Japan Food Tours and Dietary Needs Guide

Do not treat every food experience the same

• A cooking class may be easier to adapt than a street food tour, because ingredients are visible and prepared in one place.
• A tasting experience may have fixed items that cannot be changed.
• A bar-hopping or izakaya tour may involve hidden sauces, fish broth, pork, or shared cooking surfaces.
• A vegetarian-labeled experience may still use dashi, bonito flakes, or fish-based seasoning.
• Allergy needs require stronger confirmation than preference-based dietary requests.

What to ask before booking

• Can the operator support your exact restriction, not only a broad category like vegetarian?
• Are fish broth, bonito flakes, dried sardines, shellfish, pork, alcohol, or gelatin used?
• Can ingredients be changed, or is the menu fixed?
• Is food prepared on shared surfaces or in shared oil?
• Can the operator provide written confirmation before the tour?
• If the answer is unclear, is it still worth booking for the non-food parts of the experience?

Where BSJ can help

Public articles should explain the questions travelers often forget to ask. The deeper value is a saved phrase card, message template, or confirmation checklist that travelers can use before booking or show on the day.

For high-risk allergies, BSJ should never imply a guarantee. The role is to help travelers ask better questions and understand when an answer is too vague to rely on.

Sample message before booking

Hello,
I am interested in this food experience.

Before booking, could you please confirm whether the menu can support the following dietary need:
[write your dietary restriction here]

Also, does the food include fish broth, bonito flakes, dried sardines, shellfish, pork, alcohol, wheat, soy, egg, dairy, or shared cooking oil?

I understand this may not be possible, but I would like to confirm before booking.
Thank you.

この食事体験の予約を検討しています。

予約前に、以下の食事制限に対応可能か確認したいです。
【ここに食事制限を記入】

また、料理に魚のだし、かつお節、煮干し、貝類、豚肉、アルコール、小麦、大豆、卵、乳製品、共用の油は使われていますか？

対応が難しい場合があることは理解していますが、予約前に確認したいです。
よろしくお願いいたします。