Food allergies in Japan

I will be going to Nagasaki, Japan next September for a study abroad opportunity. I cannot wait to for the trip but I feel reluctant to go in a way as well.

You see, I suffer from gluten intolerance, that is I cannot have any wheat or barley based foods. How would you recommend I handle this in Japan? I was thinking about grabbing one of those allergy cards they sell online. Also, what foods in Japan do I need to really watch out for?

Thanks for the info guys!

Robbiemarin,

Gluten intolerance is a very restrictive disease. I understand your concerns in making your trip abroad in Japan to study.

As you already suffer from this problem, you know well what to avoid and what you can take as far as food in the United States. My advice is that the same precautions should be taken in Japan. It may be a good idea to take an allergy card or bracelet so that Japanese will recognize your problem. Gluten intolerance exists in Japan too but I think it is much rarer there.

Wheat, barley, rye and sometimes oats must be avoided. In Japan, rice is the staple and that's good news for you. However make sure that you eat pure rice and not rice mixed with wheat flour in one way or another. Buckwheat is OK too. Soybeans, corn and potatoes are supposed to be safe. But again, there are lots of processed food in Japan so sometimes you don't know what is mixed with the "safe" food. Also remember that eggs and meat in Japan are often mixed with "expanders" which as you know are often wheat flours, so be careful.

I only want to say, just take the same precautions you take in US. It should be OK.

Take good care of yourself.

Chad Peterson, M.D.

If you have severe reaction against gluten, you'd better avoid miso soup and other dishes using miso.
Main ingredient of miso is soy beans but there are many type of miso which also use wheat.

In Japan, rice is the staple and that's good news for you. However make sure that you eat pure rice and not rice mixed with wheat flour in one way or another.
Born and bred and still living in Japan but I've never heard of rice in which wheat flour is mixed!

But some restaurants (not so many) sometimes serve "mugi gohan" or "mugi meshi" which means rice cooked with some wheat grains added. You can ask them "mugi haitte masuka?" (is there wheat in it?) and tell them "guruten arerugii desu" (meaning "I'm allergic against gluten").

Another thing you should avoid is "fu" - it is made from wheat gluten, sometimes it is found in traditional Japanese soup (mosi shiru, etc.) or stew (nimono).

Robbiemarin,

I may agree with by. in above post that rice is so pure in Japan that wheat product/flour is never mixed with it.

In the United States, as you may already know, some ''enriched'' rice and ''instant'' rice contains products of Vitamins and other minerals that are mixed with small quantities of wheat products as well as wheat flour extracts.

by. above seems to know more about gluten-intolerance than doctors and nutrititionist but he/she does not have to be worried about malpractice lawsuits if someone reacts violently from gluten by his/her misguided advice.

I am a doctor. I lived in Japan 20 years. Educated in Japan as well. Listen to me. Not all ''rice'' is gluten free. Only pure rice is.

I just don't want you to assume that rice is rice, even though by. post above states that there are no dangers. This may be true in Japan but not in US.

Chad Peterson, M.D.

Luckily, I do not react violently to gluten. I do not suffer from coeliac disease, but rather I have a much rarer neuropathy where gluten is somehwat toxic to my nervous tissue. It may sound really bad (and it probably is) but I can compensate pretty well if I accidentally consume gluten products.

The wheat mixed in with rice does concern me, but I believe if I get disciplined and just ask the servers I think I will be OK.I have heard, however, from various sources that some Japanese restaurants a not receptive to allergy concerns, even to go as far as thinking its rude to ask for a "personalized" meal. Is that true?

Robbiemarin, if you're living here a while that's great, because you can cook your own food. Look for shizen-shokuhin-ten (natural food stores, not to be confused with kenko-shokuhin-ten meaning health food stores). A lot of them have allergen-free products or can tell you how you can get them. They can easily be found on the internet by typing the area.

Also 小麦 (wheat) is among the top 7 allergens in which manufacturers have the duty to always indicate on the label. "Gluten," on the other hand, is sort of an unfamiliar word to most Japanese, so try to tell them that you have "arerugii (allergy)" against "mugi." "Mugi" usually implies "ko-mugi (wheat)" "oo-mugi (barley)" "rai-mugi (rye)" and some other grains.

Since your allergy doesn't seem to be so severe, it probably wouldn't matter much, but we do need to keep in mind that wheat is usually used upon making soy sauce, and in Japan a great amount of dishes, Western ones included, contain soy sauce.

But the Japanese are very aware of food allergy and what critical effects they may have. My son used to be severely allergic to eggs, and we never had a serious problem asking restaurant staffs how we could avoid them.

At the same time, however, I do feel there is a trick to get you through, which is to try to make it sound as simple as possible. For example, if you ask someone to read everything on the label, three meals a day, that person will be fed up sooner or later. But a simple comment of "I have allergy and cannot eat so and so" upon booking a restaurant and another "Are you sure this doesn't contain wheat nor barley?" at your table won't hurt. Actually, we carried some portable food for emergency and never tried to argue with the waiter even when we were uncertain about a dish. When we were not certain, we always had other options in mind. That would make us a lot more comfortable than to have to argue with someone.

Btw, I wonder how Chad knew that the OP knew about food "in the United States."

Maybe I should add this.

Some restaurants simply cannot change their recipe for one reason or another.

So rather than to ask, "Can you make a special meal for me?" it's best to just ask, "Is there a dish without mugi?" or "Does this dish on the menu contain mugi? I'm allergic." Quite often, the waiter will be nice enough to talk to the chef and come back to you saying, "Shall we make a meal using no mugi?" If they don't, in our case, we just ate what they have.

Hi,There is a nice gluten-free restaurant guide in Japan.
http://glutenfree-restaurant.com/ This is pretty useful!

@Uco..I think Chad knew by clicking on @robbiemarin ( he is from Colorado).

@chadpeterson… as you note "Buckwheat is OK too" Not always.. I am very gluten intolerant and I always avoid buckwheat in Japan (in soba noodle form anyway) as it is often mixed with wheat flour to enhance the consistency.

@robbiemarin.. I use the cards when I am in Japan and have found them useful. However, there will be places that simply will not accommodate a special diet, so be prepared (as Uco mentions).

The main problem I have had with the card is that mine states that soy sauce is not allowed (since it contains wheat). A lot of stores/restaurants also seem to think that this also means soy in general (e.g. tofu). So, I often have to clarify this.

As already noted, you do have an advantage in that you may in a position to cook your own meals.

Hope this helps :)