How to be Gluten-Free in Japan
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please read our affiliate disclosure.
Celiac disease is quite common in America. Even some people who don’t have a gluten allergy avoid it due to professed troubles with digestion or a gluten intolerance (also called non-celiac gluten sensitivity). Regardless of how severe your problems with gluten are, Japan can be a bit of a tricky place because gluten intolerance simply isn’t a problem here.
While celiac disease affects a lot of gaijin [whiteys], Japanese people don’t get it. In fact, it’s so rare here that Japanese health insurance doesn’t cover the test for it, so you have to shell out 100 smackers to find out if you have it. The average Japanese person probably doesn’t know what celiac is or what a gluten allergy entails, and this can make dining tricky. Here are a few things you should know if you’re gluten-free and planning a trip to Japan.
Are gluten-free options common in Japan?
They definitely are not! Since most people in Japan aren’t even aware of the concept of a gluten intolerance, it’s unlikely for bakeries to carry gluten-free bread unless they specialize in it, and while there are some restaurants in Tokyo that advertise gluten-free options, it’s definitely rare. If you’re used to looking at a menu and easily being able to pick out the right selection because of little “GF” stickers all over the place, you’re going to have to work a little harder to make the right choices in Japan.
What to do in Japan if you’re gluten-free
This can be tough, because not only do you have to avoid wheat-based foods like bread, but also anything that might have less-obvious, sneaky hidden gluten on its ingredient list (which you can’t read because it’s in Japanese). That means when buying foods at the konbini or supermarket, you’re going to have to stick with what you know, because the packaging likely won’t tell you the information you need. Even at restaurants, you need to watch out, because you won’t get any warning on the menu.
For example: soy sauce contains gluten! Sushi should be okay, but don’t dip it in “shoyu” and don’t order ramen with a shoyu-based broth, because both of these things have hidden gluten in them, and there’s little chance the restaurant will have any sort of gluten-free soy sauce on hand.
There are plenty of Japanese foods that don’t contain gluten, but you might not be able to select a restaurant solely by this criteria. Instead, you’re better off just going where you want and informing the wait staff of your allergies when you arrive. They might not be able to make something special for you, but they can certainly guide you so you don’t pick something with hidden allergens.
The only issue, then, is how to tell them. While restaurants in Tokyo and other cities may have English-speaking staff, many don’t, and outside of metropolitan areas it’s even less likely. Even someone who speaks English probably doesn’t have experience with this particular issue, so communication will be tough. That’s the problem a friend of ours faced, and we helped her find a solution.
How we helped a gluten-free friend visit Japan
When we had our wedding party back in 2019, many friends from America visited us, and most took some time to visit Tokyo and Osaka as well. One of these friends has many food allergies, including being unable to enjoy wheat or dairy. She spoke no Japanese, and there was no way she could learn enough of it to explain all her allergies to restaurant staff.
She came up with a good solution, and we helped her out. We wrote out this card for her to print out with English on one side and Japanese on the other. It explained her allergies so she could show it at every restaurant.
English side:
I have food allergies.
Please do not use any of these ingredients in my dishes.
I can get sick if I eat these things.
Shoyu
Wheat
Gluten
Milk
Cream
Cheese
Dairy
Soy is okay. Nuts are okay.
Bread is not okay.
Japanese side:
私は食物アレルギーがあります。
私の料理には、これらの材料を使用しないで下さい。
これらを食べると、アレルギー反応が出てしまいます。
しょうゆ
小麦
グルテン
牛乳
クリーム
チーズ
乳製品
大豆は大丈夫です。 ナッツも大丈夫です。
パンは食べられません。
When we went out for dinner one night, she showed the card to the waiter, who quickly read it and retreated to the kitchen to make sure everything was okay. He axed one of the dishes while allowing the others, and even scampered back out to remove the soy sauce from the table just in case.
Our friend told us the card worked for her the entire trip and allowed her to avoid getting sick. If you’re coming to Japan and have food allergies, this is a system you can replicate.
A sample card you can print out if you’re gluten-free
You may be gluten-free or lactose-intolerant, but likely don’t have all the same allergies as my friend. If you’re gluten-free and need something to show to the wait staff at restaurants, you can print out this simplified version of the card.
English side:
I have food allergies.
Please do not use any of these ingredients in my dishes.
I can get sick if I eat these things.
Shoyu
Wheat
Gluten
Bread is not okay.
Japanese side:
私は食物アレルギーがあります。
私の料理には、これらの材料を使用しないで下さい。
これらを食べると、アレルギー反応が出てしまいます。
しょうゆ
小麦
グルテン
パンは食べられません。
And of course, if you have other allergies, you can try to add those as well using a translation app. I wish I had remembered to do something like this on our trip to Europe. I don’t drink alcohol (and don’t like to taste it in food) and I’m allergic to asparagus, so alerting restaurants ahead of time could have made some of our meals even better.
Since gluten-free isn’t really a thing in Japan (or dietary restrictions in general), those who have to avoid certain foods because of vegetarianism, veganism, or allergies may find their options limited. But with a card like this, you can at least make sure you won’t end up getting sick from something delicious.
Planning a trip to Japan this year?
In most of Japan, you’ll probably have no luck finding gluten-free or vegan options. Tokyo, however, is an exception. Being one of the largest cities on Earth, you can find anything here. Recently we went to a cafe called The Nuts Exchange where everything was vegan and the coffee was made with macadamia nut milk (you can substitute oat milk if you like).
In fact, the entire surrounding neighborhood (just southwest of Yoyogi Park) is full of the type of health-food places you’ll find in any city’s trendy cool rich person neighborhood. If you’re used to waiting two hours for lousy service, tiny muffins, and overpriced coffee with a side of smug satisfaction over the fact that it doesn’t come with a plastic lid, don’t worry, because Japan has the comforts of home.
The point is that you shouldn’t be afraid of Japan just because of dietary restrictions, because it is possible to get by here. One helpful tool that can make looking for allergen-free dining easier is a Pocket Wi-Fi, which allows you to access the Internet from your mobile phone anywhere without paying for an expensive international calling plan.
We get a mobile Wi-Fi whenever we travel abroad and recommend it to anyone. That way you can look up restaurant menus on the go, search for nearby eateries, and even use apps to translate the Japanese text on menus to make sure you know what you’re eating. If there are certain foods you have to avoid, you can still have an amazing and delicious time in Japan - and if you want to make a card like the one we made our friend and need some help, feel free to send us a message!
