Cooking/Use of peanuts, peanut oil

Hi, I am planning to make my first trip to Japan in the near future. I am deathly allergic to peanuts, and I understand that most restaurants do their cooking in peanut oil. Is this so? Do you have any tips on how to avoid problems? Thanks!

Are you perhaps thinking of China? Peanut oil is not that common an ingredient in food in Japan, other than in Chinese restaurants. A lot of Japanese food isn't cooked in oil at all, and there are plenty of Italian restaurants, Indian restaurants etc. that also wouldn't use peanut oil.

Hi TG, I'm in Tokyo right now, vacationing for two weeks with my 3 yr old daughter who's allergic to peanuts. We've eaten Japanese food at small local eateries as well as in big restaurants but haven't had any problem so far because as Sira said, peanut oil is hardly used in Japanese cuisine. Avoid eating at Thai or Chinese restaurants. Be careful while eating some Japanese snacks, I've seen some of them have peanuts mixed in with the rice crackers, but they are whole peanuts so you can easily see them through the packaging. When in doubt I always ask someone to read the list of ingredients. Having said that, we always carry my daughter's Epi-pen with us but we hope we never have to use it. Just have fun - Japan is a wonderful country!!