Soranoiro: vegan & vegetarian ramen in Tokyo

Vegetarians and vegans rejoice! You can enjoy delicious ramen in Japan at Soranoiro, a veggie-friendly ramen shop in Tokyo.

Soranoiro is a great place to stop with friends during a day of sightseeing.

In January of 2014, chef Chihiro Miyazaki of Soranoiro participated in Paris Ramen Week where he presented a vegetarian-friendly ramen that excluded any meat or eggs, but used butter to flavor the salt-based broth. It was a huge success and a total of 600 bowls sold over the course of the week. Miyazaki received inquires about the possibility of a vegan option. Not wanting anyone to be unable to enjoy a bowl of ramen, he rose to the challenge and created his delicious vegan ramen.

Vegan ramen (left) and vegetarian ramen (right). The principal difference between the two is that the vegetarian ramen uses butter in the soup while the vegan ramen doesn't contain any animal products.

What goes into Soranoiro's vegan ramen, you ask? The salt-based broth is combined with carrot puree, which makes it nice and thick. The noodles get some extra kick with the addition of pureed red pepper. Then of course, there are heaps of veggies—even a little bit of mashed potatoes at the edge of the bowl! The combination is magic. The veggies are well-seasoned and the broth is rich and flavorful despite the absence of animal products. If you find you still have some room for more despite the generous portion size, Soranoiro also has additional vegan-friendly side dishes such as salads and, believe it or not, smoothies.

Order your ramen from the vending machine.

Ordering your ramen is a breeze. Use the vending machine to purchase a meal ticket. Pass the ticket to the staff and then take a seat to wait for your meal. The machine takes coins and 1,000 yen bills. The staff is more than happy to break larger bills for you. You can also place an order with the staff directly if you want to order something else during your meal.

The staff at Soranoiro are all very friendly, so feel free to sit at the counter.

Another beautiful point about Soranoiro is that while they are vegetarian and vegan-friendly, they also offer a wide selection of delicious ramen for meat eaters as well. This makes Soranoiro a great option for those of you traveling in groups where only some members have special dietary needs. I’d recommend trying the vegetarian or vegan ramen just once even if you do usually eat meat. Seriously. It’s that good. Soranoiro is dangerously close to my office, and I've been at least three times since going to take pictures for this article. I usually get mine with an aji-tama, a marinated hard boiled egg. For those of you who are traveling and eating out every day, this is a great way to get your veggies without having to chow down on a cabbage salad from the convenience store.

The pureed red pepper gives these delicious noodles an orange color without adding any sweetness.

(Note: the style of ramen served at Soranoiro is called chūkasoba; as such, the vegetarian ramen is called “veggie soba” and the vegan ramen is “vegan soba.” This is not to be confused with soba noodles that are made with buckwheat.)

The outside of Soranoiro.

Information

Soranoiro | ソラノイロ

Address:
Blue Bldg. 1B
1-3-10 Hirakawa-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Hours:
Mon – Fri
     11:00am – 3:30pm (L.O.)
     6:00pm – 10:00pm (L.O.)
     10:15pm close
Sat & Sun
     11:00am – 5:00pm (L.O.)
※ Closed every first Sunday of the month.

Holidays
     11:00am – 9:00pm (L.O.)

※ Please note that the store will close early should they run out of soup or noodles.
※ This is a non-smoking restaurant.

Access:
4 min walk from Exit 1 of Kojimachi Sta. (Yurakucho Line)
4 min walk from Exit 1 of Hanzomon Sta. (Hanzomon Line)
10 min walk from the Kojimachi Exit of Yotsuya Sta. (JR and Marunochi Lines)

Price:
The price of the vegetarian and vegan ramen is just over 1,000 yen.

Website:
Soranoiro’s website (Japanese only)