End of my work at Japan Travel KK, 8 years meaningful beyond expectations, with farewell drinks hosted by leadership 🥂 From overcoming the covid crisis to launching/managing unique projects, I proudly contributed to economic inflows, rural revitalisation, local pride, and unforgettable memories ⛩️

🧵1/ I just touched 1,000s-year-old Antarctic ice 🧊 while exploring the interactive #Antarctica exhibition at #Tokyo Miraikan with a VR researcher friend and his family! Organized with #Japan National Institute of Polar Research, it covers 70 years of polar history in English & Japanese 👍🏻

🍜 Back to life thanks to cold vegan #ramen inside Tokyo station at T's Tantan: Mexican spices whiff, salsa, crunchy tortilla chip, avocado, and veggie rainbow on bamboo-charcoal rice-based noodles. Squeeze the lemon over then taste 🍋 1,480 yen. #VeganJapan #VeganTokyo

Great lunch with Japanese partners in Tokyo yesterday! I shared cross-cultural tips for their upcoming business trip to Paris and highly recommended Riuzen in Fukui (best sauce-based #vegan soba I ate in Japan in 21 years) 🥢 It felt good to be useful while discussing my next steps: job hunting…

🧵1/ I almost gave up! After 8 busy years, I unlocked an old dream & reached #SanIn to explore #Japanese creation myths (8-day holiday): Izanami's death, Orochi's beheading, Susanoo's sake & sword, Okuninushi's nation-building… ⛩️ Visit after Awaji (first island) but before Kashihara (first emperor) 🗾

I'm on holiday all July except 3 days including farewells 🏖️ Upcoming: vegan summer foods, Japan star festival, fun beach party by business partners (no heatwave, 29℃ = 84℉), exciting immersive exhibition with a VR researcher in Tokyo (feel a blizzard, touch Antarctica ice, see auroras)…

🧵1/ I almost gave up! After 8 busy years, I unlocked an old dream & reached #SanIn to explore #Japanese creation myths (8-day holiday): Izanami's death, Orochi's beheading, Susanoo's sake & sword, Okuninushi's nation-building… ⛩️ Visit after Awaji (first island) but before Kashihara (first emperor) 🗾

Uncertainty settling in: a job switch, Hormuz affecting Tokyo groceries, and health issues around me. My 36 days of paid leave help me reset, reorganize online & offline, enjoy family touring Japan, and tick off dream goals. Would you guess I feel level, with renewed expectation & freedom?

I discovered Ovgo Baker, a creative B Corp #VeganBakery, in Tokyo. Yuki Mizobuchi founded & named it with "Organic, Vegan, and Gluten-free as Options" in mind. Her team focused on sustainability and inclusion from the start 👍🏻 sebastien-duval.com/ovgo-baker/

Ovgo Baker - Sébastien Duval

I’ve eaten once at an Ovgo Baker bakery, while scouting for vegan tours. I’d recommend it for a short break or takeaway 🍪 Check this 100% vegan B Corp out! Ovgo Baker Edo Street Near Ningyocho mechani...

sebastien-duval.com

I savoured a flabbergasting vegan carrot cake gooey cookie at Ovgo Baker Edo Street in Tokyo, just after fasting for my free annual health check 🥕 This big 3D dessert with crinkled exterior was delicately crisp and surprisingly spicy 🍪 Go test if you can identify its hidden ingredients! #VeganTokyo

I just savoured a seasonal gluten-free vegan "yuzu jasmine cookie" takeaway from Ovgo Baker Edo Street in Tokyo 🍋 This large golden snack blending yuzu peels and jasmine tea leaves has a botanical whiff and is delicately crispy 🍪 Wholesome & unique! #VeganJapan #VeganTokyo

Never eaten before: vegan mentaiko (明太子)! Komeda Is Higashi-Ginza's rare plant-based mentaiko cream pasta was delicious 🍝 Go taste this Japanese savoury spicy red dish with a unique popping texture (originally fish eggs)… 🌶️ Creative & surprising #VeganTokyo #VeganJapan 👍

Looking for a 100% vegan spot in Tokyo? Komeda Is Higashi-Ginza is open from 07:00 to 22:00 near the Kabuki-za theatre 🎭 It's super convenient for any meal, from breakfast to dinner 🌿 Check it out! #VeganRestaurant sebastien-duval.com/komeda-is-hi...

Komeda Is Higashi-Ginza - Sébastien Duval

I’ve eaten at Komeda Is Higashi-Ginza restaurant many times while guiding vegan friends/journalists/influencers/…, while waiting for nearby meetings, while spending the night at a hotel to catch an ea...

sebastien-duval.com

A real treat after guiding 11 days, transferring from KIX to Tokyo home: my usual Vegan Paitan Spicy Ramen at Ramen Kiou under Shin-Osaka Station 🍜 You'd love its sumptuous soup 🌶️🌶️! Bowl emptied; no better proof 🙂 Appeasing & energising, quick slurpers, 1680 yen… #VeganOsaka #VeganJapan

🧵1/ 20~30 March: I'm guiding & storytelling for 21 #vegan gourmets from France, Mexico & USA across blooming Japanese countryside 🌸 Suruga, Minobu, Kaga-onsen… A community concept with ZERO metropolis visits 🗾 Proud to make #JapanTravel more inclusive, revitalising and transformational 💚 #VeganJapan

🧵1/ In #Tokyo at the Edo Shogun Roads kick-off ceremony by #Japan Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. The insight now isn't the new website but a strategic shift from "point" destinations to "linear", cross-regional slow journeys 🔖 greatertokyo.jp #JapanTravel

T's Tantan Tokyo Station never misses 🍜 I just disappeared a seasonal Sakura Vegan Tonkotsu Ramen 😋 Deliciously creamy with spicy crispy toppings and a sweet potato monaka 🌸 Clearing the bowl is the ultimate review 🥣 1,450 yen. Next time: vegan mentaiko rice? #VeganRamen #VeganTokyo #VeganJapan

🧵1/ Great vibes at 2026 #JapanTravel Forum! Now at #Tokyo American Club for panels, awards, networking… Grateful to Shiitake Creative for the invite as #JapanTravelAwards press to celebrate inclusive, sustainable, and remarkable tourism 🗾

Useful networking, free trip subsidies… at San’in Discovery Night, by San’in Tourism Organization, in #Tokyo. Next: follow up with officials, #Shimane & #Tottori promoters, travel agents, and guides for PDFs, French market bids, 2026 plans… Grateful to MC/consultant Alexander Stankov for his invite!

Before riding my train back home from Tokyo station, I ate again at Mr Farmer Tokyo Midtown Hibiya restaurant. Its big vegan green salad was tasty: avocado, green beans, broccoli, cucumber, lime, sprouts, and mixed leaves with Genovese dressing 🥗 Next time, vegan cake too? English OK. #VeganTokyo

Hiking near Mount Takao, I discovered Takao Veg Stand restaurant, open from 08:00. Cooked before my eyes, its vegan mushroom sandwich was fine: focaccia, shimeji, eryngii, caramelized onions, tomato/cashew/almond paste… Next time: vegan chili beans 🥪 Friendly Japanese chef, English OK 👨‍🍳 #VeganTokyo

🧵1/ Inspired at Happo-en Next 2026 Summit while scouting for #JapanTravel upcoming #MICE events: bold rebranding & #Tokyo renewal (weddings ➡️ cultural infrastructure for 100-year business), discussion with the CEO and managers of new vegan-friendly venues in #Kyoto & #Fukuoka (shrine! EN/FR staff!)…

🧵1/ Off to #Aichi for 2 days, meeting #MICE unique venue managers, scouting for #JapanTravel upcoming events… Timely: this №1 industrial region of Japan will host the 2026 #AsianGames. I'm grateful to #Nagoya Convention & Visitors Bureau for its invitation following discussions at 2025 Tourism Expo!

🧵1/ In #Tokushima on a 2-day #MonitorTour with a cycling professional to evaluate a #umeshu (plum liqueur) tour: annual festival, producers, liqueurs, juices, stories… I did consulting 3+ times in this prefecture but I discover #Misato. I'm grateful to Anabuki Travel for their trust! #JapanTravel

🍜 Smiling again after a farewell thanks to seasonal vegan comfort food at Tokyo Station T's Tantan: mala 5-spice soy sauce #ramen. Noodle choice: wheat, konjac or rice (taken for a change). Burdock root topping, date vinegar (!)… A maze of tastes, truly AMAZING in a good way! #VeganJapan #VeganTokyo

Daruma, the round wooden dolls, are spirits of victory and success, and the principal spirit of Katsuoji Temple in the mountains of Osaka Prefecture Katsuoji is also an EXCELLENT place to view Japan's fiery autumn leaves! #JapanTravel #Osaka #autumn #Katsuoji #Japaneseculture #Japan #autumnleaves

The Chikatsu Asuka Museum has a fascinating collection of artifacts from Japan's ancient Kofun (burial mounds) period. Here is a small sample of the 1,400+ year old items that may be exhibited when the museum reopens after refurbishment next April #archeologymuseum #近つ飛鳥博物館 #chikatsuasukamuseum

🧵1/ In #Fukushima on a 2-day #PressTour with 15 journalists & influencers to witness then inform about its #Innovation Coast initiative! One of the world's largest renewable-energy-driven hydrogen facility, muscle suits, rice-based resins… I'm grateful to Jarman International for the invite! #Japan

Asucome Macrobiotic Gohan Café Meguru's owners prepared our lunch with love from newly harvested rice and vegetables picked hours ago at their organic farm. Almost art: delicate carrot tempura. Even their sweet potato tart was homemade. In Asuka near #Archaeoastronomy sites. #VeganJapan #VeganAsuka

High-quality #JapaneseCulture snapshot, #Kyoto Gion Corner 1-hour show lets you see 7 arts 🎭 My favourite #bunraku puppet theatre, bugaku imperial dance, geisha dance, concert of koto (national instrument of Japan), ikebana, kyogen… It's cheap but book early! No photos/videos allowed. #JapanTravel