backwater (both are fairly cultured.)

I want to go to somewhere with good (ethnic a bonus) food on Sat night.
Sun morning is a drive south to some part of the jersey shore. Suggest areas to see?

Stuff to do in Nashville

skwm — Fri, 10 Sep 2004 13:00:46 -0800

I'll be in Nashville for all of next week, and I'll have most evenings free. What is there to do? Food recommendations (vegetarian friendly)?

Restaurant recommendations in New Orleans?

squirrel — Mon, 12 Jan 2004 17:46:28 -0800

Healthy restaurant options in the Big Easy? I'm visiting New Orleans for a week with family, and I've been warned that the place should be called "the Big Greasy." Does anyone have recommendations for fresher, greener eating options? I've seen sites dedicated to helping people pick restaurants, but I'm hoping some here have personal Nawlins experience.