Visiting Japan with a severe seafood allergy
 

Hi all,

I was hoping to find other people who have been in this situation and could help me make sure I'm not forgetting anything. I am very, very allergic to all kinds of seafood and am going to be spending 10 days in Tokyo and Nikko in October. I have gotten a prescription for 2 epi-pens to bring (and filled out the permission to import form for Japan), I ordered allergy cards from selectwisely.com and they sent an emergency form as well to ask people to call a doctor if necessary.

After googling, it appears that Japan might be a tricky place to eat in my situation. I've heard that seafood appears everywhere - I even heard someone had a reaction at a McDonald's. I always love to eat the local food, but in this situation obviously my safety has to come first and I will eat anywhere that is safe.

What I haven't been able to figure out is if I stick to vegetarian restaurants, if I'll be okay - there's conflicting information on this online. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? We are travelling on a strict budget so will be limited to inexpensive places. Are there any regularly available dishes that you can recommend that I can get if I'm stuck? I have travelled all around Europe with no problems but I'm incredibly nervous about this trip.

Thanks a lot for any help.

You can never fail with the curry :D
Every restaurant in Tokyo has curry it seems like.
Although you will be surprised that not everything on the menu is seafood.
I rarely eat seafood here myself.

There is some level of seafood derivatives in almost everything.
Yes, even curry. (Most use bonito extract in the sauces). Not actually having seafood in something doesn`t mean that there aren`t trace amounts of seafood.

That might be something that would not be that big of an issue for someone who doesn`t like seafood, or who simply doesn`t eat seafood... (Not knowing it is there will not hurt them) But in the case of an allergy, things are different. Even extract used in a sauce on a hamburger can trigger a reaction.

I wish I could offer better advice, but let me just say that Japan would be one of the last places I would want to be responsible for someone with a seafood allergy. Extracts are used even in condiments and seasonings, so there is a fair chance that restaurants may not even be aware that there is some amount of seafood in something or other - even if they are trying.

Your best bet is probably to prepare your own food or to eat things that you can see being prepared. It`s very easy to find things that do not contain seafood as an explicit ingredient - but not to avoid all trace amounts.

I would make sure that everywhere you plan to eat is confirmed ahead of time and that the places you stay are very aware that even trace amounts can cause a serious reaction.

I don't remember seeing a "vegetarian restaurant" but even what might be called a "vegetable dish" could have fish extract in sauce or dressing.

Does your allergy include seaweed?
Have you had a more specific reaction test to find out what type of seafood triggers the reaction.

You should be ok with plain rice, there is allot of that here and also tofu. but as the others point out, some form of seafood is used in most prepared food here. Hamburg steak usually has bonito in the sauce, and any burger chain that sells fish burger will have a degree of cross contimination.

Take it from this vegetarian that there are there are actually quite a few vegetarian (and even vegan) restaurants in Tokyo, but they tend to be in out of the way places and not be easy for tourists to find. Indian restaurants are a good bet- a chain called Nataraj is actually completely vegetarian and there is a branch in Gaienmae which is fairly central, although again that is not an area that a tourist is likely to passing through.

Google "vegetarian in Tokyo" as there is quite a lot of information already out there on the topic. You may find places that are near where you will be staying/visiting.

I agree with Nyororin that Japan is a very difficult country for someone with a seafood allergy- I have even seen fish extract listed as an ingredient in convenience store pastries, for whatever reason. Bringing as much food as you can with you or buying things that can't possibly have fish extract in them (yoghurt, fruit, veges etc) would probably be safest.

I have a related question: Does Japan require foods to list potential allergens on the labels? In the United States foods that have even trace amounts of nuts/fish/etc. are required to state that on the label.

I think the question to ask before that is, do children have fish/nut allergies in Japan?

Yes, they do. And yes, allergens are listed. Just not ALL allergens - only the most common. Nut related ones are always listed - for example if a product doesn`t contain nuts but is made in the same factory as nut products they will list it. Dairy is also often listed. I can`t recall what others are listed at the moment, but you`ll usually find the listing on more prepared foods rather than things you will find at the grocery store.
I believe the requirement here is for them to be listed if it is not clear from the ingredient list.

Nut allergies didn't seem to be an issue in the US 30 years ago, but now some people are deathly allergic. Has Japan seen a similar rise?