Hey PH! I built tabemasen after watching a friend with food allergies struggle to eat safely in Japan. A lot of people don’t realize that while Japan has some of the strictest packaged food allergen laws in the world, none of that actually applies to restaurants. There’s no legal requirement for menu disclosure. So you’re stuck trying to explain to a waiter that yes, soy sauce contains wheat, using Google Translate, which usually spits out technically correct but socially awkward Japanese that staff can't parse quickly. tabemasen just generates a simple card in natural, polite Japanese. It lists your specific allergens by their kanji names, explicitly mentions cross-contamination (a concept a lot of restaurant staff haven't encountered), and covers the hidden stuff like wheat in soy sauce, pork in dashi, or mirin in glazes. It works for allergies, celiac/gluten-free, vegan, and halal. I just got back from a month in Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, and the cross-contamination issue is incredibly real. I literally watched tempura being fried alongside everything else at a sushi-train spot in Kyoto with zero signage. The tool is completely free, no signup, no email capture. Just pick your restrictions and save the card to your phone. Next up on the roadmap is expanding this to support other languages with the exact same deep attention to local culinary nuances and hidden ingredients. If you speak Japanese, I'd love your feedback on the phrasing. Also open to any suggestions on extra allergens to add or hidden ingredients I might have missed! Happy to answer any questions about eating with restrictions over there.

tabemasen

Show your waiter what you can't eat in Japanese

Show your waiter what you can't eat in Japanese