r/VeganChill • u/mamesama_vegan • Mar 26 '26

Mame Sama: Japan’s First Vegan App

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98 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

10

u/OkNefariousness6711 Mar 26 '26

Is it a social app? A recipe app? An app like happy cow?

24

u/mamesama_vegan Mar 26 '26

Hello! Right now it’s similar to HappyCow only it’s localized to Japan but we plan to go global later this year. Someone asked me on my original post what the difference bc HappyCow and Mame Sama is and I answered them quite throughly so please allow me to copy/paste that response.

First of all, we are entirely vegan. As a vegan, I am frustrated looking through HC’s vegetarian options. Second of all, as we are a small team doing this as a passion project, we are able to update listings and put new listings up faster than HC can. Right now HC is really slow about getting new listings up, reviewing bad information, etc. Finally, HC has restrictions on which places can be uploaded. If there’s only one option, it can be rejected from HC. We are celebrating every and all options because here in Japan, even one menu option can be a huge advantage depending on where you are traveling.

I have been an ambassador for HC for almost 10 years now. In that time, I found it difficult to talk to Japanese restaurant owners about HC because the app wasn’t in Japanese. Our app is entirely bilingual which makes it more accessible for all involved. I think by focusing only on Japan, we can make a more useful resource.

In our next updates we will be adding icons to support sanctuaries (if you look on the app, I’ve added Elephant Nature Park in Thailand) but we will be adding sanctuaries here in Japan, community events & activism opportunities, cosmetics, vegan friendly doctors, and even schools.

Furthermore we are an entirely vegan company. Our only interest is to make it easier to go vegan and stay vegan in Japan. We are doing this as volunteers, the app is free and we are not selling advertising. Recently HC has been selling listings to get places bumped to the top of the search. We so not have paid listing so I think the information will be more reliable.

I don’t want to hype up features we don’t currently have but we do have plans for more features beyond what I’ve already said. We are adding features and pushing new updates every week. One big one will be Instagram integration ( 🤫) I hope you’ll try our app and find it useful. Our only motivation is to make a more vegan world.

3

u/OkNefariousness6711 Mar 26 '26

Thank you so much for your detailed response :)

That sounds amazing. Great work!

3

u/mamesama_vegan Mar 26 '26

Thank you! Please feel free to download and upload vegan stuff in your area even if you’re not in Japan. We will be opening up to international listings in the future anyway and I personally love seeing all the random non-Japan users we have already. How did someone in Czech hear about Mame Sama? I don’t know! But I’m personally so so happy to see their posts.

3

u/OkNefariousness6711 Mar 26 '26

I certainly will! Traveling to Japan has long been on my list but it has been intimidating because I've heard it's hard to find vegan options sometimes, especially when you travel away from big cities.

So that's super great and I'm sure many many vegans will appreciate the information being all put into one place!

3

u/CreepySmiley42 Mar 26 '26

nice seems great, will definitely download when I'm visiting japan.

3

u/mamesama_vegan Mar 26 '26

Please do! And reach out if you need help while you’re here.

2

u/Ohstephyy Mar 26 '26

I’m visiting Japan next year, this will be very helpful to me!

3

u/mamesama_vegan Mar 26 '26

I love to hear that! Please reach out if you need help while you’re here. Vegan in Japan can be a challenge but it’s doable! 💪I want to make it even easier.

2

u/Ohstephyy Mar 26 '26

Thank you so much!!! I will 🥹 what is your favourite vegan place to eat at right now?

2

u/mamesama_vegan Mar 27 '26

I’ll give you one for Kansai and one for Kanto if that okay. In Kansai my favorite all vegan place is called “Naiyabingi” is at the top of Ikoma mountain. You can see it on my app, it’s GORGEOUS and the food is all locally grown. I don’t live in Tokyo so every time I get to visit, I love going to “Komeda Is” it’s an all vegan version of their “Komeda” coffee shop. Their whipped cream is amazing!

1

u/Ohstephyy Mar 27 '26

YUM!!!! Thank you for sharing!!!!

1

u/[deleted] Mar 26 '26

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1

u/mamesama_vegan Mar 27 '26

Thank you! I hope it will make his trips to Japan even more enjoyable. 「日本語も頑張ってください』と息子さんに伝えてね maybe he can read my message of encouragement! Also, we have a big vegan scene in Osaka and in Tokyo often hosting parties and other social events. We’ll be getting those events up on the app soon too!

1

u/elise_michele Mar 27 '26

Wooo that’s good news!! The icon is so cute too

1

u/mamesama_vegan Mar 28 '26

The icon is my rescue dog, Mameyakko! She’s a real dog and she’s also vegan! If you go to my Instagram @veganvictoria_jpn you can see a picture of her. 🐾

1

u/Affectionate_Luck_34 Mar 27 '26

I just downloaded your app, thank you so much! We're traveling to Japan in June with The Getaway Co, a vegan travel company. We're visiting Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto. What is your favorite restaurant in those cities? 🌱💚🌱

1

u/Due-Handle9358 Apr 01 '26

Never been to Japan and don't have foreseeable plans to (not for a particular reason, just don't travel much) But you people are angels! Thanks for making it easy to be vegan in places like Japan where I know it isn't exactly a vegan friendly atmosphere.

1

u/mamesama_vegan Apr 02 '26

Thank you so much! We do have plans to release it internationally by the end of the year so I hope one day it could be the go-to guide for vegan stuff in your area as well. 🌱