We are looking at going to Japan but have never traveled outside of home or Europe.
Does anybody have any suggestions for European-like hostels? I also have celiac disease so having a kitchen in some of the accommodations will help me eat gluten free. This isn't a hard requirement but would be nice here and there.
Thanks!
Celiac is more common among people of Northern European heritage and is not well- recognized in Asia. We are doing a hiking tour with REI Adventures in Japan and I was advised they cannot offer gluten-free, as noodles and soy sauce are ubiquitous.
However, I have been to Japan before, and know that it is possible to eat gluten- free by choosing carefully in restaurants, or by buying safe food at the grocery market and cooking at home.
I do not know that the Japanese equivalent of a hostel will have cooking facilities.
I lived in Japan for several years. More recently our family of four spent 3 weeks in Japan. We did AirBnb. Wherever we stayed there was always a good grocery store in the neighborhood.
I suggest you look up blogs written by expats to find out where grocery stores with lots of English-speaking patrons are. In general, Japanese nationals are very helpful, but at times their English may not be proficient enough to translate all ingredients from Japanese to English. I guess it also does not hurt to bring (if Customs allows) some non-gluten pasta or carbohydrates with you, so that you don't have to spend time on finding it. Eating sushi should not be a problem. Just ask the chef to not add soy sauce to it. Have the translation saved in your cell ready.
