Good morning folks,

I have a question about how to go about food preferences and intolerances in Japan. I am a Pescatarian and Lactose intolerant. What do i look for in products that i can buy or order in a restaurant? Are lactose -free products widely available? And what should i tell a Japanese server that i need lactose-free items? Similar to that question, what can I tell the server that I would like to stick to seafood /mariscos. I am aware that there are some vegetarian ramen stuff available but i may have to look hard for them. Thank you all in anticipation of your answers

I’ve noticed that you don’t respond much to the answers to your queries.

Your question cannot be answered quickly and would require some engagement. To start you off I will just point out the allergy information from two easy to find chains that you could subsist on during a 4 day trip to Japan:

https://www.hanamaruudon.com/assets/pdf/allergy.pdf

and

https://www.ootoya.com/allergy/pdf/allergy1.pdf

Milk is the second column in the Ootoya list - 乳
Many (if not all) of the Ootoya branches have a tablet that can be used in English with lots of details about each item.
Here is a YouTube link where someone has posted how one can avoid allergens in an Ootoya order

+ And adding that MUJI’s own branded snacks have basic allergen information in English below the Japanese language ingredient list, this includes milk (I’m pretty sure meats are also highlighted). MUJI food items can be found at Lawson convenience stores and will be grouped together somewhere along with the other MUJI items.

Thanks for the reply. I do work in an branch of Government that limit my time, and i can only do this when i get some time off the network. I do appreciate your answers - this is valuable for me as a first time visitor .

If you do find time to add more information, then adding where you are staying in Tokyo and/or Kanazawa would allow some meaningful recommendations.

It’s pretty easy to spurn mammal meat and stick to fish and shellfish, avoiding milk/butter gets trickier as milk can end up anywhere. Then again, being lactose intolerant may not mean that you would have a negative reaction from imbibing some milk or milk/powder in a tempura mix or in breakfast toast.

There is a genuinely good vegan “ramen” place near the Keiyo Line entrance underneath Tokyo Station in the Gransta area. It’s called T’s TanTan (their speciality is TanTan Noodles, you can have milk less Japanese curry there too). Otherwise, I don’t think there is much point searching out one of the handful of places that offer a ramen without meat amongst the thousands that do. Then again, you might find yourself staying right next to such an establishment.
Since you are likely to pass through Tokyo station, another option is 2Foods in the new Yaesu complex (also called Yaechika) which has vegan versions of popular Japanese foods https://2foods.jp/pages/store-yaechika It’s somewhere you could pick up something safe to eat on the way to Kanazawa (last thing you want is to feel unwell on a two and a half hour train ride)

Since you do eat fish, I’d recommend going to as good a soba restaurant as you can afford and the great thing with soba is how affordable it is, no matter how high the quality, You can ask your hotel’s concierge where to find a local teuchi (handmade) soba restaurant, preferably one that doesn’t specialise in duck dishes, and there will be a lot of choices for you.

I appreciate Mr LapLap's help and recommendations!