Hello,
Background: I have Coeliac's Disease. For those who don't know what that is, it's a malabsorption autoimmune disorder where the nutrient absorbing organisms in the intestines get severely damaged upon consuming gluten (and on top of that, I have a separate allergy to gluten where I need an epipen, joy).
When I first came to Japan, being Coeliac was very hard. I almost had to call it quits and go home because my phone didn't work in Japan so I couldn't check ingredients, so I was pretty much living off plain onigiri and cabbage for a while as I had no means of getting appliances for a bit (to clarify for people who don't understand: I have to prepare my food from scratch, I normally can't/don't eat processed food or eat out but I had to in order to survive here for the first few weeks). So that others with my condition don't experience the same thing, here are some pointers that have helped me out or would have helped me out:
- Get an iphone or get your android unlocked from your provider BEFORE arriving to Japan and get a temporary travel sim for Japan while you prepare on getting internet/phone at home. (Doing this will probably make the rest of my post not necessary, tbh, as you'll be able to get what you need faster than I did.)
——– I tried to arrange unlocking my android phone with the help/coordination of my mum back in my home country, but it didn't work and for some reason, my old provider blocks other countries from viewing its webpages so I couldn't contact support without my mum's assistance (which I got by walking to a free wifi point every day for a couple of weeks, rip.)
- Bring a lot of gluten free food that you don't need to cook to help you out while you get your phone, internet, and appliances sorted.
——– Gluten free bread, condiments like gluten free soy sauce, canned beans or whatever, snacks, etc. This will help a lot in the beginning. Definitely prioritise getting appliances as you'll be doing a lot of cooking in Japan.
——– Some things you can eat from the conbini: baked yam (this was my first hot meal in like… three weeks. I hate yam, but I nearly cried from happiness lol), Soyjoy, Oikos yoghurt, Yakult, the yoghurt drinks in general I've had some good luck with (my favourite is just called "strawberry milk," as it's drinkable yoghurt with strawberry chinks), plain onigiri, pickled plum onigiri, this little frozen yoghurt parfait in the frozen section with some fruit on top, parm ice cream (best freaking ice cream ever), and this frozen milk stuff that looks like softserve in a cup with a little cow on the lid, sour cream and onion chips (most chips have gluten in Japan, even original Doritos flavour which is gluten free in my home country so be careful please). There's also steamed chicken (cold), little hotdogs, soft boiled eggs. I didn't check the other meats. Tropicana and Kagome smoothie drinks are also good. Aside from one type/brand of daifuku, the daifuku/mochi in Kyoto recently have all had wheat on the label so please be careful with those.
- Some foods you can get from Amazon
——– Gluten free breads (and they're SO GOOD) called "Biossa," gluten free spaghetti noodles, gluten free ramen, gluten free okra cookies, gluten free tiramisu and gluten free strawberry and cream daifuku
- Grocery store ingredients for when you can cook
——– I generally have to make everything from scratch (like curry roux, though you might be able to find this on Amazon), but certain things I haven't had issues with are: Kagome's plain spaghetti sauce (add your own veggies and seasonings to it), Heins Ketchup, Philadelphia cream cheese, cheese in general (but double check if you can), hot dogs in general, Lotte & Meiji chocolate almonds as well as chocolate macadamia nuts (don't get the ones with the crunchy shell), Meiji BLACK chocolate, Snickers, yoghurt in general. Almost all dressings and sauces have gluten in it, as a heads up. I only found two that were fine, but I can't remember the brands.
- There are some gluten free restaurants, but that'll depend on the area you're in.
——– People in Japan are really into bonding over meals/eating out together (at least in comparison to my hometown where we don't really have a lot of restaurants or anything). So, knowing some restaurants (100% gluten free) you can eat at can be beneficial. I've been to one in Tokyo and two in Kyoto during my first trip here, but never been while I lived here.
I'm sure there's more, but this is just what I've found so far and thought I'd share to help make it easier for you. Please always make sure to double check, though, as one time I found gluten free mochi right at the store and two years later there was suddenly gluten in them. Always be vigilant.
Feel free to share your findings, too. I'm going home soon, but others may find it helpful.
P.S. I'm NO LONGER going to respond to messages on this thread because I feel like you're all trolling me and I don't feel like I getting trolled over a serious medical problem that can cost me my – and perhaps even someone else's – life. Guys, gals, people: stop. There's a time and place for everything. Trolling for a serious medical problem over a basic necessity is NOT that place. This might not help any of you, but it might help someone else, so buzz off.
by ergoSAGE