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Hi everyone,
I will be travelling to Japan for a 3-week holiday next Saturday. A few
weeks ago I posted a message asking for help in managing a GF diet there and
in particular in composing a suitable restaurant card. Below is a summary
of the info I've since gathered from various sources (including this list
and recommended websearches). Hope it might be of use to anyone else with
Japanese travel plans ( a couple of people asked me to share the info I
got).
A HUGE thank you to everyone who responded. I think I have written to
everyone individually but please accept apologies if I missed anyone. The
general message I got was that, yes travelling GF in Japan will be a
challenge, but that I should be OK with some careful preparation. Certainly
I feel a lot more confident with all the support I've been able to tap into.
I will post again when I get back and let you all know how I got on.
Best GF wishes,
Liz Ward, Dublin, Ireland
RESTAURANT CARDS /TRANSLATIONS
1. It was suggested that I contact GIG (Gluten Intolerance Group) for a
copy of their restaurant card in Japanese, so I emailed them. They couldn't
send me a copy by email, but very kindly sent me one by snail mail (and
also sent some general info about their organisation and their perspective
on CD).
2. One person very generously sent me copies of a restaurant card (both in
scanned format and in Word format) which had been translated for their son
by a Japanese host family and which he had used in Japan.
3. There is a Japanese translation of a restaurant card in Jax Peters
Lowell's book 'Against the Grain'. [I had bought a copy of this book a few
years ago on a trip to the US but hadn't thought of looking for a restaurant
card in it!] Some other books with suitable phrases were also mentioned,
but none were convenient for me to access.
4. There are web sites with GF restaurant card translations in many
languages, including Japanese:
http://www.zoeliakie-info.de/Sprachinfo/Japanisch/japanisch.html
http://www.sci.fi/~keliakia/tiedote/kielet.htm
Some people recommended these but others, including myself, found their
cards too vague.
5. There is a general translation site :
http://babelfish.altavista.com/babelfish/tr
I didn't try using this but saved it in case I needed it as a last resort.
6. The Japanese Vegetarian Society (I'm also a vegetarian) has a website
with an email address: http://www.jpvs.org/ep/
7. Someone currently living in Japan recommended two web sites which she
has printed out and brings to restaurants.
One explains what a gluten-free diet is and what foods contain gluten
and what foods do not:
http://www.geocities.co.jp/Bookend-Soseki/2157/gfcf-gluten.html
One explains what Celiac Disease is:
http://www.city.naze.kagoshima.jp/HouseCall/encyc/123/143/170_0_0_0.html
with more detail on the gluten-free diet at:
http://www.city.naze.kagoshima.jp/HouseCall/encyc/86/25/9_0_0_0.html
I did download these but as they are quite long and have no corresponding
English translation, I would be a bit nervous using them.
8. I sent my English restaurant card to Japanese friends of my daughter's
and they sent me back a translation by email.
9. It was pointed out to me that I would need to be careful with the
structure of the translation for the several reasons:
a) CD is mainly a western European disease and may be almost unheard of in
Japan.
b) The Japanese language is very different to European languages and does
not use the same gramatical concepts, so a direct translation is unlikely to
make sense to a Japanese person.
c) There's also a matter of etiquette to be considered and Japanese people
can be easily offended. They also tend to find Westerners (especially
non-Japanese speakers) a bit scary and intimidating.
d) I was advised to keep it very short as wait staff,especially in the big
cities, are usually very busy.
10. People put forward various creative suggestions as to who I might
contact to get help in translating/checking the translation - the airline
JAL, the Japanese embassy/ consulate, native Japanese working in a local
restaurant here. Taking on board the difficulties listed above, and to make
sure the card would make sense to a native Japanese person, I followed up on
this
suggestion by showing the translations which I felt suited my needs best to
a native Japanese working in the travel agent where we bought our rail
passes. He has been extremely obliging in helping me to work out one which
reads appropriately.
EATING OUT
1. The general consensus was that most (some said all) Japanese soy sauce
contains wheat and that I should bring my own wheat-free tamari (which I
plan to do).
2. I was also warned that in Japan soy sauce is widely added to food before
or during cooking, not just served separately so I will have to be prepared
for its ubitiquous use.
3. Pickles served with food can often have some wheat in them.
4. A Japanese person suggested learning a few dishes to survive on and
learning to pronounce them.
5. Sushi (using GF soy sauce for dipping), miso soup, mixed salads, plain
rice ("gohan") and eggs with rice ("om raisu") were mentioned as good
potential GF options.
6. Tofu is particularly good in Japan and is a speciality in Kyoto.
7. Soba noodles are traditionally made from buckwheat, but most nowadays
have some wheat flour added also (pity!).
8. I was reminded to make sure that pans are used to cook my food are
properly cleaned and not just rinsed with water in between uses. The ideal
would be to eat at places where you can see the cook in action.
9. It is likely that I may have to compomise my vegetarianism somewhat in
order not to offend and to make sure that those serving me concentrate on
prioritising the GF issues. I accept that this is the case, especially as
I realise that stocks used are often meat- or fish-based.
10. It was mentioned that Japanese are aware
that children often have a problem with gluten, so going to a restaurant
with a menu for children might be easier.
11. There's an iced tea made from barley I'll need to avoid.
12. There is a restaurant guide at
http://www.weekender.co.jp/new/restaurants/restaurant-guide-thai.html
with many Thai or Vietnamese restaurants listed in Tokyo.
ADVICE RE WHAT TO BRING
1. GF soy sauce, e.g. tamari (someone suggested I bring an attractive small
container for use in restaurants).
2. Food items in small cans with pop-top lids.
3. Energy bars
4. Trail mix (nuts especially) -- the packages are quite small in Japan.
USEFUL PHRASES
bakuga = malt
mugi = barley
hatomugi = a kind of barley
komugi = wheat
raimugi = rye
karasumugi = oats
All of these grains have the same character (mugi) and the one for flour
is more or less the same.
Dame = bad (pronounced+ dahmeh)
Simple: Mugi to komugi wa dame. (Barley and wheat are bad.)
Better: " Watakushi ni wa, mugi to komugi wa taberaremasen desu yo. "
(I cannot eat barley or wheat)
There doesn't seem to be a Japanese term for 'coeliac' .
BUYING FOOD
1. Reading labels will be a problem, but I was told that everything that
has gluten in it should have a particular character (mugi) on the label as
it is used for all the gluten-containing grains, except minor ingredients
such as seasonings which may not have details included on labels.
2. Puffed corn, puffed rice and rice crackers are usually easily available.
3. Convenience stores and small grocery stores are everywhere and are great
for shopping, with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables.
4. There are health food stores, but not all have a large GF range.
5. GF foods are available from Tengu Natural Foods, an hour from Tokyo, who
also do mail order:
http://www.alishan-organic-center.com/en/tengu/
OTHER GENERAL ADVICE
One person said: 'The Japanese are wonderful, thoughtful and eager hosts.
Bring lots of little gifts so you can thank people who help you. That goes
over very well and gift giving is a big part of the culture'. I love this
idea and plan to bring some small Irish/Celtic badges and pins for this
purpose.
OTHER OFFERS OF HELP
Some people offered to contact friends or relatives who might have been able
to help if I didn't get other advice. Even though I didn't need to follow
up
on these offers, I much appreciated everyone's support.
*Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the Celiac List *
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