Indian restaurants are a Tokyo vegetarian's best friend. Luckily, there are many Indian (and some Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Nepalese, Tibetan, Sri Lankan) restaurants around Tokyo. These places always have vegetarian and sometimes vegan options, and the staff usually speak a bit of English. They can be a bit pricey though, so it's best to go at lunch time when most have lunch buffets or sets for around 1000yen. Whatever you do, don't confuse a Japanese curry restaurant for an Indian one. Japanese curry is not suitable for vegetarians! See the Indian Restaurants list in the Restaurants section for some recommendations.

See the Indian Restaurant listings for some recommended Indian and South Asian restaurants. 

You won't have trouble finding Italian restaurants in Japan. If you can eat cheese, pizza is a good option as most places have a few meatless pizzas, or others that you can ask for without meat. There are usually meatless pasta dishes like tomato, arrabiata, pepperoncino etc. But sometimes they contain bacon for some reason, so ask for 'be-kon nashi.' A problem with pasta is that sometimes chicken or beef stock is used in the sauce, so it's good to ask, and avoid the soupy pasta dishes. Try to find the more authentic Italian restaurants for more vegetarian choices. Sometimes Japanese-style spaghetti (made with soy sauce, nori, shiso/mushrooms/spinach/kimchi/natto/etc) suitable for vegetarians can be found, but again check if they use fish or animal stock. Unless you can communicate well with the chef, vegan options can be limited in Italian restaurants.

Search this site for recommended Italian restaurants in Tokyo.  

If you're lucky, you might come across a Israeli, Turkish, Lebanese or other Middle-Eastern restaurant which has some vegetarian-friendly food. Unfortunately, most kebab vans you see around don't sell felafel!

Search this site for recommended Middle Eastern restaurants in Tokyo.

There aren't that many Mexican restaurants in Japan, especially not authentic ones. Most of them have a few things suitable for vegetarians though, such as bean burritos or vegetable fajitas. There are some Tex-Mex, American, and Fusion restaurants around which serve Mexican food.

Search this site for Recommended Mexican restaurants in Tokyo. 

Chinese restaurants might seem ok, but most have been Japanized and unless you find an authentic place where you can communicate well with the chef, they are best avoided. Generally all dishes contain seafood or meat, or at the very least, chicken stock.

There are some good vegetarian Chinese and Taiwanese restaurants in Tokyo, so search this site for recommended Chinese and Taiwanese restaurants in Tokyo.

There are a few Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, or other South-East Asian restaurants around but it can be a bit difficult to find veg food. Shrimp paste or fish sauce are often used. Korean might be an option if you could ask for bibimba without meat, grilled vegetables, or side dishes like kimchee. American restaurants and big chains like TGI Fridays sometimes have vegetarian options. British Pubs sometimes have vegetarian meals and pub snacks. African, South American, European and almost any kind of restaurant can be found in Tokyo, but vegetarian options are limited.

Search this site for recommended South-East Asian and Korean restaurants . 

You won't find any vegetarian food in any of the US or Japanese hamburger chains except maybe fries (remember, McDonalds uses beef extract in their fries). One exception is Mosbuger. Although their menu changes, there is usually at least one vegetarian-friendly burger on Mosburger's menu. Last time I went, they had a kinpira-rice burger and a konyakku burger. They also cook their fries and onion rings in clean vegetable oil. Subway is also a good option as you can choose what they put in your sandwich.

If you can eat cheese, there are some pizza restaurants around which have some meatless pizzas. And there are lots of pizza delivery companies like Pizza Hut, Dominoes, Pizza-La etc. Pizza delivery is expensive in Japan though. Try to find smaller local pizza shops as they are cheaper and nicer. There should be a couple of meatless pizzas on the menu, or other pizzas that you can ask for without meat. You'll also find some strange but surprisingly nice items on pizzas, like corn, eggplant, potato, and fruit.

Search this site for recommended pizza restaurants. 

There are heaps of little cafes around as well as the omnipresent Starbucks, Doutour, Tully's, Excelsior, Veloce etc. They sometimes have sandwiches, muffins etc which are ok. Look for the more bohemian cafes or cafe/bars because they are more likely to have vegetarian options. A lot of Japanese cafes often serve light meals like spaghetti which are sometimes ok.

There are lots of great vegan, vegetarian and veg-friendly cafes in Tokyo so have a look at the recommended cafes listed on this site.

You'll find Johnathon's, Denny's, Royal Host, Skylark, Gusto, BLDY, various other chains and small Western-style cafe-restaurants everywhere. These are places to go for drinks and desserts mainly because food for vegetarians is fairly limited. Chips, salad, and pasta can usually be found. Saizeriya is an Italian-style family restaurant which offers a few more veg options than the others.