"Veganism is still much less widespread in Japan

Interview with Miki 'Mila' Furue

Miki 'Mila' Furue was born and raised in Fukuoka. She has lived in Düsseldorf for almost four years and works as a vegan food influencer and recipe creator. With over 30,000 followers on Instagram, she presents creative vegan versions of existing dishes, but also invents her own creations time and again. In this interview, she tells us how she drew a clear line after a successful career in the Japanese corporate world with the aim of discovering the world and how she finally ended up in Düsseldorf.

How did you become an influencer and creator of vegan recipes?

There wasn't really one click moment for me: my vegan recipe creations have evolved over the last three years. They were made up of internet recipes that I modified myself. When I first started, I found it super hard to find vegan recipes on Japanese websites... so I mostly stuck to German or English blogs. But there were also recipes that I learned as a participant in an online cooking school. After learning the basics, I started experimenting more and more on my own - not only focusing on Japanese dishes and ingredients, but trying to incorporate different food styles. However, each of my creations has a 'Japanese twist'.

What was your life like before that?

My CV is actually pretty classic and straightforward: it was always important to my family that I went to a good school. Get good grades. Achieve an above-average degree. Then pursue a respected 'normal' profession. That's exactly what I followed pretty strictly - until I was 30 years old. Then at some point it became too much and too monotonous for me. I quit my job, packed my rucksack and went on a big trip for two years - without any real plan of what I would do with my life afterwards. In the end, I moved to Düsseldorf because I wanted to experience a completely new environment.

Was veganism an issue for you in Japan before?

Veganism was and is still much less widespread in Japan compared to Germany and Europe. As many of my videos and followers speak Japanese, I hope that I can make a small contribution to making vegan dishes more popular in Japan.

Are there any current projects in which you are specifically 'veganizing' Japanese dishes?

There's actually a very recent one that I'm proud of: although the Japanese restaurants in Düsseldorf are really authentic, I was never really satisfied with the range of vegan ramen soups on offer. There are so many good ramen restaurants here, yet the vegetarian and vegan ramen dishes don't taste intense enough for me personally - they lack that meaty 'umami punch' of the original soups with bone broth. They also lack the consistency of minced meat, for example in my favorite ramen, 'tantanmen'. A contact in the Japanese community gave me the opportunity to change this myself: In collaboration with the restaurant chain 'Takumi', I had the opportunity to create a vegan recipe version of the ramen dish 'Tantanmen' at the beginning of 2023. Since March 1, 2023, you can order and enjoy it at Takumi 'Veggie & Chicken' (Klosterstraße 72)!

How do you perceive the Japanese community in Düsseldorf?

When I arrived in Düsseldorf almost four years ago, I was always surprised and impressed by how many Japanese people live in Düsseldorf. There are also a lot of online groups that gave me a foothold in the city at the beginning. Düsseldorf really reminds me of my home city of Fukuoka, both in terms of the size of the city and the helpfulness of people towards others. Funnily enough, over 70 alumni of my university in Fukuoka live in Düsseldorf! When I arrived here, I didn't have any Japanese or German friends - but thanks to the open and welcoming nature, I got to know people quite quickly, both in the Japanese community as well as German and international ones. I can now well imagine planning my future here and spending the rest of my life!

Cover picture: Düsseldorf Tourismus

Cover picture and article are funded by REACT-EU.