Thoughts from my travel in Japan - credit cards, food allergies and more

Glad you enjoyed Japan. My daughter has taught in Tokyo for several years so I have been a few times. I saw many memorable places via my train pass. I did not take a tour but instead stayed in Japanese inns and used train+ bus. On my 1st visit English signage was limited but I got by with gestures and a smile and a sense of adventure. Best of all as a solo travel ( while my daughter was busy teaching English) I felt totally safe on the trains/ i n Tokyo and especially in smaller cities.I did not have your GF concerns so I can understand why that was difficult. I think there are apps to help decipher menu terms but I have never needed them. I ate at Izakias and from the family grocery store all on a budget...oh yes Indian buffet worked well.Hope you are able to make a return visit and discover more places.

Valerie, great that you enjoyed your trip in spite of some challenges! I'm a bit surprised that you were told that there was "plenty of English spoken" as comments on many travel sites I belong to say otherwise. That had to exacerbate the problem with communicating your food allergy.

I don't think a lot of Asia is nearly as familiar with gluten allergies as Europe or some other parts of the world whereas lactose allergies are more common.

I have young relatives who've gone to Japan and loved it. Maybe not Tokyo but the temples and countryside are gorgeous and the people are very polite but stare sometimes at foreigners. They also had a problem with, oddly enough, vegetarian food in some places as more people eat meat and I'm guessing being a vegan isn't like in Western Europe.

They loved the clean bathrooms and sent a dozen pictures/videos of the toilets and buttons. Finally, they loved the fact that you can get to the countryside by public transport. Glad you had a good time.

Food: So key for me was that it’s fine if I eat gluten - I was just avoiding it for a stupid medical reason too personal for this site:) But if I was celiac? It would be hard here. The one thing they mastered at my meals was the gluten free soy sauce but there was just so much other stuff that seemed to have gluten or seemed like it might have gluten. But I do have a couple of true, serious food allergies and working around those was harder and those were mostly what led to my candy meals. I got by on a lot of rice and ice cream too.

Toilets: Best toilets of my life. I love them. The most elaborate, luxurious contraptions I’ve encountered. The joy of a heated toilet seat:)

Trains: They feel about like the trains in Europe. They run timely and are totally overheated inside (not that it mattered, as I was totally overheated just traipsing around in general). The train stations are vast, and I think by using the word “vast”, I’m not actually doing them justice. Shinjuku station in Tokyo was really just an opportunity to get incredibly lost. Using GPS to find the station worked. Using GPS to find the right area of the station was useless. We used a backup plan - stop someone who looks American and hope they have more information than we do.

Hi Valerie. I followed your Japanese adventure on your blog and enjoyed every word. You write with such humor and your descriptions are so vivid, I almost felt as if I was right there with you! I can relate to the food part. No allergies but if it's wiggly, squishy or the least bit 'slimy' (like the dreaded eggplant...), it's not for me! I am happy your enjoyed you visit and thanks for posting here, too.

@Maria - I used to travel with allergy cards and translation stuff for my true troubling allergy - corn. But I’ve even given that up now. With some Zyrtec, Benadryl and my EpiPens, I muddle through. My hardest food challenge in Japan has simply been that I am a picky eater in a culture full of VERY different food offerings:)

I removed my post, as I see your first entry shows you know whst you are doing. Cliff bars, indeed. Picky eater, well, that I don't understand 😉 I realize I have read your other blogs most recently Greece. Back to the 'toilets I have seen and loved in Japan' blog....

We had a great trip to Japan recently and agree with many of your comments. We also were surprised by how little English was spoken even in hotels at the front desks. Google Translate was a life saver, type in the English words and it translated to Japanese characters.
Also loved Kanazawa but Takayama was a big favorite. I am happiest in cities and Tokyo was fabulous. I love Japanese food so was happy eating all of it. Scary about the lack of gluten free as I have family with celiac disease.
I can’t wait to return, mostly for the food!

Hi,

Thanks very much for an informative, interesting and reveal report. I had hear likewise in regards to English when Tokyo and Beijing or Shanghai are compared, as to which offers more English signs, etc, The answer is not Tokyo. I agree the tour option is best.

Since you're on the west coast, I would assume you've been to Little Tokyo in LA and Japan Town in SF and elsewhere on the food offerings, etc.