Food Choices in Japan

[Regen]

After a month of being raw, I went to Japan for just over a week. The first two days (including travelling) I ate raw because i had food from home to finish off. For the rest of the week I ate Japanese food that wasn't meat or fish. I know it's unusual to find pure vegetarian food there. I love Japanese food so ate a standard Japanese diet. Anyway, after 3 days. I started to swell - my legs and feet were like little trotters and my face was puffy - I looked liked I'd been crying all the time. I'm assuming this was eating cooked and possibly the salt content. Any opionions would be gratefully recieved.

My next trip is for 10 days and i want to avoid inflating again. Obvoiusly, the answer is to eat raw - I need to have a different strategy though. Anywhere else I would just eat fruit but fruit is soooo expnsive. When I talk myself through this it goes like this:

I love going to Japan
I love eating fruit
The fruit in Japan is fantastic
I want to be healthy and enjoy my trip
I would pay more than the price of the fruit to not swell up.
No problem.

Raw Priestess - didn't you live and work in Japan - was that pre raw?

I would be grateful for all of you with experience of raw there for other suggestions about what to eat.

I almost don't want to ask this as it seems defeatist - if I did eat cooked there, what would be the healthiest choices I could make?


Thank you

[Nama NY]

Hi, Regen:
I returned from Japan recently and I know what you exactly meant. Yes, fruits are very expensive there but they are very tasty. I was at food section of department store and found out one mango was sold for 2,000 yen (about $19).

There is a café called Sweet Café serves raw food lunch for 1,200 yen in Shinjuku. Their site is in Japanese, but I hope you can see their July Raw menu (http://halfsweets.com/lunch_menu/lunch_06_07.htm.)

Near Sweet Café (5 minutes by walking), there is a juice bar “P Man” (http://shinjuku.cool.ne.jp/p_man/) serves variety of fresh organic vegetable and fruit juices and a huge salad.

There is a health food store at Shinjuku Station; it is called Bonraspail (http://www.isefw.co.jp/index.html).

Café Eight (http://cafe8.jp/index.html.) located in Meguro is a vegan café, they serve good salad.

I stay at hotel has a small refrigerator and buy fruits and vegetables. I also take out salad from supermarkets or department stores. When I go out to eat with my friends, I usually eat variety of salad. I always ask them put dressings on the side in case it is not raw. If you speak Japanese, you can make request; of course, it is depend on the restaurant. And if you speak Japanese, it will help a lot, too.

I fly with JAL and they serve fruit meal plate and raw vegetable plate but I often bring own fruits.

Regen, when are you going to Japan again?

[Regen]

Hello!

Thanks - that's brillant information.

It'll be in December over Christmas.

I had some juices last time - there was usually a bar in the basements of department stores and by stations - although the portions were tiny compared to here. I had a wheatgrass - based green juice the first time - it was also the first time I'd had wheatgrass and I didn't know it was naturally sweet so I thought it'd been sweetened and then avioded it.


Melon prices were the most amazing - -some in Kyoto were around 70 dollars each but they were huge.