Allervibe
Eating with a food allergy in Japan
Japan is one of the easier countries to eat in with an allergy — labelling on packaged food is strict and staff take a written card seriously — but almost nothing is in English, and restaurant menus carry no allergen information at all. A card in Japanese that says exactly what you cannot eat is the single most useful thing to carry.
What labels and restaurants will tell you
- Packaged food must declare eight "specified raw materials": shrimp, crab, walnut, wheat, buckwheat, egg, milk and peanut. Twenty more (including sesame, soy, cashew, almond, squid, salmon and kiwi) are only recommended, so their absence from a label means nothing.
- Restaurants, bakeries and convenience-store counters have no legal duty to give allergen information. Larger chains often print allergen charts (アレルギー表) — ask for it by name.
- Soy sauce (醤油) and miso almost always contain wheat; "gluten-free" as a concept is rare outside speciality shops. Dashi stock is fish-based and underlies most soups, sauces and even some vegetable dishes.
Where the common allergens hide
- Buckwheat (そば, soba) is a major allergen in Japan and soba noodles are often cooked in the same water as udon.
- Sesame is everywhere: dressings, gomashio on rice, sesame oil in stir-fries, ground sesame in dipping sauces.
- Shrimp and crab appear in fillings, crackers (せんべい) and okonomiyaki; shrimp powder is a common seasoning.
- Peanuts are less common than in Southeast Asia, but walnut and almond appear in sweets and bread.
How to use the card
Hand it over before you order, not after the food arrives, and wait for the person who cooks — not just the one who takes the order — to read it. If a dish is doubtful, the safest answer is a different dish, not a modified one. For packaged food, scan the barcode with Allervibe: it reads the ingredient list in the local language and checks it against the same allergens on your card.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Japanese allergy card free?
Yes. Pick your allergens, add a name if you want one, and print. No account, no app, no email.
Who translated the card?
The allergen names and the card wording are the same translations used inside the Allervibe app, reviewed by native speakers. They use the legal allergen terms, not slang, so a cook or waiter recognises them at once.
What size is it?
Credit-card size (85.6 × 54 mm), so it fits a wallet or phone case. Print two and keep one in your passport.
Can I make one in a language other than Japanese?
Yes — the language picker on this page offers fourteen languages, and you can print a card in each.
Cards in other languages
Thai · Vietnamese · Greek · Turkish · German · French · Spanish · Italian · Portuguese · Dutch · Polish · Croatian · All languages
