Japan

While Japan seems fairly friendly to those with gluten and dairy intolerances, there are a few things to watch out for and be aware of before you go.

Dairy:

The Japanese use fairly little dairy in their cooking, but when heading to a cafe or vending machine you need to choose your drinks wisely. Alternatives like soy or almond milk are not common in Japan, so you may have to give up your latte's while you are there. However, there is always Starbucks and a few other chains that will carry soy milk if you really need your fix.

Luckily, many Japanese deserts are made of rice flour and bean paste, neither of which contain dairy, so if you are in to that sort of thing (it may be an acquired taste) you can run free at the desert aisle.

Gluten:

Gluten in Japan is a bit trickier, but with a bit of patience you can easily navigate your way to a gluten free experience. If sushi is your thing, you are good to go, but for those who also want to venture into the cooked realm there are a few things to be aware of.

The Japanese are very fond of rice and noodles. To be extra safe just stick to the rice. Unfortunately, some of the most common noodles- udon and ramen- are made with wheat flour. However, most restaurants also serve soba noodles which are made with buckwheat. Often you can substitute the noodles if that udon dish looked really good, but soba noodles are also fairly popular and you can usually find a couple dishes at every shudoko (an 'everything' restaurant).

Another challenge is that many sauces, including soy, contain small amounts of wheat. I would recommend to purchase a gluten free soy sauce before you go and carry it around with you. For sushi it is easy, because you can just slip some of your own sauce into your soy dish, for cooked meals it is a bit more complicated, but if you can make yourself understood restaurants are often willing to cook with your sauce.

Miso soup, which is often served with breakfast and lunch also contains small amounts of gluten, so this is something you my want to skip. However, if you are willing to risk it I would recommend a few spoonfuls at least once while you're in Japan,as it is a delicious light start to your meal!

Nuts:

Nuts are used very rarely in Japanese cooking but it is still worthwhile to know how to say you are allergic in Japanese. Occasionally peanuts are used, but you will mostly run into this while trying other cuisines like Thai or Korean.