The Hida Social Club has developed the FFORK Toolkit to help you eat Japanese food gluten-free in Japan or in your own neighbourhood.

Start by working out your personal FFORK Level, which gluten-free meals you can eat, which FFORK tools you'll need, and which villages, towns and city neighbourhoods the tools will unlock when travelling in Japan.

The FFORK Planning Tool creates a personalised summary that includes:

Your FFORK Level
Where to eat Japanese food GF, from simplest to most complex
The right FFORK tools to use
Recommended destinations in Japan
Personalised travel tips
What to pack

The FFORK-friendly Finder Tool will help choose the best available place to eat.

All the Hida Social Club gluten-free planning tools are free, and you won't be asked to share your email to use them.

The FFORK tools you need to communicate with staff and guide you at table are available by subscription. Sign up for instant access.

Subscription Pricing

Monthly - ¥1,800 (US$12)
Half year - ¥5,500 (US$38)
Lifetime - ¥11,500 (US$73)

To complete the toolkit, we recommend ordering physical versions of the FFORK Field Guides to be shipped to your hotel or buying from a authorised retailer (RRP ¥5,000/ US$30)

Note: Pricing may differ slightly due to currency conversion & exchange rates

Hida Social Club volunteers have created a customisable allergy translation tool, which is available as a free gift.

Please get in touch to share your feedback and ideas. Let us know if you would like to add a missing item to the custom allergy tool or support us to develop a version of the toolkit for people who can eat traditionally brewed soy sauce.

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This toolkit would not be possible without the work of Hida Social Club volunteers and the ongoing support of r/celiac members, the local Hida community and Hida Social Club subscribers. Thank you all.

FAQs

What do you mean by gluten-free?

We use the Australian standard definition of gluten-free to mean no detectable gluten, with complete exclusion of oats, malted cereals and other items in Japan that commonly contain gluten, such as mizuame. We avoid misleading terms such as gluten-free friendly.

What is a FFORK Level?

FFORK Levels refer to the level of complexity and residual risk of cross-contact that an individual is willing to tolerate in order to eat gluten-free food. They do not refer to the user's tolerance of gluten or to how much gluten may be in the food itself.

How do the levels work?

FFORK Level 0 does not mean zero risk. It means the risks are managed by professional chefs or tour guides rather than by the user.

FFORK Level 5 means eating gluten-free is possible, but the number of factors and risks to be managed is very high, with many residual risks that cannot be managed by the user.