Subway - Vegetarian-friendly global sandwich chain

When I travel in Japan, I often check in advance if there is a Subway store in the destination. Apart from vegan/vegetarian restaurants, it is one of the most convenient eating places in Japan where vegetarians can order food at ease. In addition, a Subway store is easy to find when you are in the center of the city. At present, there are 308 stores in Japan, including four stores in Hamamatsu. One of them is in the basement of Entetsu Department Store, only 2-minute walk from JR Hamamatsu Station. If you take the escalator outside the north exit of the station down to this fountain and go behind it, you can see the Subway store on your left.

In Subway stores in Japan, vegetarians have three options: Veggie Delite, Avocado & Veggie, and Veggie & Cheese. Today, I had Veggie Delite, fried potatoes seasoned with herb salt, and 100% orange juice. I asked the staff member to put all kinds of vegetables including olives, pickles, and hot peppers. For the seasoning, I asked for salt, pepper, vinegar, and oil. As bread, I chose flat bread, which reminded me of thin bread in Sweden and naan bread in India I like.

I had thought for a long time that this Veggie Delite and Avocado & Veggie were completely vegan sandwiches, but I was wrong. According to Subway Japan’s website, all their bread types contain milk. Subway Japan may be vegetarian-friendly, but not vegan-friendly yet.

In September, I traveled to Finland and Sweden. At a Subway store in Rovaniemi, a town near the polar circle where Santa Claus lives, I found Vegan Delite. In addition to vegetables, it had a thin big vegan steak in it. Though it was called steak, it looked like a slice of vegan loaf and somehow reminded me of agehampen, a Japanese deep-fried flat fish cake with cut vegetables in. Unfortunately, I can’t remember exactly how it tasted. Maybe I was so excited to eat this special sandwich that I didn’t taste it carefully. According to their website, four of their bread types are also vegan. I think I had a completely vegan sandwich in Finland.

I like Subway’s flexible way to make their sandwiches. Customers can choose everything from the bread type to the seasoning. I hope Subway Japan will provide options for vegans in the near future, and I believe they can.

*Unfortunately, this store was closed in May 2019. But there are still three Subway stores in Hamamatsu: Aeon Mall Hamamatsu Ichino, Aeon Mall Hamamatsu Shitoro, and Pleha Walk Hamakita.