When to use cards for communicating dietary restrictions in Japan

Question

I have found printable cards for communicating dietary restrictions in Japan. How exactly could a card like this be used in a restaurant, keeping in mind that in Japan politeness is very important?
As soon as I enter the restaurant? Wait until the waiter takes my order?

Answer 1

I think a lot depends on the nature of the problem. If this is, for example, for a vegetarian to avoid meat, or for someone who gets a little bit of an upset stomach from milk products but not an allergic reaction, it is simply a matter of politely presenting the card.

However, for people who have severe allergies - e.g., the carry an Epipen wherever you go, just in case, type of allergies - then I would not rely on these cards. For people who have such severe problems, these cards are simply not enough. For many people with tree nut, peanut, shellfish or other allergies, it is not simply "no nuts" and "no nut oils" but rather "every utensil must be carefully cleaned before use if it was previously used with nuts", and I don't think these cards make that clear.

I (thankfully) have never had such allergies, but I know of people who have and every so often you read about someone who is hospitalized or even dies because the customer was careful and even the waitstaff was careful but the information never made it to chefs and a recipe had been changed or there was cross-contamination.

Answer 2

I think simple politeness can guide you. In most cases I think it would be more polite to get it sorted out whether they can serve you anything as soon as possible, and as a result I would show such a card as soon as possible.

Answer 3

I'm not familiar with japanese cuisine, nor did you state which card you would use, but as a general rule:

If you expect to find something in all or most restaurants, you should be fine showing this card to the server when he brings the menus or as you get ready to order. E.g., I do not eat fish and seafood, but never in my life have I been to a restaurant where all meals included fish or seafood. Admittedly, I try to avoid places that advertise themselves as "fish restaurants", and I've learned that it's better to communicate in advance if (for whatever reason) there is a fixed menu, but when ordering à la carte, avoiding fish has never been an issue.

If your dietary restrictions are so special that you expect to not find a suitable meal in a significant number of restaurants, you might want to show the card as you enter. E.g. I once taught a student who couldn't have anything with wheat in it, so when we were planning where to have the final dinner of the school trip, we were checking the menus posted online before even contacting the restaurants to make sure that she, too, would be able to get something (and sure enough, we had to discard at least one restaurant serving only pizza and pasta).

Answer 4

Looking at the cards, I'd say presenting before being seated, especially if at a smaller non-chain restaurant, would be better, as for instance no dashi (fish stock) is going to be a problem in many places, or the chef might just decide it's too much bother.

Also, for a wheat/gluten allergy, regular soy sauce is out but it's not mentioned on the cards, and for alcohol, halal is now well-understood, but if you do need halal, there's web sites with lists of suitable restaurants.