Food allergies, vegetarian and halal diets at restaurants in Japan

Eating in Japan with an allergy, as a vegetarian, or keeping halal is very doable, but it takes more planning than most travelers expect. The hidden ingredients are different from the ones you're used to, and at the restaurants that matter most, the moment to speak up is when you book, not when you sit down. Here is what to watch for and exactly what to say.

The ingredients that catch people out

Dashi is in almost everything. Japan's basic stock is usually made with katsuobushi (dried bonito fish), sometimes with kombu seaweed. It is in miso soup, noodle broths, simmered vegetables, tamagoyaki, many sauces and a lot of dishes that look vegetarian. A "vegetable" dish in Japan is very often cooked in fish stock.

Soy sauce contains wheat. Standard soy sauce (醤油) is brewed with wheat, which matters for coeliac and wheat allergies. Tamari is sometimes wheat-free, but you can't assume a restaurant keeps it.

Mirin and sake are used in cooking. Both are alcohol, used in glazes, sauces and simmered dishes. This matters if you avoid alcohol for religious reasons.

Pork and lard turn up in broths. Tonkotsu ramen is pork bone broth, and gyoza, many fried dishes and some curries contain pork or lard.

Buckwheat allergy is taken seriously. Soba (そば) is buckwheat, and soba shops often boil other noodles in the same water. If you have a buckwheat allergy, avoid soba shops altogether.

Where each diet is easiest

Shojin ryori is the vegetarian's best friend in Japan. It is built on kombu and shiitake stock instead of fish, and temple restaurants in Kyoto and on Koyasan specialise in it.

Tell them when you book

At a sushi counter, kaiseki or any course-only restaurant (コースのみ), the chef plans and buys for each guest before you arrive. Asking for changes when you sit down often isn't possible, and at the high end it can mean being turned away. Telling them at booking time gives the chef the chance to prepare or to say honestly that they can't.

Expect one of three answers:

• They can adapt, sometimes with a small change to the course price.
• They can adapt part of it, for example removing shellfish but not dashi.
• They can't (対応できません, taiō dekimasen). This is common and it is a kindness, not a snub. A chef who can't guarantee your safety is telling you so. Book elsewhere.

Casual places like izakaya are more flexible, since you order dish by dish. Still, ask before ordering anything with broth or sauce.

Phrases to use

When you book, or when you sit down at a casual place:

Common allergens in Japanese: shrimp えび (ebi), crab かに (kani), egg 卵 (tamago), milk 乳 (nyū), wheat 小麦 (komugi), buckwheat そば (soba), peanuts 落花生 (rakkasei), sesame ごま (goma).

For the rest of a booking call, see our phrases guide.

Carry an allergy card

Write your allergy in Japanese on a card or save it on your phone, and show it every time you order. Staff can read it calmly instead of decoding your pronunciation in a loud room. Keep it to one or two sentences: what you can't eat, and whether it is a serious allergy.

Booking with a restriction through Moshicall

When you book with Moshicall, write your restriction in the notes field, for example "One guest has a shellfish allergy". Once the restaurant confirms the table, our AI assistant tells them on the same call, in Japanese. The restaurant's answer is in your call recap, so you know before you go whether they can adapt, and you can still cancel directly with the restaurant if they can't.

A few more tips

• Lunch is easier than dinner. Set lunches are simpler and more flexible than dinner courses.
• Check the Tabelog listing. Some restaurants mention vegetarian or allergy handling in their notes. Our Tabelog guide shows where to look.
• Convenience stores label allergens. Packaged food in Japan lists the major allergens, usually in a small table on the label, useful for a quick safe snack.