Inside Tsuchi Café: Haruna Makino’s Vision for Vegan Japanese Food in Toronto

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TLDR

Haruna Makino’s story begins in Osaka, where she worked as a pastry chef in an Italian restaurant. Her early career gave her the precision and creativity that later became central to her own brand. In 2013, she moved to Toronto to study at George Brown’s prestigious culinary program. That step opened the door to a new chapter: combining her Japanese roots with a fresh plant-based approach to food.

By 2020, alongside business partner Koji Zenimaru (known for Ramen Isshin and Kingyo Fisherman’s Market), Haruna opened Tsuchi Café on College Street. Nestled in Toronto’s Little Italy, the café quickly stood out. Not only is it beautifully designed with Japanese-Scandinavian influences, but it is also the first and only fully plant-based Japanese café in Ontario.

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A New Standard for Plant-Based Japanese Cuisine

The name Tsuchi, meaning “soil,” reflects the café’s philosophy: food that is rooted in quality, sustainability, and respect for the environment. Every dish and drink is created with care, using organic, fair-trade, and often imported Japanese ingredients.

Customers are drawn in by the cozy, earthy atmosphere and the aroma of baked goods that fill the café each morning. The menu highlights both innovation and tradition: tarts, bread puddings, and breakfast sandos share the spotlight with Japanese classics like matcha and hojicha lattes. More recently, Tsuchi introduced its own take on the viral mochi donuts that sold out across Japan — a new favorite for locals eager to try something playful yet authentic.

Haruna is deeply committed to flavor experimentation. She describes blending ingredients as if seeing colors and hearing music; a process that guides her culinary imagination. Her years working in Toronto’s vegan kitchens helped her refine techniques that make Tsuchi’s food taste so good that many forget it is entirely plant-based.