How To Eat Gluten-Free in Japan: Japan Gluten Free Restaurants + Guide

I can now officially say that I’ve survived being gluten-free in Japan. Despite the amount of research I did in advance, it certainly wasn’t easy — especially since I only got diagnosed with celiac disease two months before the trip.

While I felt super overwhelmed beforehand, blog posts and videos about visiting Japan as a celiac from my fellow gluten-free travelers made a huge difference in giving me the basics on how to get started. I’m so thankful to the gluten-free community as a whole, because we’re the ones who are always looking out for each other.

As I was planning my trip, there were a few things in particular I wished that I had in advance: a comprehensive Google Map with a clear key/guide, photos of what kinds of foods I should be looking for in convenience stores, and a list of must-visit restaurants — especially ones that needed reservations.

And of course, after I actually arrived in Japan, I learned quite a few things from my own experience that I felt weren’t really talked about online enough.

Since I didn’t have those things, I decided to make them myself. And now I’m happy to share them with you. 🙂

Gluten-Free Maps of Japan

Having these maps on your computer is one thing, but I really wanted to have them on my phone — that way I could pull them up during our days out in Japan and see what options were nearby. I recommend saving these to your Google My Maps, and then see if you can make a shortcut to open them with just a tap or two from your phone — that’s what I did!

Gluten-Free Tokyo Food Map

Map Key (Colors)

• Green: Dedicated gluten-free establishment
• Dark pink: Not dedicated gluten-free, but has a 5-heart safety rating on the FindMeGF app
• Light pink: Not dedicated gluten-free, but has a 4 or 4.5-heart safety rating on the FindMeGF app
• Orange: Something I read about or heard about from a fellow gluten-free traveler’s review
• Blue: Grocery stores/shops

Map Key (Symbols)

• Noodle bowl: Japanese food
• Sushi: Sushi restaurant
• Spoon & knife: Not Japanese food, but some other kind of “real” food that could constitute a meal
• Burger: Burger restaurant
• Pizza: Italian restaurant
• Cow: Yakiniku restaurant (grilled meat)
• Coffee cup: Coffee shop/cafe
• Birthday cake: Bakery
• Ice cream cone: A dessert restaurant (might be ice cream, might be churros, etc)
• Shopping cart: Shops that are more likely to sell gluten-free snacks
• Exclamation point: Restaurant is listed as temporarily closed (date last checked in comment)

*Note: If we ate somewhere, it will include a photo I took when you click on it!

Gluten-Free Kyoto and Osaka Food Map

The same key as above applies. 🙂

Gluten-Free Snacks in Konbini (Japan Convenience Stores)

I’d been a member of a Facebook group called Gluten-Free in Japan, and people were always posting pictures of gluten-free snacks they got from konbini in Japan, like 7-Eleven or Family Mart. Each time, I would pin them to a new Pinterest board I created. That way, when I went into a convenience store looking for snacks, I had a good starting point.

However — and this is important — ingredients seem to change pretty frequently, so just because something was gluten-free previously doesn’t mean that it is now. It’s still important to carefully review each label and look for these symbols:

• Wheat: 小麦
• Barley: 大麦
• Rye: ライ麦
• Oats: オーツ麦
• Soy sauce: 醤油
• Mizuame: 水飴 or 水あめ (more on this below)

While I did check labels pretty religiously, I still thought it helped to have Pinterest as my visual aid as soon as I walked in the store. That way, I could start by finding the things on my “safe” list, and then read the ingredient labels to see whether I could figure out if something really was gluten free.

Why It’s So Hard To Read Ingredient Labels in Japan

So, before arriving in Japan, I thought that “reading” ingredient labels would be fairly simple. Download Google Translate for Japanese-English, walk into 7-Eleven/Family Mart/Lawson and start snapping photos. Right?

Wrong!

First of all, I felt like the Google Translate app was kind of janky. It would sometimes superimpose the English translations right over the Japanese, making all of it impossible to read. I fixed this by downloading the Papago app instead, which had a much cleaner interface. Also, I was able to learn and practice my recognition of different gluten-containing words by highlighting only certain phrases on the ingredient label to translate.

Second, there are so many names of ingredients that you’ll genuinely have no idea if they’re gluten-free or not. Like, what is the definition of “thickening polysaccharides”???

For example, an ingredient called mizuame is a sweetener similar to high-fructose corn syrup. It will typically translate to something like “starch syrup” in English. I’ve read that “modern” mizuame is typically made with either corn or potato starch, but it’s traditionally been made with barley/barley malt — which means it’s not safe for celiacs. The problem is that the label will only say “mizuame” or “starch syrup” and not tell you what the base ingredient is. And there’s no requirement to declare them like there is in the U.S. and Europe.

Which means for the most part, if you see mizuame on a label, you’ll likely have to put it back. 🙁

However, there are a couple of exceptions. Some products, like Pino and Parm ice creams, have mizuame on their ingredient labels, but other celiacs had reported that they were gluten-free and shared them as “safe” foods from konbinis. But how did they know?

It turns out, the sensitive/highly symptomatic celiacs are able to know whether something has gluten based on whether they have a reaction. 😉 I’m not symptomatic at this point so I can’t really test anything out, or know if I’ve made a mistake. But I’ve read lots of reports of those items being safe based on other peoples’ lived experiences.

But also, sometimes it feels like you can read 100 comments from 100 different celiacs — and 50 will say something is safe, and the other 50 will say it isn’t safe. Sometimes allergen labels don’t state any unsafe ingredients, but they’ll say something was produced in a factory that also produces wheat products. Some celiacs are okay with that, and some aren’t.

Sometimes you’ll read a bunch of reviews stating that a store sells “amazing gluten-free treats” even though they aren’t labeled gluten-free, and you ask the worker who confirms they’re gluten-free. But then you get back to the hotel and look at the label and it includes mizuame, and then you’re not sure what to do. (And sometimes that makes you cry because it’s so frustrating.)

Allergen Declarations in Japan

One thing that will help you know right away if something ISN’T gluten-free is Japan’s allergy labeling system. There are 8 allergens that are required to be on packaging, and an additional 20 that are recommended to list. The one that is most relevant to celiacs is WHEAT: 小麦. (Milk 牛乳 is also another one that could be of interest to you if you are lactose-intolerant as well.)

On the back of a food label, there are a couple of ways these might be displayed. It will typically either be a blue stripe with white characters listed on it, or a grid with squares. Sometimes it isn’t blue, but it sure helps when it is because it’s a little easier to recognize.

Example one below has wheat 小麦 (I am trying to get you used to seeing this symbol!!) and soybeans listed as allergens, as the white characters on the blue stripe. Below that, the other major allergens are listed, and those written in blue are produced/manufactured in the same facility.

Example two has the grid with all 28 allergies, and those in the boxes highlighted in blue are the allergens present. Again, it’s wheat 小麦 and soybeans.

So, while this may not help you figure out what IS safe to eat, if you see 小麦 listed in the allergy labeling on a product, you can save yourself a step by putting that down and moving on to scrutinize something else. 😅

Best Gluten-Free Restaurants in Tokyo

We spent our first few days in Tokyo with some friends and ended up going to quite a few places that weren’t on my carefully-prepared gluten-free map. Those experiences ranged from me being able to eat plain rice and meat at a yakiniku place, to me not being able to eat anything all, and instead having to sit and stare at everyone else while they ate in front of me for two hours.

But once we were on our own, we were able to try out more dedicated gluten-free restaurants in Tokyo, as well as some that seemed to have safe options for celiacs despite not being entirely gluten-free. These were my favorites!

• Esoragoto Udon: SO YUMMY! Everything on the menu was gluten-free, and both things we ordered were delicious. Matt (non GF) loved it as well and declared it the best thing we ate in Tokyo. You order from a vending machine and you stand in a tiny place that seems mostly full of locals. Fun experience!
• Soranoiro Nippon: A little hard to find on “Ramen Street” in the bottom of Tokyo Station, but very worth it in my opinion. There’s only one GF bowl of ramen on the menu, but I loved it. It was my first ramen experience in Japan and I felt happy to be in a little ramen shop with friends and be able to be included. When we placed the order (also via vending machine) a worker came to ask me whether if I would “eat gluten and die” and I said yes, so they seemed informed about how GF is a choice for some people and not for others.
• Gluten-Free T’s Kitchen: You can’t visit Tokyo without a visit to Gluten Free T’s. After crying the previous night when I couldn’t eat anything at dinner, going to Gluten-Free T’s healed my soul, because I could eat everything I wanted without worrying. Also, they even had gluten-free beer!

Gluten-Free Restaurants in Tokyo: Reservation Required

There are also some restaurants where you’ll need to make a reservation, but it’s well worth it!

• Gluten-free Izakaya SHION Bar月夜烏: A 100% gluten-free restaurant with very few seats, where the owner will prepare a set menu of traditional Japanese fare. They are only open two days a week, and I felt so lucky we were able to get in! The atmosphere was so cozy and the food was amazing. Make a reservation emailing her directly here.
• グルテンフリーおばんざいLL: I do not think this place has an English name, which checks out — we were the only non-Japanese people in there! This restaurant is 100% gluten free and specializes in Obanzai, a style of meal originally from Kyoto, which focuses on simple, fresh, in-season ingredients. Make your booking by sending them a DM on Instagram.
• Gluten Free Kushiage Su: Another dedicated gluten-free restaurant that provides a set menu of traditional Japanese food. They also have a limited opening schedule, and unfortunately their dates didn’t work with ours. Make your reservation here!

Best Gluten-Free Restaurants in Kyoto and Osaka

Kyoto

We spent about five days in Kyoto, and it was somehow significantly easier to find gluten-free restaurants or restaurants with gluten-free options compared to Tokyo, despite the fact that it’s a much smaller city. But I also think that played into it — since it was smaller, it never took as long to travel from our hotel to pretty much any GF restaurant in town. Here were a few favorites.

• Kyoto Engine Ramen: Not a dedicated gluten-free restaurant, but every dish can be made with GF noodles instead! They have great safety protocols and all GF dishes come in a special bowl. It was full when we were there, and I only spotted one other GF bowl, so it’s clearly a popular choice for people who aren’t celiac as well. We didn’t make a reservation, but it can get busy, so you might want to make one.
• Kikyo Sushi: OMG, this place was amazing. They had a separate gluten-free menu and clear labeling, so I finally felt like I got to enjoy some sushi in Japan while feeling safe the entire time. Also, the iced matcha pudding for dessert was soooooo good. This restaurant has been run by a family for generations, and the front-of-house staff spoke great English for all my GF follow up questions! Reservation recommended.
• Ikkakuju Karasuma: We had delicious okonomiyaki here, which was one of the main things we wanted to try in Japan! We got to sit facing the grill and watch them cook. The staff was super nice too!

Osaka

We only had a couple of days in Osaka — our main motivation for the visit was a 20-year-anniversary concert tour by Jack’s Mannequin, a band that Matt and I separately loved as teenagers that serendipitously was taking place in Osaka while we were in the area! But of course, we still had to eat during our short stay.

• Genji Soba: We made a reservation for dinner, but it didn’t seem necessary (at least the night we were there). Buckwheat, which is the main ingredient in soba noodles, is celiac-safe, but normally soba noodles are only about 80% buckwheat and 20% regular flour. At Genji Soba, they have 100% buckwheat flour, meaning they are totally gluten-free! They also have celiac-safe tempura with a separate fryer, but this is apparently only during dinner and not available at lunch. I think it was the only place in Japan where I actually saw the word “celiac” on the menu. 🥲
• OKO – Fun Okonomiyaki Bar: It’s hard to even describe this restaurant, but “fun” — like in its name — is a good starting point. This okonomiyaki restaurant is in a bright pink building that looks super out of place, and is covered in fun signs and graffiti/love notes written by past guests. All drinks are only ¥200, and most of the menu can be made gluten free! And not only that, but they also have really strong safety protocols to avoid cross-contact. Apparently there’s an OKO Takoyaki restaurant as well, which isn’t far away, though we didn’t have a chance to visit that one on this trip. By the way, the portion sizes are huge!

Other Random Notes & Tips for Being Gluten Free in Japan

Here are a few other things I wanted to note that I felt like didn’t fit anywhere else in this article.

• Sometimes when I would show my Japanese gluten-free translation card, or our Japanese friend would talk to a waiter on my behalf, they would point us to their online allergen menu. Which isn’t super helpful, because once again, the only thing that’s going to tell you about is wheat. Other places were much better and would take the card back to the chef to talk to them before telling us what was safe.

• I felt a lot safer ordering espresso drinks with milk in coffee shops in Japan than I usually do in Europe, because oat milk isn’t as much of a thing in Japan. If I went to a cafe with oat milk on the menu, I’d just get an iced coffee or drip coffee so I knew there would be no risk of cross-contact from the milk steaming. But quite a few cafes seemed to only have regular and maybe soy milk.

• In case you didn’t know this, only about 0.18% of people from Asian backgrounds have celiac disease, compared to like 1-5% of those from European backgrounds. When you’re celiac in Japan, it feels like the world of food wasn’t made for you. Because it wasn’t! So try to keep that in mind — the concept of “gluten” barely exists here, and it helps to understand why.

• One of the hardest feelings — and something I didn’t necessarily expect — wasn’t all the things I knew I couldn’t eat. It was all the things I wasn’t sure whether I could eat or not… and I had to pass them up, just to be safe. It’s knowing that there’s a chance something might be gluten-free, and if you could just know for CERTAIN, then you’d be able to enjoy it (or not, and then move on). But since you don’t know, you just have to say no anyway. That hurts.

• Japan was our first stop on this trip, from which we were moving on to Taiwan and South Korea. I think I packed a full metric ton of gluten-free snacks from Spain, and I didn’t really need to break into them at all in Japan. I was expecting Taiwan to be more difficult, so I didn’t want to run out of snacks too soon. But in Japan, the onigiri and potato stick snacks were always available at a konbini — and a konbini is never far away.

• Number of times I cried in Japan because being gluten-free was hard or upsetting: 3

• Number of konbini onigiri I ate for breakfasts/quick snacks/sober-up food: too many to count

A Fun Souvenir Idea If You’re Gluten Free in Japan

When we were in Kyoto, we happened across an adorable bento box store, and I realized it could be a very functional souvenir for anyone who is celiac or gluten free in Japan! I’m still new to my celiac life, but I was thinking about all the times in my future that I’ll have to bring my own food to parties and events. I decided a bento box could be cuter and easier to carry around with me. Plus, it will remind me of my trip to Japan (and how hard I worked to be gluten free in Japan). 😉

Okay, so this was a lot, but I hope it helps! No matter how much you prepare for your trip, there are some things you’ll only learn by experience. My goal was to share my own experiences along with some tips that would hopefully make things a bit easier. Feel free to share your own favorite tips for surviving being gluten free in Japan — and let me know what questions you have!

-Cathy

Disclaimer: Everything here is my own experience, and I am not an acutely symptomatic/highly reactive celiac. Please always double check ingredients, ask questions, and read other reviews before eating anything in Japan.

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