TOKYO
This photo doesn’t do the cherry blossoms justice, but was one of the better ones I took… unfortunately couldn’t go back out to see them on a nicer day as we were only in Tokyo for such a short time!
FLIGHTS
When originally doing the research for this trip, I was impressed by JAL’s allergy-free menu!
Given that the allergies we had to consider at the time of booking our holiday to Tokyo included sesame, fish and dairy, Tokyo would not normally be a destination I would prioritise taking my children to. However when some very close friends told us they were getting married there, that made us think again! I agonised over whether to go, and in the end we decided to go - afterall, we could manage it by renting a serviced apartment and cooking for the kids, but I must admit I was pretty anxious in the lead up to the holiday! However, the holiday turned out to be a wonderful experience - Japanese people are incredibly polite and accommodating, and I get the sense that they pride themselves on providing high quality service particularly when it comes to food.
Food tips:
- Bring allergy cards translated into Japanese text. Have these handy on your phone as well as having print outs in case your phone runs out of battery.
- Scope out local grocery stores prior to the trip. We stayed in Omotesando, and bought groceries from Kinokuniya and Natural House.
- Some cured meats like ham and bacon contain dairy (don’t ask me why, but they do!)
- We found it impossible to find any instant noodles without sesame.
- Top allergens in Australia / UK / USA may be different to other countries; sesame for example is not a major allergen in Japan.
General tips:
- order portable wi-fi (that can be picked up at the airport - make sure it’s the right airport; flights generally fly into either Narita airport or Haneda airport) prior to your holiday. I think there is also an option to get a SIM card but not sure if the Japanese SIMs are comparable with all Australian phones.
- bring spare chargers / phone battery boosters.
- download a translating app, like Google translate. Google translate has a camera function which was reasonably helpful but could not translate absolutely everything. We did also have a Japanese friend we could send photos to and this helped immensely where Google Translate wasn’t clear.
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Tokyo Disney
Bread contained milk but if your child can tolerate baked milk
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Ichiran allergy list
(Although not clear on sesame or dairy)
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Omotesando hole in the wall tonkatsu place
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Tsukiji fish market place