After a week away from parkrun (due to a visit to DLP- sadly no parkruns in France for now or the foreseeable future), the following weekend we were down in Brighton for our wedding anniversary, so I opted for Hove Prom.
It was my 12th time there, and as always, fab. Our hotel was around a mile away, and the run there was straightforward, along the seafront, and a good warm up. Rather than a tarpaulin of trust, they have boxes by the beach huts, and the first timer welcome was right there too. Even though I’ve been there lots of times, I like to still listen to the welcome, just in case there is a course change. There are so many people there now (850 that day) that you cannot hear the main briefing because of people talking. It’s also really nice to see the new runners and tourists coming along- that day there were a few running club trips from various places including Kent, so you get a bit of a feel for the people there that day by going along to the briefing.
Photos taken on the way to parkrun
I’d seen that they had pacers, so I decided to try and come in under 28 minutes as I have not managed many speedy times this year. The start area was so busy, and I could not hear (as previously mentioned) and could not see any of the pacers either. As we started I was a bit boxed in with people, but managed to overtake a few people and could see the 29 pacer (who I overtook quickly) and then the 28 min pacer up ahead. I kept them in sight and at the first turn around point I was pretty close. I managed to get ahead of the group and just tried to stay there. Hove Prom is out and back twice (but you start in the middle, so you really go out, turn, back, turn, out, turn, back, turn, into the finish) and so at the turn around points you can see how close you are ahead of the pacers, and in the second lap I managed to get a bit further ahead, and could even see the 27 min pacer up ahead. It was so busy there that as I got to the finish, the queue was backing out of the finish funnel and onto the course, so I stopped my watch, but with a combination of not hearing the start, and of course not knowing when they would stop meant I didn’t know if I’d managed sub 28 even though it should have been OK.
Watch and token showing my possible time…
I scanned, got my jacket from the box by the beach huts, got a few photos by the purple pop up and then headed back to the hotel for breakfast (Andy had popped out to get vegan croissants). When my text came through later, I was so pleased to have achieved 27:12 – well under the 28 minutes I was aiming for. This was actually the same time that I managed on my first ever parkrun back in 2013- I had signed up to Marathon Talk’s Jantastic, and as part of that you had to do some sort of time trial, where you estimated your time, then entered your actual time, and then gained points the closer you were. I had put down 27 minutes for a 5k, and did my first parkrun as the time trial, and then it turned out I had actually filled it in on the website as 27 hours so I was way off!
Selfie by the old pier and the purple pop up
I don’t often aim for a time at parkrun- I am more than happy to run around and chat to people as I run, and if I am touring I like to see the new event, take photos as I run around and so on. But on this occasion it was good to have something to aim for.
So that was parkrun 380 and my 12th time at Hove Prom.
Do you like aiming for a time or are you happy to enjoy the atmosphere?
PS A few Brighton photos – delicious vegan pancakes from Nowhere Man, Bird and Blend cups and a walk to Hove.
As mentioned before, this was one of the main questions I have been asked since going to Japan, so I thought I’d put a post together with some recommendations.
Lots of places tended to be independent and would have small menus, and items would run out during the day so they would put a “sold out” sign over that item on the menu. We tended to go to mainly vegan places, but we also visited some places that had clearly marked vegan options on the menu, and these places I had seen on You Tube videos or recommendations elsewhere. I would not want to rock up to any restaurant and expect there to be a vegan option (or even vegetarian) but if you are prepared it will be fine.
I had researched convenience stores beforehand, and they were meant to have some vegan options, but even though we went to one Natural Lawson branch (meant to have more vegan options than typical ones) I couldn’t find anything apart from fresh fruit. I used google translate on my phone which was very helpful, but even things that you would assume to be vegan (eg Soy protein bars), some flavours would have dairy or other animal products so I just didn’t risk anything apart from fruit.
Starbucks ended up being a really good option for breakfast, lunch or snacks. They had clearly marked plant based items including a blueberry cream cheese bagel, a vegan cheese and tomato pizza bread slice, lemon cube cake, rice flour banana cake swirl and some crisps. Plus if you ordered alt milk you got a little receipt which said “soy milk” and you had to hand it to the server, and when your drink came it had a little sticker on it showing the type of milk- this really reassured me as I am always paranoid that I will be given the wrong type. We did bring with us cereal bars (I bought a lot of Clif bars from Food Circle Supermarket) and I bought some vegan croissants to take as I had read breakfast wasn’t really a thing, but we did get the blueberry bagel a few times.
Tokyo
We were in Tokyo for 5 days at the start of the holiday and then one afternoon at the end. We stayed in the Shibuya area which was fab for vegan options, but as we travelled around a bit to sightsee we also visited various other precincts. I’d made some notes of various places and had followed a few places on Instagram to keep up to date with menus and opening times and so on.
I was really keen to find a vegan version of the fruit and cream sandwiches that seem to be sold everywhere, and on our day in Asakusa we visited Hatoya’s Vegan Fruit Sandwiches- delicious! They did some fruit ones and a special with red bean paste (the little eyes in those – see below) so we shared one of each and from a person who is not a cream fan this was just perfect in the heat- a cool and creamy filling with fresh strawberries and other fruits. The bean paste was really good too.
Vegan fruit sandwich, falafel bowl, waffle fries and pecan pie from Falafel Bros.
Falafel brothers – a fully vegan place with several locations. They do falafels, pitta, salads, pizza and various desserts. The falafel was so light and crispy and delicious. We went to the one in the Parco shopping centre (also had the Nintendo store in it). The salad had different options, I think I had the Mediterranean one with pickles and various veggies in there too, as well as loads of hummus.
One day we went out to Team Lab Planets (an interactive art exhibition) and they had a vegan ramen place outside. It was so hot so in the end we just had some of their vegan matcha ice cream, but the ramen did look good.
Vegan matcha ice cream from the vegan ramen place, matcha latte and a plant based blueberrybagel from Starbucks.
Tokyo also had a branch of Island Vintage Coffee (which we loved when we were in Hawaii) so an acai bowl from there for breakfast one day was amazing.
Acai bowl, falafel bowl and soy matcha lattes with the cute soy milk sticker just about in the pic!
2 Foods- located inside Loft which is a department store. Fully vegan with Japanese foods like omurice (Japanese omlette rice using vegan egg, topped with tomato sauce), as well as burgers, vegan nuggets and doughnuts.
2 Foods nuggets, omurice and doughnuts
We had some vegan ramen from Jikasei Mensho in the Parco building. They did vegan as well as non-vegan, and they were very careful to point out it was soy meat when handing out the vegan ramen. It was tasty, but the meal was slightly spoilt by our phones going off with an “earthquake imminent” warning which made me have a bit of a panic attack.
Vegan ramen, more nuggets from 2 Foods, matcha from The Matcha Tokyo and lemon/ raspberry and pistachio doughnuts from 2 Foods.
The Matcha Tokyo had several branches and did plant milks for their lattes as well as selling a vegan matcha cookie – I tried it once and it was more like a biscuit, but it was tasty.
Ain Soph- vegan with a few branches across Japan- we went to the Kyoto one as well as the Tokyo one. Their fluffy Japanese pancakes were amazing, and we got to try karaage (a frying technique that is used for nuggets and things like that).
We had a fun hunt on our final day as I wanted to try melon bread and had seen that within a department store there was a bakery that did a vegan version. We hunted for a looooong time in the store but eventually found it! It was in the Shinjuku Isetan store in the basement, the stand was called Maison Landemaine Store.
Lemon pancakes, vegan nuggets from Ain Soph and the vegan melon bread.
En route to Kyoto we visited the Ghibli park. They shut at 5 so we only needed to get lunch, and the grand warehouse had a restaurant attached that did a few vegan sandwiches (clearly marked with allergens displayed)- we both had the avocado sandwich which was absolutely crammed with avocado and fresh tomato- delicious (see below).
Avocado sandwich and iced tea from Ghibli park, vegan matcha doughnut from Nicotto & Mam’s doughnut cafe, and the cute alt milk stickers from Starbucksplus the pot where they put your reciept once you collected your drink
Kyoto
Kyoto had a more alternative vibe than Tokyo and there were lots of little indie businesses. We went to the Ain Soph branch one day, and then discovered a few other gems including one of my favourite meals of the trip.
Gion Soy Milk Ramen Uno Yokiko was amazing. I had seen soy milk ramen on the internet and could not quite imagine how it would be, particularly as I’m not a big fan of white sauces. Anyway, this fully vegan place did amazing soy milk ramen. This was another day that we both overheated a bit, wandering around the Gion district of Kyoto where the buildings are all low (no shade) and open fronted (no A/C)- sitting in the cool and having salty flavourful broth with fresh veggies, tofu and gyoza was just heavenly. Also they did vegan matcha ice cream for dessert that came in little hedgehog dishes- the cutest!
Soy milk ramen and matcha ice cream
Burger and pancakes (shared for dessert) from the Kyoto Ain Soph.
Vegginy in Kyoto was another teeny place- it was in the basement of a building (there was a sign at street level) and it only had 4 tables. They were full so I had to message them on Instagram and they messaged back when there was a table free, so we had a nice wander around the nearby streets. There were two members of staff and we sat at the counter watching them prep the food, they did a couple of options, we both opted for the veggie and hummus sandwich which was totally stacked and full of delicious things like miso mushrooms, shredded veggies and loads of fresh hummus. They did a side of rosemary potatoes which were so much more than just that- there were three types of potatoes and the server explained to use each variety- they were crispy and salty and again just what you needed after sweating buckets!
Veggie sandwich and rosemary potatoes, the streets in Kyoto and the sign outside Vegginy
Osaka
We only had a few days in Osaka and one of those was at Universal.
Universal was pretty good with vegan options with a few clearly marked on their menus- they even had plant based butter beer! We had a salad with loads of fruit for lunch, and then a stew with veggies, salad and potatoes for dinner (just what you want in the heat!).
Stew, salad and plant based butterbeer at Universal
Osaka also had one of our most memorable meals. I was keen to try okonomiyaki which is a sort of frittata/pancake thing. Oko okonomiyaki made a vegan version so we sat outside in the queue, and once inside gave our order (you chose 5 vegetables to have with it) then went upstairs to find a table on one of several floors. We noticed a TV screen in the room and could see the person who had taken our order, now busy in the kitchen, and it then transpired that she was the single member of staff, letting in people in batches and then cooking their food. She would call out your number for you to come and collect, and then once she had cooked all the orders she’d let in another batch of people. It was pretty amazing. You could actually speak to her through a microphone in each room but we didn’t do that. Just watching her race around was exhausting but amazing and we could see why that food was a sort of post-drink favourite.
Okonomiyaki and gyoza
Canelita Sweets was another gem- a fully vegan bakery with not only delicious foods but cute foods too- carrot cake with little rabbits made of frosting… we may have visited there twice!
A few of the cakes from there
Things to look out for
A few general words of warning- I had read that Starbucks almond milk wasn’t vegan, so I stuck to soy milk (tried the oat milk once but the soy was nicer), and our first night in Osaka we got in late and were totally exhausted after being out in the heat all day, so Andy suggested McDonalds (which I do not think I have been to since our first trip to Florida in 2002!)- well I googled it and they use beef dripping so the fries aren’t vegan there. Luckily the hotel had a few bits in their chiller cabinet so I could have a little picnic in the room. Lots of the vending machines sold drinks and despite packing rehydration tabs, a few times we were out in the heat and wanted something. Pocari Sweat was vegan, but the version sold at Universal (I can’t remember the brand name) wasn’t, so always double check as animal products seem to make their way into lots of things you wouldn’t expect.
But, I totally loved Japan, we had the most delicious food and I would absolutely love to go again! If you are vegan (or veggie) do a bit of research first, use the Happy Cow app as well as searching google maps, and enjoy all the wonderful food.
Would you like to go to Japan? How do you go about finding places to eat when you are on holiday?
One of the main questions that pretty much everyone has asked me about the trip to Japan was “what did you eat?”, and it was something I was a bit apprehensive about before going there. I did a lot of research beforehand, watching lots of You Tube and following various accounts on Instagram, so I did have an idea of what to expect. When I was at Futakotamagawa parkrun, one of the runners I was chatting to noticed my Vegan Runners visor and asked me about it, and said he was vegan but was not going to be vegan for the trip as he didn’t think it was possible. (I know everyone has different reasons for being vegan, so I am not judging at all, but the thought of accidentally eating meat/fish/dairy makes me feel sick so that was not an option for me. It did make me feel sad that he thought that though, and I think it does put some people off travelling there). Anyway, I thought I’d put a couple of posts together about it as I found the things I had read very useful.
First up, Disney! We were in Tokyo for a few days before heading to Tokyo Disney, but I’ll keep it separate as otherwise it will be a super long post!
The Insta account Vegan TDR was the most useful resource, as they have listed all the vegan options in both parks.
Tokyo Disneyland
There were no vegan breakfast options in the park (I knew about this in advance- there used to be a bone shaped bread filled with sweet bean paste but that had stopped being sold before we travelled there), so I had brought with me some cereal bars and vegan croissants.
The vegan stew, the mixed green salad, the Baymax stew again and the Korean rice bowl with the Mickey carrot!
We booked one table service place, the Center Street Coffee House, to have the BayMax curry. I had to ask for the low allergen stew (not curry) and the cast member brought out an i-pad and I ticked all the allergens I wouldn’t eat (including abalone which I had to google as I had no idea what it was- it’s fish) and once I had ticked them all they confirmed that it would be suitable. They were so lovely, and the food was tasty as well as looking amazing. It’s not often that the food on the plate looks as amazing as the food on the menu!
One of our favourite dishes was a quick service meal at Plazma Ray’s Diner- a Korean rice bowl with veggies, rice, soy meat and even a Mickey shaped carrot! They do like their Mickey shaped food in Tokyo!
I had the mixed green salad from La Taverne De Gaston a few times. I like a salad and this one was full of different ingredients- seasoned beans, quinoa, sundried tomatoes, squash- it was really tasty and didn’t feel like an afterthought (looking at you Disneyland California with your lettuce and lemon juice as a “dessert”…).
Mickey and Minnie ice pops were the best! Especially when it was high 30’s the entire time!
Snacks wise the caramel popcorn was vegan so I had that a few times (so was the salt and the black pepper but I didn’t fancy trying those), as were the Mickey and Minnie ice pops. Some places did one flavour and some did both so I got to sample several over the holiday! Mickey was tropical fruit and Minnie was peach and raspberry, and they tasted like frozen fruit puree, really refreshing in the heat. A few places did fresh fruit, but we had bought some bananas from a convenience store before going there, and there were some vegan packaged snacks like potato chips and dried fruit but I didn’t get any of those.
Tokyo Disney Sea
Our first day we had a bit of a shocker as I liked the look of the tortilla sandwich, but by the time we wandered back to the restaurant, it had closed- we had failed to check the opening times! We didn’t make that mistake again- it was more like DLP rather than WDW in that respect in that food places were not open as long or as late. Although unlike DLP they did publish the times on the boards outside, we just failed to notice! So I ended up going to Cafe Portofino and having “Plant-Based Dish with Orzo, Involtini Style”- soy meat and orzo wrapped in rice paper, covered in tomato sauce and oven baked, then topped with salad. It was actually pretty good when I am not a fan of alt meats usually.
The tortilla sandwich in the Duffy packaging and also a special cup holder so your hands don’t get cold when drinking icy drinks (a Lina Bell one)– for the Duffy and friends theming of Disney Sea!
After that first day we tended to go to Miguel’s El Dorado Cantina and having the tortilla sandwich for a late lunch (a tortilla wrap filled with chilli beans, salad, tortilla chips, guacamole and crunchy cabbage)- it was spicy but good! One day I got the chips and guac but it was the teeniest amount of guac so not really worth it. Also, this came in Duffy and Friends packaging so that makes it even better!
The Casbah Food Court did a vegetable curry with naan (which was vegan) and we had that once and it was really good- not too spicy but really flavourful. The bread was so fluffy too, definitely a good option.
Sadly the plant based burger in the Snuggly Duckling was not actually vegan as the bun contained milk, so Andy had that while I just had fries plus a cereal bar (I had to eat something in the Rapunzel restaurant!). It is not easy to modify dishes and I am not sure I would have trusted that there was not milk in the sauce or burger too, so I was happy to go without (plus – see below, I had eaten a huge breakfast on that day!).
There were loads of cute snacks that were not vegan, eg the Mike melon bread, but at least there were Mickey ice pops and Baymax curry!
Tokyo Disney hotels
Due to buying a vacation package (check out TDR Explorer for info on that) we ended up in a few different Disney hotels- the Toy Story one, MiraCosta and the Disneyland hotel. MiraCosta was the only one that included breakfast, and it was a buffet and nothing was marked. So, before we went I emailed them and requested if it was possible to have a vegan breakfast. They confirmed that I would have a separate plate given to me, and when I got there they checked the allergens with me, and then I ended up with a huge amount of food- salad with olive oil, lemon and balsamic, vegetable soup, chargrilled veggies, fresh fruit and then one day vegetable pasta, and another day mushrooms in tomato sauce. They also gave me the allergen guide of the food in the buffet (but basically only more fresh fruit was suitable), so I was glad I had emailed ahead of time as it was included in our stay.
My breakfasts over the two mornings- so many delicious veggies and all freshly prepared.
Clearly there were not as many options as WDW, Disneyland or even Paris, but they were clearly marked on the menu. The menus were in English as well as Japanese, and you could order via the app which we did most of the time. I do not mind having the same thing each day (eg I had the mixed greens salad for dinner each time we were in the main park) but there was variety and a few different options. It definitely is doable and the food I had was really tasty, so if that is the one thing holding you back then I’d say go for it!
How do you manage with food when travelling if you have restrictions?
Another weekend and another tourist trip with Branka and Holly! This time, we were heading to Osterley parkrun as Branka was celebrating her 200th parkrun! Arbitrary!
Holly picked us up on her way and drove us to the start- it’s a National Trust parkrun and despite it being in a residential area of London (near to Heathrow) as we drove up the driveway it felt like we could almost be at Wimpole- big fields full of cows surrounded by black railing fencing. The car park was a very short walk from the start, and the pop up sign was in the best location with the building right behind. The beautiful blue skies made it look even better!
The walk from the car park went around this lake, and this also ended up being on the parkrun course.
Branka has been teaching me how to line up selfies with the purple pop up so I had another go- I think I’m getting the hang of it!
We had plenty of time for photos, we listened to the first timers welcome and then it was suddenly really busy for the main briefing. The RD was doing that role for the first time and the tannoy system failed, so we couldn’t really tell what was being said, I could catch snippets- something about volunteers- let’s clap, something about the event number, let’s clap, some milestones being announced, let’s clap. And then we were off!
Holly and I ran together while Branka was run/walking. We chatted the whole way around (the best kind of parkrun!) and I really enjoyed the scenery- we ran past lakes, past fields, there was a small wooded section and then we were back running along next to the water heading to the house. It was two laps, and those laps flew by. Some of the paths at the start were fairly narrow, and they had warned us that it could be a bit congested at the start, but we didn’t have any trouble. I suppose you could be frustrated if you were aiming for a fast time. I don’t think we got lapped either which again surprised me. I like running past the start/finish area on a lapped course as you get some nice cheers from the volunteers and it adds to the friendly feeling of the event.
A few photos from the run, the finish area plus the token photo that I have to take!
When we finished we noticed Park Play being set up in the park (no relation to parkrun I don’t think but sounds similar as it’s 2 hours of free “play” (games) which you register for and then turn up)- nice to see the grounds being used in this way as well as for parkrun.
Of course we were also there to parkfaff! The best thing about National Trust places is their cafes, and this one had a cafe plus a little van doing takeaway hot drinks. They had lots of vegan options including vegan sausage sandwiches, brownies and flapjacks, but I opted for a scone and tea- classic. We sat outside for absolutely ages, it was wonderful.
Sitting outside the cafe, plus the picture of the three of us- Branka in her special With Me Now Arbitrary top.
After out lovely parkfaff, we headed back to the car (via the gift shop for Branka to get a stamp). I had tried to scan my membership card earlier for the parking, and the machine hadn’t worked, but as we got back to the car park someone else was using it and told us to try different buttons, so we did, and then got a ticket, so I’d try that tip again if I was somewhere else!
So that was event 120 for me, and my 374th parkrun. It will be my last touring for a while I think, as I might work on my single-ton at Panshanger for the next couple of weeks, and then I have a local one planned with Dad in October.
I’ll finish with the map! Not such a big area as last weekend but still satisfying to gradually fill in those gaps and join up different places.
The additional purple chunk is not that big but it all counts!
Have you heard of park play? I am pretty sure I have seen it in a local park but really assumed it was for kids or families so haven’t paid it much attention.
I mean, with a name like that, who doesn’t want to go there?
Bug Hunter Waters is just outside Cambridge, so just about within driving distance. This was a fun little parkrun road trip, with me picking up Branka and meeting Holly and her friend Lou (and baby) there.
This is a relatively new parkrun, with my visit being the 12th event. That was the reason why we went that day, as Holly wanted to do event number 12, a fact she only remembered when they announced the number in the run brief!
The website directs you to park at the park and ride, although I used the postcode and got us slightly lost. I was following the park and ride signs, but they were a bit sporadic and so I turned off (where google maps told me to) and we ended up in a section of the housing estate. Thankfully we turned around and although the maps were not loading we saw a park and ride bus and followed that until we saw signs again (we were only about 2 minutes away). There was a parkrun car park marshal directing us to a section of the park and ride car park, there were toilets by the bus stop, and then it was around a km walk along a path which was part of the route, to get to the start. Very easy to find.
It reminded me a lot of Great Denham, with the parkrun course right by a new housing estate. The lake made it very scenic, and it was a very flat course too. It was narrow in places, and we were warned to slow down at certain pinch points on the course.
The start line by the water, some of the houses and of course the pop up. Branka and I were accidently twinning with our black shorts and green tops!
We took the obligatory pop up photos (Branka is teaching me how to line up the sign in my selfies too!), listened to the first timers welcome and then the main run briefing which was hilarious as the RD had managed to fit in a lot of Oasis quotes (they were off the previous Saturday for something else but he mentioned that everyone was trying to get Oasis tickets that morning instead).
Then we walked to the start. As it was narrow, they asked people to seed themselves which I always think works well but I ended up being a bit too far back- it’s always hard to tell!
A few photos taken while running, plus the token and solo pop up photo
I was going to run, Branka was run/walking intervals and Holly and Lou were walking so we spread out, and then we were off. It is two laps, with a sort of out and back section and then a lap of the lake. I really enjoyed the scenery, although at the moment there isn’t much shade so on a sunny day it would be quite tough in that respect. There were 249 parkrunners that day and it felt quite busy due to the paths being narrow in places, but it did thin out. I didn’t get lapped which surprised me, I thought I would at the end of my first lap. I did pass Holly and Lou walking towards the end of my second lap but by then there were not that many people running around me so it was fine to have people passing at that point.
Once I finished I made sure I stretched and had some water, and then not long after Branka finished. I really liked their token sorting board (see photo below)- I do love it when you visit different parkruns and they have their own way of doing things.
We walked to the cafe (of course we ended up getting lost going there too) and found a table so that Holly and Lou could join us when they finished. The cafe was really nice (Northstowe Tap & Social), with lots of outdoor seating. They had the most enormous pastries that I have ever seen, but the only vegan option was banana bread (which was tasty- I had packed an emergency cereal bar in case they didn’t do anything), and of course oat milk for tea. We sat in the sunshine for ages- I regretted leaving my sunglasses in the car as it was quite overcast during parkrun but the cloud really burned away after.
Banana bread and Earl Grey with oat milk, the token sorting board and the finish area by the water
So that was location 119 for me, and my 373rd parkrun in total. I’ve not been to many Cambridgeshire events, just Pocket and Wimpole before this one. It did get me a nice big purple chunk on the Voronoi map!
