Vegetarian Survival Guide to Japan

Vegetarian feast in Japan at Minshuku Shimosagaya

Being a vegetarian in Japan can be difficult, but with some effort and pre-planning can also be very rewarding. Although we despaired at times of finding a veggie-friendly meal, and fish did turn up in our food on occasion, we also had some of the most unusual and delicious meals we have ever eaten. We loved the foodie culture in Japan and found the food to be high quality, beautifully presented and healthy.

Here are our tips for surviving Japan as a vegetarian.

Learn Some Japanese

Simon trying to translate a Japanese menu

Not many Japanese people speak English and learning a few phrases is essential to making your needs as a vegetarian understood. Don’t be too worried though – although learning to read Kanji takes a lot of time, the spoken language is easier to pick up that I expected.

You could try telling people that you are vegetarian (“Watashi wa bejitarian des”) but they probably won’t understand exactly what this means. It is better to be clearer and instead say “watashi wa niku toh sakana wo taberarimasen” which means I don’t eat meat or fish. We found this phrase very useful and succesfully used it in restaurants to get a vegetarian meal.“Taberarimasen” means “I don’t eat” so you can add any word in front of that.

A few other useful words and phrases:

yasai – vegetables
tamago – egg
katsuobushi nashi de onegai shimas – without bonito (fish) flakes please
…arimas ka? – do you have…?
nan des ka? – what is it?
oishikatta des – that was delicious. This always made people smile.
arigato gozaimas – thank you
sumimasen – excuse me

Be Flexible

It is often possible to find meals without meat or fish in them, or at least the restaurants are willing to adapt meals for you, but the biggest problem is that fish stock or dashi is used in many dishes. Soups and noodles in broth in non-vegetarian restaurants will definitely contain it, and you’ll need to decide whether this bothers you or not. We tried to avoid it as much as possible but there were times when we didn’t have much choice so decided to be flexible about it. I have heard that it is possible to ask for noodles or soup to be made with just miso instead, but we found communicating this to be difficult.

If you want to completely avoid fish stock then it is best to eat in only vegetarian restaurants but this will limit the destinations you can visit in Japan. In Kyoto this isn’t a problem, but in smaller towns it will be much more difficult.

Plan Ahead

Set lunch at Vegan Cafe, Hiroshima

Although you could use the recommended phrase above and turn up in any Japanese restaurant and hope you get a meal, we found it much more enjoyable to eat stress (and dashi) free at vegetarian restaurants. So do some research online on sites likeHappy Cow and plan ahead where to eat.

If you get stuck, like we did in Nara when the vegetarian restaurant I had researched was closed, try looking out for Indian restaurants. We ended up finding a lovely little place that did great vegetarian curries at reasonable prices.

See the bottom of this post for some of our favourite vegetarian restaurants in Japan.

Visit Kyoto

Set dinner at Mikoan, Kyoto

Luckily there are plenty of vegetarian restaurants in Kyoto, as Japan’s ancient capital has a long tradition of shojin ryori or Zen Buddhist temple cuisine, which is entirely vegan. You would really be missing out if you didn’t spend time here, especially as there is so much to do with 2000 temples and shrines to explore plus many interesting other attractions.

Set meals at vegetarian restaurants are a great way to explore Japanese food as you don’t have to worry about being able to read a Japanese menu and you can be sure that everything is meat-free. We had some incredible meals in Kyoto – our favourites were at Mikoan and Shigetsu and Yoshuji. We also learnt a lot about Japanese cuisine and ate an incredible meal by taking a vegetarian cooking class.

Eat in Temples

Shojin Ryori lunch at Shigetsu, Tenryuji Temple, Kyoto

Shojin ryori or Zen Buddhist temple cuisine is the beacon of hope for a vegetarian in Japan. The monks make it possible to enjoy delicious, healthy, creative, Japanese meals and be sure that it is all vegan. The food was unlike anything we had eaten before and we loved having the opportunity to try something new. The best places to eat in temples are in Kyoto and in the mountain temple town Koya-san where you can even spend the night in a temple. I did see some temple restaurants in Tokyo but the prices were far higher than elsewhere when even in Kyoto it isn’t cheap (we paid 3000 yen/$39 each).

Stay in a Ryokan

Dinner at Minshuku Shimosagaya, Tsumago

A great opportunity to try homemade kaiseki, a gourmet, multi-course traditional Japanese meal is in a ryokan or traditional inn. We stayed in a minshuku, a cheaper family-run version and had a fantastic feast for dinner and breakfast. We booked through Japanese Guesthouses which has a range of options all over Japan. You can request a vegetarian meal but they won’t guarantee that dashi is not used. It’s a pricey but uniquely Japanese experience that we do recommend.

Read our comparison of different accommodation options in Japan.

Self-Cater

We had a house sit in Kyoto and an apartment in Tokyo for part of our trip so were able to self cater. This helped to save money and take a break from worrying about where to eat. Supermarket prices aren’t cheap (Japan is an expensive country) but we found the array of fresh noodles and tofu to be delicious and reasonably priced. Add some vegetables and you can make an easy stir fry.

Vegetarian Friendly Japanese Food

These are some vegetarian Japanese meals and snacks to look out for. Be aware that anything that includes broth is likely to be fish dashi unless you are eating in a vegetarian restaurant.

Tempura Donburi

Vegetable Tempura Donburi

Tempura (deep fried vegetables in batter) are served on top of rice. Ask for vegetables only or point to it if there is a picture menu and it makes a great, quick meal. There are some expensive tempura restaurants but we went to Tenya a cheap tempura chain where it cost 550 yen (US$7). Our meal included tea and miso soup (which we skipped).

Tsukemono

Tsukemono, Japanese pickles

Tsukemono or Japanese pickled vegtables are an essential part of a Japanese meal and always included in set meals.  I love the crunchy texture and salty, sweet and sour flavour that provides a contrast to the more delicately flavoured dishes. In a worst case scenario you could always order tsukemono and rice for a simple meal.

Zaru Soba

Zaru Soba

Cold soba (buckweat) noodles are popular in the summer served on a bamboo tray with nori seaweed, spring onion, wasabi, and a soy sauce broth that we skipped as it probably had dashi in it. If this doesn’t worry you then go ahead and dip the noodles in.

Soba or Udon Noodles

Noodles in broth are found everywhere. Choose from soba (buckwheat) or udon(wheat) and a range of fillings. If you explain you don’t eat meat or fish you should be able to get a vegetable only version, although the stock will likely be fish. To avoid this order zaru soba (above), cold noodles that don’t come in broth.

Miso Soup

Miso and tofu soup

Miso soup is a part of every set meal including breakfast. Sometimes it contained tofu and vegtables. Chopsticks are used to eat the ingredients and the broth is sipped direct from the bowl. We only ate ours in vegetarian restaurants where we knew they hadn’t used dashi.

Okonomiyaki

Hiroshima Okonomiyaki

Okonomiyaki is often described as a Japanese pancake or omelette. Although it usually isn’t vegetarian it can be adapted to be and in fact in many okonomiyaki restaurants you can make your own on a hotplate at your table and choose your own ingredients.

We tried Hiroshima style okonomiyaki which includes noodles in the batter along with eggs, lots of shredded cabbage and beansprouts, and is topped with a type of Worcestershire sauce and herbs. We found a tiny okonomiyaki restaurant in Hiroshima called Rie where we sat on stalls in front of the large hotplate and watched the friendly owner cook our food to order.

Okonomiyaki being made at Rie, Hiroshima

Unusually she spoke English so seemed to understand our request for a vegetarian version. We watched as she piled up the ingredients and realised too late that the grey stuff she added was dried fish.

Dried fish on okonomiyaki

We tried to pick it out the best we could but it did somewhat ruin the otherwise delicious dish for us. So be aware of this when ordering okonomiyaki and try to stop them adding any kind of fish.

Nasu Dengaku

Nasu Dengaku

Eggplant is grilled until soft and melty with a sweet caramelised miso topping. Nasu dengaku is delicious comfort food that we ate at Shigetsu temple restaurant in Kyoto.

Gohei Mochi

Gohei mochi are a specialty of the Kiso Valley area that we were lucky enough to sample in the small, traditional village Tsumago. They are grilled rice dumplings served on a stick in a sesame and walnut sauce. Very tasty. Don’t miss them if you are in the area.

Yaki Onigiri

Yaki Onigiri

Grilled rice balls in a soy sauce glaze are served with tofu, cold greens and pickles on the side. They are quite plain but still a good vegetarian option. We ate yaki onigiri at an izakaya (Japanese pub).

Umeboshi Onigiri

Umeboshi Onigiri

Onigiri (rice balls) are found at every convenience store and supermarket and make good cheap packed lunches. The problem is the labels are in Japanese so it is difficult to see which ones are vegetarian – umeboshi (pickled plum) and gari (ginger) are the most common. I just asked a nearby stranger in pigeon Japanese “Dore umeboshi des ka?” and she pointed out the right one.

Umeboshi Onigiri packaging

Sekihan Onigiri

Sekihan Onigiri

Red rice and azuki bean balls are another tasty packed lunch you can pick up from a convenience store. The packaging is clear so it’s easy to identify without reading Japanese.

Sekihan Onigiri packaging

Oyaki

Pumpkin Oyaki

Oyaki are a speciality of the Nagano prefecture and we tried them in Matsumoto. Wheat buns are filled with different vegetables – we tried pumpkin (kabocha).

Kabocha Korroke

Kabocha Korroke, Pumpkin Croquettes

Pumpkin croquettes can be found in the deli section of supermarkets and some restaurants and make a delicious, cheap vegetarian meal. We heated ours up at home and served with a salad.

Naigamo Yam

Nagaimo yam with nori and wasabi

This raw salad dish turned up in a few of our meals. Naigamo yam is rather unusual, and wasn’t like the dense, heavy yam that we are familiar with but instead light, crunchy, sticky and watery. The main flavour came from the salty nori seaweed and hot wasabi that it is served with.

Konnyaku

Konnyaku at Yoshuji in Kurama

Konnyaku is known in English as Devil’s Tongue. It’s a jelly-like substance made from the root of the tuberous plant konjac. It doesn’t have much flavour but is valued for its texture, which we found rather strange. It often features in shojin ryori (Buddhist vegetarian) meals. In the photo above konnyaku was served like sashimi with a dark miso sauce.

Mos Burger

Vegetarian rice burger at Mos Burger

Who would have thought that Japan would be the first country in a very long time that we’ve eaten in a burger restaurant? I’d describe Mos Burger as a fast food chain, but the Japanese are rather proud of it and a local pointed out that the food is made to order and brought to your table unlike in McDonalds. They also sell themselves on being healthy and have one vegetarian burger on the menu.

I had heard that the carrot and burdock burger in a bun made of rice was calledGomoka Kinpura but that didn’t seem to work when I ordered so it’s best to point to the picture menu. It is surprisingly good and cheap at 300 yen (US$4) but it isn’t that filling so we were glad we had fries and onion rings with it. It’s a decent, quick meal when you can’t find anything else.

Rice cakes

Chilli rice cakes

We picked up a crunchy, chilli-covered rice cake at the Nishiki market in Kyoto.

Vegetarian Tofu Dishes

There is plenty of tofu in Japan and it is much higher quality than anywhere else in the world. There are even restaurants that only serve tofu in different forms for multi-course meals. Be careful in tofu restaurants though as they aren’t usually vegetarian and even if they can make it vegetarian for you they will probably still use dashi. We tried many of these tofu dishes in Kyoto’s shojin ryori restaurants.

Goma Dofu

Goma dofu, sesame tofu

This chilled sesame tofu is one of the most common dishes in shojin ryori. It’s actually not tofu at all as it isn’t made from soymilk but from sesame paste, water and kuzu, a thickening powder. It certainly has a different texture from the tofu we are used to as it’s soft, creamy and melts in your mouth. It’s a refreshing dish on a hot summer’s day. It’s usually served with a dab of hot wasabi.

Yuba

Yuba, soymilk skin tofu

Yuba is made from the thin skin that forms on the surface of boiled soymilk – it sounds weird but is delicious, creamy and light.

Koyadofu

Koyadofu (top) and yuba

This freeze-dried tofu originates from the temple-filled Mount Koya. It is reconstituted in water and becomes springy and sponge-like, absorbing the flavours it is cooked in.

Yudofu

Yudofu

A tofu and vegetable hotpot that is simmered at your table.

Dengaku Tofu

Dengaku tofu

Firm tofu served on sticks dengaku style. It is coated with a sweet miso sauce and grilled until it caramelises and becomes golden and slightly charred.

Inarizushi

Inarizushi

Vinegared rice stuffed in fried tofu pouch. We didn’t eat at any sushi restaurants in Japan, as the vegetarian options are limited, but if you do find yourself in one then look out for inarizushi. We tried this at Tosuiro tofu restaurant in Kyoto.

Our Favourite Vegetarian Restaurants in Japan

In Kyoto we recommend Mikoan for a tasty, good value vegetarian meal, Shigetsufor a splurge at  Tenryuji temple, Yoshuji in Kurama for a great day out, and Tosuirotofu restaurant for a beautiful and unusual meal but only if you don’t mind dashi.

In Nara Ragamala is a good value vegetarian Indian.

Chickpea curry at Ragamala, Nara

In Koya-san you can get shojin ryori meals for dinner and breakfast by spending the night at any of the temples – we stayed in the cheapest temple Haryoin. We also ate the set lunch at Bon On Shya International Cafe on the main street which is vegetarian but serves international food rather than Japanese.

In Hiroshima we enjoyed a few delicious healthy meals at the Vegan Cafe in Shanti Yoga studio. We were the only tourists there and the food was a mix of international and Japanese.

Okunoin Cemetery, Koya-san

It took eight modes of transport to get to Koya-san from Kyoto: metro, bullet train, metro, train, bus, train, cable car, bus. In any other country the journey would have taken all day, but despite a damaged train track from the recent typhoon, in Japan it took less than four hours and the transfers were seamless.

We visited Koya-san, the respectful name given to Mount Koya, to experience traditional Japan. The secluded temple town is located high up in the forest-covered mountains of Kansai and was founded 1200 years ago by Kobo Daishi to spread his teachings about Shingon Buddhism. One temple has grown to over one hundred and the town is now an important Buddhist centre. It is also one of the best places to stay in shukubo, traditional temple lodging to get a taste of life as a monk including sampling shojin ryori, vegetarian monk’s cuisine and rising early to participate in the daily chanting and meditation ceremony.

Koya-san cable car

After our series of efficient trains and buses we transferred to the cable car which climbed through the forest at a precariously steep angle up to an elevation of 800 metres. The town’s bus was waiting for us and dropped us on a ghostly quiet street lined with temples – we had no idea which was ours. Feeling hopeful we approached the entrance of one of the attractive temples of shiny dark wood. A novice monk in flowing robes came to the door and we asked for Haryo-in, the temple we had booked for the night. He put on his wooden geta and indicated for us to follow as he clip-clopped his way across the road.

Oh. That’s Haryo-in? We stared at the shabby entrance way, decidedly less graceful than its lovely neighbours. You see, accommodation in Japan is expensive, and most of the temple stays cost about 23,000 yen (US$295) per couple per night whereas Haryo-in is a bargain 13,650 yen (US$175). Now we knew why.

As we walked through the cobweb-draped gateway into the overrun garden (very un-Japanese) a snake slithered in front of us. This didn’t seem a good omen.

It was eerily quiet but a Japanese lady did respond to our ringing of the bell and seemed to be expecting us. She spoke some English which made things easier as she took our bags and said we could come back to check in at 4pm. She also gave us an information sheet with the temple’s schedule. We had to be sure to check-in before 5pm as dinner was served at 5.30pm. The communal bath was open from 4-8pm, the temple doors would close at 9pm and it’d be lights out at 10pm. An early night was probably a good idea as the morning service was at 6.30am before breakfast the next day.

Exploring Koya-san

With five hours before check-in we set off to explore the strangely quiet town. After a vegetarian lunch at Bon On Shya café we strolled through the town, past shops selling sweet mochi and koya-dofu, a freeze dried tofu that comes from the area. Koya-san is surrounded by hills and the air is a little cooler than in Osaka – a blessing in summer. There are many temples you can visit but we focused on the two main areas – the Garan sacred precinct and the Okunoin Cemetery.

We had spent more than three weeks exploring Kyoto’s temples and shrines but the original temple complex at Koya-san, the Garan, was still impressive. Daito the humongous red pagoda dominated the smaller buildings around the peaceful complex. We watched a monk ringing a large bell over and over.

Garan sacred precinct, Koya-san

Koya-san’s main attraction is the huge and impressive Okunoin Cemetery. Thousands of tombs and Buddhist statues are found beneath giant cedar trees in an atmospheric forest. As we wandered along the quiet paths we came across a few odd “attractions”. One small wooden hut housed a large rock, which you try to lift through a window. If it’s heavy it means you are sinful. It was heavy.

In another spot we were instructed to look down a well. If we couldn’t see our reflection then we’d die within three years. We were a little nervous as we peered into the murky water far down below but thankfully saw our reflections.

Okunoin cemetery

Koya-san is small so it didn’t take us long to walk from the cemetery which is located at one end of town to the Daimon entrance gate on the other side. We then wondered how we’d fill up the rest of the time before check-in. It didn’t help when it began to rain.

The Trauma of Japanese Communal Baths

We rarely saw foreigners while we were in Kyoto, so were surprised to see about eight or so while walking around this small town. As we passed we analysed them for the likelihood that they’d be staying in our budget temple lodging. Our first communal bathing experience was looming and it freaked us out. Bathing naked with tourists that we’d then be chatting to over dinner just felt too weird. We devised a strategy – we’d take our bath early and hopefully have it to ourselves.

At 4pm sharp we checked in, donned our yukatas (cotton kimono) and hurried downstairs to the communal baths –one each for men and women. We had read up on bathing etiquette so knew the drill. You leave your clothes (yes, all of them) in a tray in an outer room and walk unadorned into the bathing area. Next you wash your body and hair at one of the showers (soap and shampoo are provided) before getting into the bath.

It was steaming hot and deliciously relaxing – for a moment. We couldn’t help worrying that someone could come in at any moment. We are so used to bathing being a private activity that the idea of sharing a bath with a stranger was difficult to get used to. The bath could fit four people but it would be a little close for comfort. We managed to endure the heat and nerves for as long as we could before getting out without meeting anyone else. Success!

We needn’t have worried. It turned out we were the only guests and we only saw one monk for the rest of the night. We had the temple to ourselves.

Our Temple Accommodation

Our biggest challenge over with we headed back to our room. The temple may not be as pristine as most we’ve visited but the main part does have character with a maze of corridors overlooking cute inner rock gardens. It’s not often that you return from a bath and meet a serene monk in saffron robes lighting incense and ringing bells.

Simon in a yukata in our room at Haryoin

The accommodation is in a rather unattractive concrete section with a long corridor of rooms and a row of sinks and toilets at one end. Our six tatami mat room wasn’t fancy but was better than we expected. It was very Zen, empty except for a low table, two cushions and a sacred alcove with a Buddhist statue, scroll and a place to light incense. Unlike some of the more fancy temples we didn’t get a garden view – our window looked over an iron railing and greenery covered embankment. Although the room wasn’t beautiful it was our first night staying in a temple so we were excited by the new experience. In our comfortable yukatas we sat on cushions to drink the green tea we’d been left and waited for the dinner bell.

Temple Dining

The dining room was another minimalist tatami space overlooking the inner garden. Our meal was waiting for us on red lacquer trays. The monk we’d seen earlier served us rice without saying a word and left us alone to eat.

Dining room at Haryoin

We found every Japanese meal an adventure and this was no exception as we ate our way through the simple but fresh and tasty meal of rice, miso soup, Yudofu a mushroom and tofu hotpot, pickles, eggplant in a miso dressing, sweet black beans, and grapes. The meal didn’t quite compare to the complex flavours of the shojin ryorivegetarian meals we’d had in Kyoto, but this is probably due to the lower price we were paying. Other temples may have more extravagant feasts.

Dinner at Haryoin

Koya-san shuts down at night so there was nothing left to do but return to our room and set up our bed for the night. In traditional Japanese accommodation you sleep on futons – thin mattresses that are stored away during the day and brought out to sleep on. We stacked up a few for added comfort and added the straw-filled pillows.

Morning Chanting

In the morning we were woken at 6am by a series of gongs and made it down to the main temple room for the morning ceremony. We had expected more monks but it was just us and the monk we’d met the previous day, although we still hadn’t spoken. We sat on the floor in a large tatami room facing into a neighbouring room which looked like a dusty antique shop full of golden Buddha statues and tall candle stands. The monk had a limp and it took him some time to move around the room lighting all of the candles.

When he was finished he sat on a large cushion amongst the Buddhas, facing away from us, and began to chant in a deep voice. Of course we couldn’t understand any of it but could follow the intonation. Sometimes he slowed to a conversational pace, sometimes becoming louder and more impassioned. His chanting was punctuated by hitting gongs, ringing hand bells and blowing into a wind instrument. The momentum built and things became even more exciting when he lit up a fire in front of him.

Looking into the prayer room during the morning service

Another elderly monk entered the ceremonial room about half way through. Tardiness didn’t seem in keeping with the temple ethic, but this was an unusual temple. He sat quietly at one end, sometimes muttering to himself.

When the ceremony came to an end the elderly monk disappeared and the limping monk entered our room. Should we leave? Is there more? We waited, unsure.

The monk surprised us by talking for the first time. We had assumed he couldn’t speak English but although we struggled to follow everything he said he spoke it quite well. He told us the story behind his limp, how he had an aneurysm 14 years ago leaving him paralysed in one side and was told he’d never walk again. With determination he managed to though. I’m sure there is more to the story but unfortunately we couldn’t understand it all.

Breakfast was waiting for us in the dining room – a traditional meal of rice, miso soup, two types of seaweed, pickled plum, cold mushrooms in a marinade (surprisingly delicious) and cold lotus root and carrot.

Breakfast at Haryoin

It was still early but there wasn’t much to wait around for so we said goodbye to the monk and went on our way. It was a fascinating experience and one we’d recommend. If you can afford the more upmarket temples though you might want to splurge.

Off the Beaten Track in Northern Laos

Nong Khiaw

We are back in South East Asia, settled in Chiang Mai for the moment, but we can’t help our thoughts turning to Laos, just six hours away and one of our favourite Asian countries.

Laos isn’t undiscovered but it certainly receives far fewer visitors than its neighbour Thailand. The strange thing is that everyone who does visit sticks to the exact same route – Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Vientiane. While those places have their attractions, for us the highlights of Laos were found in less visited places further north, in quiet riverside villages overlooked by craggy green mountains. While there are some exciting activities we mostly enjoyed soaking up the very chilled atmosphere and beautiful views. We found Laos wonderfully relaxed, friendly and easy to travel around, without the hassle you find in more touristy countries.

If you are thinking of visiting Laos we encourage you to think beyond the obvious places and try some of our favourite destinations in northern Laos.

The Gibbon Experience

Gibbon Experience treehouse

Many people enter Laos from Thailand at the Chiang Khong/Huay Xai border, but most don’t bother staying in town but instead hop on the two day slow boat to Luang Prabang. That’s a shame as they are missing out on one of the highlights of Laos and one of our favourite travel experiences.

Huay Xai is a sleepy river town (Laos has a lot of these!) and we enjoyed relaxing there for a few days. It’s also the headquarters of the Gibbon Experience, a conservation project that gives visitors the opportunity to get a monkey’s eye view of the rainforest via a network of ziplines and treehouses. This is no ordinary touristy ziplining tour though – you spend two nights sleeping in treehouses in the middle of the rainforest, far away from civilisation.

Gibbon Experience treehouse

We were taken deep into the jungle by bumpy pickup truck and onwards on foot. When we reached the ziplining network we were given our harnesses, shown how to use the ziplines and dropped off at our treehouses. Then we were left alone to explore the forest. At first we were terrified – the ziplines are long and incredibly high up, and we’d been left without supervision. We had no choice though as the only way to get to your treehouse is to swoop in. Soon we were zipping around like pros, flying through the air and enjoying the exhilarating feeling of freedom as we soared far above the trees.

Simon ziplining through the forest

The project is run in collaboration with local villagers so they can create an income from tourism rather than logging and poaching, in order to protect the forest, and its inhabitants the endangered black gibbon. This isn’t a wildlife watching trip though. The joy is in being in the jungle, sleeping in a treehouse and listening to the incredible night sounds. Gibbon sightings are rare and you won’t see one while zipping around, but we did get lucky with a glimpse when sitting peacefully in our treehouse. In the morning you’ll be woken by the gibbon’s strange cries.

The Gibbon Experience is a unique place and one of our most memorable travel experiences.

How to get there: From Chiang Rai in Thailand it’s a two hour bus trip to Chiang Khong where you can take a brief boat trip over to Huay Xai. The Gibbon Experienceonly take limited numbers so you’ll need to book in advance.

Luang Nam Tha

Villages near Luang Nam Tha - a great area for cycling.

Our main reason for visiting Luang Nam Tha was to trek to one of the hilltribe villages in the area. We’d heard the treks were far less touristy and better run than the ones you find around Chiang Mai in Thailand. Well, I don’t know how bad those are but we were very uncomfortable with our experience.

Despite choosing one of the best respected tour companies, our guide knew very little about the Akha village we visited and we had no interaction with the villagers. Instead we walked around the human zoo while the villagers stared at us staring and snapping photos of them. They weren’t hostile but they certainly weren’t friendly. It was fascinating to see the village but it wasn’t worth the feeling that we were intruding. We’ve realised that these types of tours aren’t for us.

Akha village near Luang Nam Tha

Despite this we loved Luang Nam Tha. It’s a small, quiet, dusty town by a river and surrounded by mountains. There isn’t much to do besides trekking and kayaking, but we loved hiring bikes and cycling around the local villages. It has a decent tourist infrastructure but is not at all overdeveloped and not on the beaten track. It’s a great place to relax for a while.

Where to stay: We loved Zuela Guesthouse. It’s friendly, very clean and the dark wood rooms are fantastic for the price – 60,000 kip (US$7.50). We also enjoyed the food at the attached restaurant and there is free wifi.

How to get there: After the Gibbon Experience rather than going back to Huay Xai we were dropped at a small village  Ban Don Chai where we waited for quite a while for the bus to Luang Nam Tha. The road was new though and a very smooth journey. From Huay Xai the bus takes four hours.

Nong Khiaw

Nong Khiaw

Nong Khiaw is a small riverside village that is becoming quite popular with backpackers as a place to relax and enjoy the dramatic views of limestone mountains. You can rent a cheap wooden bungalow overlooking the river and take in the views from your balcony or if you are feeling more energetic there are a few activities to try. Caving, kayaking and rock climbing are all possible, or you can explore the surrounding countryside of limestone peaks, waterfalls, green rice paddies and simple thatched houses on bike or foot.

We took a walk to the Tham Pha Thok caves and had them to ourselves. The huge network of caves was inhabited by villagers during the second Indochina war and it was interesting to clamber down bamboo ladders and explore the various “rooms”.

Where to stay: It’s a small place so it’s easy to wander around and find a place you like. Most accommodation is simple bamboo huts with verandahs to enjoy the views. Take a look at the hut where Johnny Vagabond stayed for US$3.75 a night. Or if you want to splurge then Nong Khiaw Riverside has beautiful big bungalows for $40.

How to get there: From Luang Nam Tha we took the bus to Udomxai, changed to another bus to Pak Mong, and from there took a shared jumbo to Nong Khiaw (about 8 hours in total). You can continue on to Luang Prabang in 4 hours.

Muang Ngoi Neua

Muang Ngoi Neua

If you are looking for an even slower pace then take a boat an hour down the Nam Ou River from Nong Khiaw to Muang Ngoi Neua. The village is only reachable by boat so has an isolated air about it, despite becoming more popular with backpackers. There is limited electricity, no internet, telephones or even cars, and accommodation is basic wooden huts overlooking the river. You can wander down the one orange dirt road and mingle with locals, perhaps joining them in a game of petanque.

There are a variety of activities on offer in the surrounding countryside– trekking, tubing, caving and kayaking, or just enjoy the views from a hammock.

Where to stay: Choose from a range of simple bungalows.

How to get there: You can only reach Muang Ngoi by boat. The nearest access point is Nong Khiaw one hour away and you can continue on to Muang Khua (4-5 hours) and get even more off the beaten track. We found the boat cramped and uncomfortable but the scenery is gorgeous and it’s interesting to observe village life on the banks of the river.

Note: We visited Laos in April 2008 so things may have changed since then. April is the hottest month and the air is smoky from farmers burning the forest, so our photos don’t do justice to the beautiful scenery. The best time to visit is the cooler dry season from November to February although we still loved our trip in April.