8 best vegan, dairy-free ice cream in Tokyo

Tutto in Kiyosumi Shirakawa is a vegan-friendly craft gelato shop that only uses plant-based milk. Gelato brand Vito from Fukuoka is involved in the development of the gelato, which are all handmade based on a traditional Italian recipe. The shop doesn’t use any eggs or white sugar, making this sweet treat guilt free. 

You can get a single flavour for ¥550 and a double for ¥770, or have your gelato in a cone for an additional ¥100. There are a dozen flavours including almond milk, hazelnut chocolate, Italian salt and blood orange. What’s more, your order can also be made into a drinkable gelato called belato. Vegan crepes (from ¥750) are also on the menu and come with a slab of gelato, too.

This Hawaiian ice cream shop along the Azabu-Juban shotengai shopping street is entirely organic and vegan friendly. Coconut Glen’s makes its ice cream with a coconut milk base and sweetens it with organic sugar cane.

Its ice cream comes in seven different flavours – chocolate, vanilla, ginger lemongrass, pistachio, coffee, toffee and banana rum raisin. Get a scoop for ¥540 or three scoops for ¥756. You can eat the ice cream as it is or top it off with vegan cookies for ¥350. Otherwise, get a cookie sandwich for ¥600 a pop or a pack of four for ¥2,600. 

Premium Sow in Daikanyama offers an array of desserts that are entirely vegan and gluten free. There are decadent chocolate cakes, apple tarts, mont blancs and puddings on display, but when the weather's hot, you’ll want to head straight for the vegan and gluten-free ice cream (from ¥550).

Premium Sow’s ice cream does not contain any cream, milk, egg, butter or flour. Instead, it uses plant milk, rice flour and other dairy-free ingredients. While the flavours differ daily, you can be sure there are ten to choose from, including pistachio, rum raisin, rich chocolate and vanilla chocolate crunch.

For a bigger bite, get the ice cream sandwiches, which feature housemade cookies and come in eight flavours. While takeout is the norm here, the café does have a small eat-in space.

Far East Bazaar is known for its international condiments and spices, but the shop also has a small section dedicated to ice cream and smoothies. Head over to its Shinjuku outlet for a vegan soft serve made with soy and oat milk and sweetened with flower nectar.

It also offers a healthy, vegan ice cream sandwich (¥594) that’s free from dairy, eggs, artificial colours and white sugar. The ice cream (from ¥540) is available in various flavours including soy milk, pistachio and cacao dates.

This ice cream shop started in Kobe in 2017 and now it’s opened a second location in Hiroo. Harlow’s frozen treats (from ¥550) are made in-house daily using natural sweeteners. Aside from a line up of about six dairy ice creams, it also offers five vegan ice cream flavours – coconut and soy maple cookie, black sesame miso and black cookie, mixed berry sorbet, madagascar vanilla, and Smith Tea strawberry jam cookie. You can choose to enjoy your treat in a cup or a freshly made vegan cone.

Aside from its huge falafel sandwiches, Ballon also serves vegan soft-serve ice cream (¥550) made with organic soy milk instead of dairy. It’s allergen-free, since the only ingredients that go into this cool treat are agave powder, amazake, canola oil, hemp fruit, vanilla beans and a pinch of salt. You can jazz it up with nine topping options: make it fruity with strawberry or passion fruit sauce, or add some crunch with chocolate chips or granola.

This gelato specialist in Nakameguro offers over 40 flavours, half of which are strictly vegan, meaning there are no dairy products or honey. The selections here aren’t your average vanilla and chocolate flavours, either. Try the Sicillian pistachio, Japanese-style rum raisin, or the Kyoto white miso with vegan cheese if you’re looking for something rich and creamy. Prefer something more refreshing? Opt for either the beet and amazake or the chocolate sorbet. Single flavours start from ¥600.

Ikea has created a buzz with its diverse vegan menu, and its plant-based soft-serve ice cream has been a big hit. The flavours tend to change once in a while – we’ve seen banana and watermelon in the past – but its current offering is kiwi. The best part? It’s only ¥50.