Grilled seasonal vegetables with sweet-and-sour miso sauce set at Miracle Dining in Hachioji, Japan. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
A restaurant not far from Yokota Air Base, Japan, serves food grown using fertilizer-free farming, meaning its menu is free of anything exposed to chemicals or organic fertilizers or pesticides.
Miracle Dining is on the ninth floor of Celeo Hachioji, a big, enclosed mall adjacent to the Hachioji Station in the western Tokyo suburb.
The restaurant can seat 40 and the menus are in Japanese, but the staff is accommodating. The menu highlights vegan meals and points out those made with wheat or eggs.
Set menus for lunch and dinner include a choice of a main dish or rice bowl, two sides, mixed vegetables, a mini salad, brown rice and Hokkaido Earth Miso soup.
I opted for grilled seasonal vegetables with sweet-and-sour miso sauce for 1,540 yen, or about $10. I also ordered rosehip tea for 550 yen and an organic tofu and walnut brownie for 550 yen.
The brown rice was amazing; it came with a side of green tea salt, which added a delightful flavor.
The organic tofu and walnut brownie from Miracle Dining in Hachioji, Japan. (Kelly Agee/Stars and Stripes)
All the vegetables were super fresh, and I was so happy to find okra on my plate, a veggie I haven’t had in a while.
The rosehip tea came in a clear kettle with plenty of tea to enjoy during the meal.
The portions were quite large, so I took my organic tofu and walnut brownie to go. When I sampled it later, I was pleasantly surprised because it tastes like a regular brownie, just a little less sweet.
Other vegan options at Miracle Dining include a deep-fried rice bowl with koji malt for 1,188 yen; fried koji with tofu tartar sauce set; and a farm cuisine set, which is a mix of vegetable dishes. Both are 1,485 yen.
Non-vegan options include a grilled chicken with salt and koji rice bowl for 1,188 yen, a chicken loaf set with tofu and vegetables, or a pork and root vegetables with ginger set, also at 1,485 yen a piece.
For drinks, choose from organic coffee, organically grown green tea from Shizuoka, and ginger ale, all for 550 yen. A variety of juices, including tomato, carrot, mandarin and apple, are 660 yen.
Miracle Dining
Location: 1-1 Asahi-cho, Hachioji-shi, Celeo Hachioji North Building 9F, Tokyo 192-0083
Hours: Open daily, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Prices: Items range from 550 yen to 1,540 yen.
Dress: Casual
Directions: A short walk from Hachioji Station.
Information: Online: kisekicafe8.com
