Japan labels allergens more thoroughly than many countries — on packaged food. At a restaurant table, that system does not apply, and in Japanese cooking the allergen is often not in the dish you see but in the stock it was simmered in or the oil it was fried in. This guide explains the labeling system, where allergens hide, and why the most important moment for a serious allergy is the booking, not the meal.
Our group is involved in running restaurants in Tokyo, so this is written from the kitchen side.
How does Japan label food allergens?
Japan’s labeling rules, set by the Consumer Affairs Agency, divide allergens into two lists.
Specified ingredients, which must be labeled on packaged food. Since the revision of 1 April 2026 there are nine: shrimp, crab, walnut, wheat, buckwheat (soba), egg, milk, peanut, and cashew, which moved from the recommended list. Businesses have a two‑year transition period for cashew.
Ingredients recommended for labeling. Twenty: almond, abalone, squid, salmon roe (ikura), orange, kiwi fruit, pistachio (added in April 2026), beef, sesame, salmon, mackerel, soybean, chicken, banana, pork, macadamia nut, peach, Japanese yam (yamaimo), apple and gelatin.
Two things follow for a traveler. First, if you buy packaged food in Japan, the label will name the nine required allergens in Japanese — useful at a convenience store, a department‑store food hall or a station kiosk. Second, and more important, none of this applies to restaurant dishes.
Do Japanese restaurants have to tell you what is in a dish?
No. Japan’s Consumer Affairs Agency notes that allergen labeling for restaurant and takeaway food is not mandatory — it is a voluntary effort by each business. The agency also publishes a checklist for restaurants that choose to provide allergen information. It asks them to give accurate, current information, to tell guests about the possibility of unintended cross‑contact, and to leave the final decision about what to eat to the guest.
In practice, that means some restaurants have an allergen sheet and staff who can answer precisely, and many small restaurants — including many of the best counters — do not. What protects you is telling the restaurant clearly, and early.
Where do allergens hide in Japanese cooking?
The pattern we see in kitchens is that the allergen is in the seasoning, the stock or the equipment, not in the name of the dish.
- Dashi. The basic stock is usually made with kombu and katsuobushi, dried bonito, and sometimes with niboshi, dried sardines. It seasons miso soup, simmered vegetables, noodle broths, dipping sauces and the rolled omelet. A vegetable dish is rarely free of fish.
- Soy sauce and miso. Soybean in both, and wheat in most soy sauce and some miso. Soy sauce goes into sauces, glazes and simmered dishes, and is brushed onto many pieces of sushi.
- Frying oil. Tempura restaurants and many kitchens fry shrimp, fish, vegetables and battered items in the same oil. Tempura batter contains wheat and, often, egg.
- Fish cakes. Kamaboko, chikuwa and similar fish cakes are made from fish and may contain egg white, starch or wheat. They turn up in noodle dishes, oden and bento.
- Rice crackers. Senbei are often seasoned with soy sauce, which contains soy and wheat, and some are made with shrimp or other seafood.
- Shellfish and crustaceans in stock. Shrimp heads, crab shells, scallops and clams are used to make stock and sauces that do not look like seafood.
- Sesame. Sesame oil, sesame dressing and ground sesame appear in dressed vegetables, sauces and gomadofu, a sesame “tofu”.
- Buckwheat. In soba noodles, and in the boiling water that soba shops often share with other noodles.
The table below matches common allergens to where they appear in Japanese restaurants.
| Allergen | Where it often hides | What to ask about |
|---|---|---|
| Fish | Dashi stock, fish flakes on top, fish sauce in some dishes | The stock in every course |
| Shrimp, crab | Stock, shared frying oil, fish cakes, some rice crackers | The oil and the stock |
| Shellfish | Clam and scallop stock in soups and sauces | Every soup and sauce |
| Wheat | Soy sauce, miso, batter, fu, noodles | Soy sauce in every course |
| Soybean | Soy sauce, miso, tofu, edamame | Seasoning in every course |
| Egg | Batter, rolled omelet, fish cakes, some sweets | Batter and fish cakes |
| Sesame | Sesame oil, dressings, sesame tofu | Oil used for cooking |
| Buckwheat | Soba noodles, shared boiling water | Noodles and the pot |
| Milk | Less common in Japanese cooking, more in sweets and Western‑style dishes | Desserts |
For wheat in particular, see our guide to gluten‑free and celiac dining in Japan.
Why must a severe allergy be declared when you book?
Because at the restaurants where it matters most, the meal is prepared before you arrive.
At a set‑course restaurant — sushi omakase, kaiseki, many tempura counters — the stock, sauces and simmered dishes are made in the morning for everyone booked that evening. Some restaurants buy particular fish for particular guests days ahead. When a guest says at the table that they cannot eat shellfish, the cook cannot remove it from a stock that was made at ten in the morning. When the guest says it when booking, the cook can make a separate stock, plan a different course, or say honestly that the restaurant is not the right choice.
We ask guests to tell us at least a few days ahead. For a severe allergy, telling us at the table is too late for the kitchen to do anything useful, however willing it is.
Can the kitchen avoid cross‑contact?
Most Japanese restaurants cannot promise it. One fryer, one grill and one set of knives usually serve the whole room, and a soba shop often boils all its noodles in the same water. The Consumer Affairs Agency’s checklist asks restaurants to tell guests about the possibility of unintended cross‑contact, and to be cautious with guests whose allergies are severe.
If a trace of your allergen is dangerous to you, say so in those words, and ask directly about the oil, the stock and the grill. An answer of “we cannot guarantee that” is honest and useful. For shellfish and crustacean allergies at sushi and kaiseki counters, the risks are specific enough that we cover them separately.
How do I explain an allergy in Japanese?
Tell the restaurant when you book, and then show the same words in writing when you arrive. The core sentences:
| What to say | Japanese | Romaji |
|---|---|---|
| I have a severe allergy to shrimp and crab. | えびとかにに重いアレルギーがあります。 | Ebi to kani ni omoi arerugī ga arimasu. |
| Even a trace, or the same frying oil, causes symptoms. | ごく少量や、同じ揚げ油でも症状が出ます。 | Goku shōryō ya, onaji ageabura demo shōjō ga demasu. |
| Is there any in the stock or the sauce? | だしやたれにも入っていますか。 | Dashi ya tare ni mo haitte imasu ka. |
| If it is difficult, please tell us honestly. | 難しい場合は、遠慮なく教えてください。 | Muzukashii baai wa, enryo naku oshiete kudasai. |
Replace ebi to kani with your own allergen. Our phrases for allergies and dietary needs lists the Japanese words for the main allergens. We also made a free Japanese dining card that sets out your allergy, how serious it is, and the easy‑to‑miss places it hides — stock, frying oil, fish cakes — for you and everyone at your table.
A few practical notes:
- Carry your own medication, and follow your doctor’s advice about traveling with it.
- Name the ingredient, not only the category. “Shellfish” may be understood as clams but not shrimp; list what you cannot eat.
- Accept an honest no. A restaurant that declines a severe allergy is protecting you.
- For other diets, see our guides to halal and Muslim‑friendly dining, vegetarian and vegan eating and dietary needs at Japanese counters. If you are pregnant, see pregnant in Japan: sushi, raw fish and what to ask.
Before you go
If you want a restaurant to know all of this without a conversation in Japanese, the dining card puts it on one page for the kitchen. When we book for you, we pass this on to the restaurant in Japanese.
Sources
- Consumer Affairs Agency (消費者庁), “食物アレルギー表示に関する情報” (information on food allergy labeling): revisions adding cashew as a specified ingredient (1 April 2026), adding macadamia nut and removing matsutake (28 March 2024), adding walnut (9 March 2023), adding almond (19 September 2019). https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/food_labeling/food_sanitation/allergy/
- Consumer Affairs Agency, “アレルギー表示について” (allergen labeling at a glance), as of April 2026 (令和8年4月時点): the nine specified ingredients (mandatory) and the twenty ingredients recommended for labeling, listed by name; labeling applies to packaged processed food. https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/food_labeling/food_sanitation/allergy/assets/food_labeling_cms204_260401_01.pdf
- Consumer Affairs Agency, Food Labeling Division, notice “アレルゲンを含む食品に関する表示について” (1 April 2026), p. 1: cashew added as a specified ingredient with a two‑year transition period; pistachio added to the ingredients recommended for labeling. https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/food_labeling/food_sanitation/allergy/assets/food_labeling_cms204_260401_03.pdf
- Consumer Affairs Agency, report on promoting allergen information in restaurant and takeaway food, February 2023 (令和5年2月): allergen labeling for restaurant and takeaway food is not mandatory and is a voluntary effort by each business. https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/local_cooperation/local_consumer_administration/advancedmodel/2022/assets/consumer_cooperation_cms201_230523_01.pdf
- Consumer Affairs Agency, checklist for restaurant and takeaway businesses providing allergen information: give current and accurate information; tell guests about possible cross‑contact and urge caution for severe cases; the guest decides what they can eat. https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/food_labeling/food_sanitation/allergy/efforts/assets/food_labeling_cms204_240509_05.pdf
This guide describes labeling rules and kitchen practice. It is not medical advice; for a food allergy, follow your doctor’s guidance.