Gluten and Asian Countries

Culture + History

Contrary to what you might think, avoiding gluten in Asian countries can actually be quite difficult.

While some cultures (portions of China, Thailand, Vietnam) are heavily rice-based, others are more flour-based. Regardless, most of these Asian countries use soy sauce in everything, which contains small amounts of gluten.

Gluten-free isn’t a popular concept in Asian countries like it is in Western culture; thus, it can be hard to find 100% gluten-free places.

Moreover, many places in Japan are focused on one thing (example: ramen, sushi, meat) instead of a bunch. That means the chef is an expert on that particular dish and can even be offended if you ask for substitutions.

I’ve put together all the resources I’ve found to help you navigate Japan if you’re gluten-free or Celiac:

Things that are safe:

• Sashimi/nigiri with no soy sauce (you can take tamari or coconut amino packets with you to have something to dip in)

• Japanese BBQ with no soy sauce — ask for salt (shio) instead

• Mochi (daifuku) — SO GOOD

• Japanese sweet potato (yakiimo) — usually roasted whole or brushed with butter)

• Edamame (make sure it’s just salt)

• Roasted chestnuts

• Hard-boiled eggs

• Matcha

• Soba noodles (be sure they’re 100% buckwheat — most are made with a buckwheat/wheat flour blend)

• Tofu

• Indian food (there are a good amount of Indian and Sri Lankan restaurants in Japan and they typically don’t use flour in their curries)

• Onigiri (make sure there’s no soy sauce)

Things to avoid:

• Soy sauce (shoyu, 醤油)

• Wheat (komugi, 小麦)

• Mysterious brown tea — it’s usually barley (mugi, 麦)

• Curry (it’s usually thickened by flour)

• Udon noodles

• Ramen noodles

• Anything breaded and fried

• Panko breadcrumbs

Gluten-Free Restaurants:

I didn’t do any research on specific gluten-free restaurants (I simply tried to avoid excess gluten aka no noodles or bread but was fine with soy sauce), but these articles have a comprehensive list:

• Gluten-Free Japan from Legal Nomads

• Food Intolerances and Allergies in Japan from Inside Japan Tours

• Gluten-Free Tokyo from For Gluten’s Sake

• A Guide to Gluten-Free Restaurants in Tokyo from Japan Forward

• Gluten-Free Food in Japan from Asia Highlights

• A Guide to Ordering and Purchasing Gluten-Free Japanese Food from Umami Insider

• Gluten-Free Kyoto from Inside Kyoto

The bottom line:

I recommend getting a printed card that says “No gluten” in Japanese (kanji) if you don’t speak the language if you’re not going to the restaurants that have been listed as gluten-free.

If you’re Celiac, I recommend you take as many precautions as possible to help you stay safe.

If you’re simply avoiding gluten or gluten-intolerant, I didn’t find a huge problem with soy sauce (though I also grew up eating it, since I’m Chinese), although I tried to avoid things that were obviously filled with gluten (breaded items, noodles, bread).

Either way, I’d recommend bringing snacks like your favorite protein bar (plus these Japanese mixed nuts — so good).

Kyoto

Nishiki Market

A large food market in Kyoto that turns into a mall at the end.

It’s fun to browse the different shops — I recommend getting mochi and roasted chestnuts! They also have grilled shrimp and various restaurants you can eat at, as well as souvenir shops.

Card accepted at most places.

Bamboo Forest

Located just outside the Arashiyama station, this is a wonderful space to get back in touch with nature. The bamboo forest is a short walk; you can also take a path and hike up the mountain like we did (just go up the long flight of stairs).

Taroya Kyoto Home Cuisine

Located in a quaint little set of streets (next to an apparently very good ramen restaurant), this little shop had really nourishing food and rice.

Card accepted.

Osaka

Isshin Sabou

Cute, cozy little Japanese teahouse. They have a set breakfast and set lunch that you can choose from as well as some pastries. You sit on the floor in the traditional Japanese style.

Cash only.

Bar Nayuta

The hidden entrance is on the fifth floor — take the elevator or stairs up, go in the door, and open the hatch to the right. They are super inventive with your cocktails — you can tell them what you like and they’ll make you a special drink.

Cash only.

Other restaurants:

• Hormone Nagaoka: Japanese BBQ place on the second floor. Super smokey and no English menu, but the food was absolutely amazing and it was all locals inside. Cash only.

• Robatayaki Mizukakechaya: A cozy izakaya place where they’ll grill almost anything on the menu (English menu available) for you. Card accepted.

• North Shore Kitahama: A little Hawaiian place that looks cute and likely GF!

Tokyo

Tsukiji Market

Giant fish market that everyone goes to (except for us — ran out of time!).

Zoetrope

Amazing whiskey — I recommend the tasting set and getting a larger one of whatever you like best. The guy really knows his stuff; they play old movies on a projector.

Card accepted for over 6000 yen.

Neighborhood: Daikanyama

Hipster and quieter — known as “Little Brooklyn” for good reason.

There is also a good amount of gyms if you want to get a workout in!

Neighborhood: Shinjuku

Reminds me a little of Times Square in New York — it’s bustling and busy.

Golden Gai is a set of streets in this district that have a bunch of bars and restaurants; I personally didn’t go in because there was a cover charge for almost all of them and it seemed a little touristy.

Neighborhood: Harajuku

It’s like Hello Kitty grew up and created an entire town. Much pink; very busy.

Experience: teamLab Borderless

I’ve had multiple people recommend this place to me; we didn’t get the change to go here but it looks like an experiential museum that would be worth it to go to.

Winter Packing List

P.S. You don’t need an adaptor! The plus I found were the same as in the US.

• Passport

• 300 USD in yen

• International credit card

• Phone + chargers

• External battery 

• Notebook + pen

• Kindle or real book

• Headphones

• Wallet/coin purse

• Small bag

• Toiletries

Winter Clothes

• Waterproof boots 

• Winter coat

• Gloves (optional)

• Warm long socks 

• Running shoes

• Shorter workout socks

• Jeans

• Leggings

• Long sleeve shirts

• Bras + underwear 

• Sleepwear 

Getting Around

Japan Rail Pass (JR Pass)

The subways are super clean and efficient. They announce everything in Japanese, English, and Chinese (and sometimes Korean too), making it easy to navigate.

We got the JR Pass because we were planning on going to multiple cities; it was a little under $300 for a week worth of free train rides almost everywhere, which is good if you’re city hopping.

There is also a Japan Rail Mobile App that is immensely helpful.

Other Options

Uber is available in Tokyo only. You can also take taxis, which may be similarly priced.