Jules

We will be travelling soon to Tokyo. My wife is very allergic to peanuts, groundnuts and all seafood, except fish. So, I’m looking for advice. Before going I’ll pay a visit to the Japanese consulate, here in Montreal, to get a note describing my wife’s allergies. What should we be careful about in Japan?<BR>Thanks very much.<BR>

Florence

Bonjour Jules,<BR><BR>Outside of some snacks and appetizers (looks like mixed nuts) where you often find peanuts, there's not much I can think of. Beware of &quot;kaki-furai&quot; (kaki-fried) in tempura restaurants: kaki means oyster. Some salads may be sprinkled with ground peanuts, but I've only rarely seen that.

lcuy

Is she allergic to shrimp? A lot of sauces and soup bases are made with shrimp or have shrimp flakes in them. The word for shrimp is ebi (sounds like Debbie). Also, they use a lot of sesame oil, but I gues that is a seed, not a nut.

Florence

Bonjour Lcuy, <BR><BR>Contrary to Vietnam for example, The basis for Japanese soups and sauces is made dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi) and seaweeds (kombu), not shrimps. Have a look here http://www.nsknet.or.jp/~chrkaji/yas...e/dashi_e.html for the standard recipe. However, many miso soups you get with breakfast may contain small clams, shrimps, etc.

allergic too!

I stayed in Tokyo on several long stretches, working and to my surprise, I found I was highly allergic to the laundry soap used in the hotel! I am not normally allergic to anything but other foreigners told me that this is a fairly common occurrence. I went home and it took several months before the red bumps went away. Next trip to Japan I brought my trusty Woolite and washed out things in the sink. I also used the Arthur Frommer trick of bringing older underwear, using it once and then tossing it. You might keep that in mind if your wife is highly allergic to begin with.

mari

lcuy and florence are both right. while bonito- and konbu-based broths are more common, i grew up eating a lot of jpnese dishes and pulling those salty dried shrimps out of broths and sauces. best to ask.

Akemi

Dear Jules,<BR><BR>Is your wife a multi-allergy sufferer? Is she also suffering from an allergy-parallel disease like fibromyalgia or lupus? You can find that in these cases, the spectrum of allergy can be unbearable because there are always new ones appearing, depending on the circumstances. My boyfriend discovered that he could not even bear the smog of Tokyo because of the microketamines it contains. That is why we moved to North America. Sadly, in those cases, traveling becomes a very dangerous proposition... specially in areas like Asia or India.<BR>Akemi

bkf

Went to Japan w/spouse this fall and am very allergic to 1 type of fish [sword] I had a friend write this in Japanese for me to give to a restaurant staff person so they could check. I carried an epi-pen and benedryl also...as when I was alone I was pretty concerned.The amount and variety of raw and cooked seafood that was new to me was pretty overwhelming but I did feel prepared. I also had the luxury of being with our hosts who could run interference for me. Allergies are scary but staying home all the time is scarier! Have a good talk with your allergist and maybe a consult with a local Japanese restaurant. Good luck!