When it comes to Muslims (especially Muslim tourists) in Japan, there are two types:
- One that is hyper-aware of the lack of halal food in the country
- One that is blissfully unaware and assumes they’re fine as long as they avoid alcohol and meat
Although it might seem like halal food is plentiful in Japan (after all, they do eat a lot of seafood here), this isn’t necessarily the case. Try to remember that Japan most likely isn’t like your home country, so they have their own way of doing things. This includes the ingredients that they put in their food.
For instance, animal products (most prominently from pigs) are used in just about anything. Yoghurt, sweets, sauces, bread, chips, you name it. It’s quite likely there.
Now, I know firsthand how overwhelming it can get. It’s not easy to maintain a halal diet in Japan; it requires a heck of a lot of effort, especially in the beginning. That said, I’m quite lucky because I live in Tokyo, where there are lots more halal options than other prefectures. It’s not great, but definitely better than the countryside. I remember trying to find halal food in Tochigi and it was like looking for a needle in a haystack!
Still, I have to say that being a Muslim is a lot easier than being a vegan here. Bless them. I hope there will be more vegan options soon.
Anyway, my aim for writing this post is to help Muslims who are trying to navigate through life or even just travelling in Japan. When I first started out, I was pretty much alone because there were and still aren’t any Muslim students in my class. Thus, I had to figure things out on my own. I know how tough it can be, so I figured, why not share what I know! Even if this post only helps one person, I’d be happy. π
These are the things I’ve picked up throughout my stay:
Learn kanji
This is a natural step towards maintaining a halal diet in Japan. This is because even if you avoid food that are obviously non-halal (exp: pork, various other meat and alcohol), that doesn’t mean that you’re in the clear. It might not seem like it, but it’s not so obvious with a lot of other products. For example, cheese, chocolates and canned tuna. All of the aforementioned sound like there shouldn’t be an issue with any of them, but that isn’t usually the case. The reason being that more often than not, animal products are added to these food products for various reasons.
But sometimes it isn’t the ingredients that get us confused; sometimes it could be the packaging. The packaging of canned alcohol here looks a lot like those for carbonated drinks. This is where knowing a bit of kanji comes in handy, so you can roughly identify what’s what.
Now, you don’t have to become a kanji whiz overnight (because the would mean learning a bunch of complicated vocabulary as well!), but you should at least learn a few simple ones to get you started.
Here are some simple kanji to start with: ι (sake/alcohol), θ± (pig) and θ (meat).
Do your homework
Beyond learning kanji, you need to do additional research if you are really dedicated to maintaining a halal diet. You need to learn what types of ingredients to look out for because some of them can either be made of animal products or vegetables. Take, for example, emulsifiers (δΉ³εε€: nyuukazai). If you’re the type to err on the side of caution, then it would be best to avoid such items.
Occasionally, though, you’ll come across ingredients with clarifications on whether they are animal or plant-based. I usually see this with emulsifiers, where they would state that it’s made of soybeans (倧θ±η±ζ₯: daizu yurai) right next to it in brackets.
Here is a non-comprehensive list of both ambiguous and non-ambiguous ingredients to look out for:
- δΉ³εε€ (nyuukazai): emulsifier
- γΏγγ (mirin): mirin
- γ·γ§γΌγγγ³γ°: shortening
- γ’γ«γ³γΌγ« (arukooru): alcohol
- γ³γ³γ½γ‘ (konsome): consomme
- ι (sake): sake (alcohol)
- γ©γ ι (ramushu): rum
- ζ΄ι (youshu): Western liquor
- ι η²Ύ (shusei): ethyl alcohol
- γγΌγ¬γͺγ³ (maagarin): margarine
- γΌγ©γγ³ (zerachin): gelatin
For more comprehensive lists, check out these pages: halalinjapan // semi-sapporo // halal-guide
Follow Facebook groups for Muslims in Japan
I never really cared for Facebook. The only reason I used it in the first place was to communicate with my family when I studied in Australia. Now, I just use it to lurk and should anyone message me, respond.
So imagine my surprise when I discovered that there are communities on Facebook dedicated to helping Muslims find halal food in Japan. Talk about a lifesaver! There are a few Facebook groups for Muslims in Japan, but my favourite one is Halal Japan. This group essentially posts photos of Japanese food products, stating whether the items are halal or haram. The admin posts regularly (daily, or almost daily, I’d say) and is highly responsive, which I adore them for. That said, they receive hundreds or even thousands of inquiries, so if you do send in a query regarding the halal status of an item, you will have to wait.
Oh, another great thing about this page: the admin is developing an app that would help users discern the halal status of a product. Word from the horse’s mouth says that it’ll be ready very soon!
Be ready for some of your favourite products to bounce from halal to haram
One of the most surprising things I’ve experienced here in terms of halal food is that sometimes, what was once halal could become haram. Or vice versa. This is usually due to a change in ingredients or because of cross-contamination that happens at the factories. Sometimes, area is also a crucial factor; for example, certain products are halal in Tokyo but not in Kyoto due to the ingredients or how the food items are made.
It can be a bit disappointing when you can no longer eat your favourite snack in Japan, but that’s part and parcel of life here. Don’t let it get you down too much, though! There are plenty of other choices that you can enjoy.
How do I keep up-to-date on the halal status of food? I check the Halal Japan page regularly.
Download apps
While apps centred on halal restaurants aren’t the most comprehensive, they still do the job. If you ever need to quickly find halal restaurants without sifting through articles recommending the same places over and over again, using an app might be the way to go. These apps are mighty handy in the sense that they can locate halal restaurants by location. That, and depending on the app, you can select the “level” of halalness you want for your peace of mind. Very convenient, I would say!
I don’t know about other apps, but the ones I use are Halal Navi and Halal Gourmet.
Check out local halal grocery stores and restaurants
If you’re going to live in Japan, you might want to look around for nearby halal grocery stores and restaurants.
First, we’ll start with the grocery stores. This is a bit tricky to do at first, so you’re going to have to do some online research, then go out and look for the grocery stores yourself. If you’re lucky, you might come across a Muslim whilst you’re carrying out your daily life here. If this happens, take that chance to ask if they know any halal stores. This was how I found my first store: I basically asked the guy manning a kebab stand where I could find a halal store and he kindly directed me to one.
Now, in the case of restaurants, you can directly ask the restaurant staff whether the food they’re serving is halal. The reason being that not all halal restaurants here carry the halal logo. That’s just how it is.
Huge tip: most halal restaurants here are Indian or Nepalese. Following that are Turkish restaurants or Turkish kebab stands. If you’re in a pinch and any of these, especially Indian and Nepalese restaurants, are nearby, you can try your luck there.
Have fun trying out new recipes
Even if you don’t live in an area that has little to no halal restaurants, it is more than likely that you’ll be cooking at home. A lot. Often times, I get quite tired of this, especially since cooking takes up quite a bit of time and the halal ingredients here don’t vary in range as much as in Malaysia. To make up for this, I take the time to learn new recipes–which can be quite fun because most food options here are Japanese! I don’t know about you, but as a Malaysian, I’m used to eating different types of food on a regular basis. This is a great advantage to cooking your own meals.
That, plus it is an amazing way to save money. Did you know that I spend approximately 3000 yen per week on groceries? 4000 yen if I buy meat or a bag of rice. For comparison, meals in Tokyo can cost up to about 1000 yen each!
For a penny pincher such as myself, this is an effective way to motivate myself to cook.
I think this is just about everything I’ve learned during my stay here. It took me quite a while to learn and adapt to life in Japan–exhausting, even, especially at the beginning. But at the very least, I’ve gotten to a point where I don’t have to stress too much over food. For that, I’m grateful.
While I wouldn’t say I’m an expert at discerning what I can and cannot eat, these methods have served me well so far. May they do the same for you too.
Just remember that when it comes to maintaining a halal diet in a country where you don’t speak the language, it’s not something that would happen instantly like back home. It’s a journey. Be prepared to make a lot of mistakes, but you will learn from them.
All the best and happy eating!
Wow! Love this post! Happy I found such a nice post. Thanks for sharing!