Description

🎙 Vegan in Japan: Culture, Soy Myths & The Truth Behind Itadaki Healthy

What’s it really like to live vegan in Japan?

In this episode of the Plant Fuelled Podcast, I catch up with Leonore, vegan nutritionist and founder of Itadaki Healthy, as she returns for her second appearance on the show. Two years later we’re diving back into life in Japan, and what’s changed (or hasn’t) in the world of food, culture, and plant-based living.

From navigating the visa system to running a nutrition business in one of the most food-traditional countries in the world, Leonore shares the reality of balancing purpose with practicality. We explore how Japanese culture views health and wellness, why phytoestrogens are celebrated in Japan while soy is vilified in the West, and whether the vegan movement there is progressing or quietly regressing.

We also get into the surprising nuances of Japan’s plant-based scene the good, the challenging, and the beautifully strange and why context is everything when it comes to eating and living well abroad.

✨ In this episode we cover:

✅ How veganism is evolving (and sometimes reversing) in Japan

✅ The myth vs. truth of soy and phytoestrogens

✅ Food tours, cultural lessons, and the rise of plant-based curiosity

✅ Navigating Japan’s food culture as a foreign nutritionist

✅ EU plant-based labelling laws and what they mean for the future

✅ The global confusion around “meat-free” marketing

✅ How travel and culture shape your nutrition philosophy

✅ What Leonore has learned about health, balance, and resilience over the past two years

This isn’t just a travel story it’s a cultural conversation about how food shapes identity, belonging, and belief.

📲 Connect with Leonore (Itadaki Healthy):

Website: itadakihealthy.com

Instagram: @itadakihealthy

📲 Connect with Callum:

Instagram: @plantfuellednutrition

Website: www.plantfuelled.co.uk

⭐ If this episode gave you something to think about, hit follow, drop a review, or share it with a friend who still thinks soy sauce is suspicious. It costs nothing, but it helps the podcast reach more curious minds.