About GF Japan

GF Japan is an independent, English-language guide for travelers to Japan. Eat safely in Japan with celiac disease. Built and maintained by Ikumi H., based in Japan.

Why this site exists

I live in Japan and build software for a living. Watching travelers navigate this country, one pattern kept repeating: the people with the most specific needs get the least reliable information. Mainstream guides cover Japan broadly; the traveler with celiac disease, visible tattoos, or a toddler in a stroller is left piecing together outdated forum threads from five years ago.

This site exists to close that gap for one specific audience — with depth instead of breadth, and with venue data that's actually verified instead of copied from other blogs.

What makes it different

Every venue recommendation is cross-checked against live Google Places data — operating status, ratings, review counts — and re-verified monthly by automated checks. We publish the full methodology on our How We Verify page, including exactly where we use AI tools and where we don't. If a venue doesn't meet our data bar, it doesn't get published. Simple as that.

How we make money

Some links are affiliate links (disclosed on every page). If you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. No venue can pay to be listed, and partners never influence recommendations.

Talk to us

Corrections, questions, or a venue we should know about? Get in touch — reader corrections get priority.