Our Story

The Day I Was Hospitalized at 24

At 24, Komemaru was overwhelmed by work, spending my days chasing deadlines and working late into the night. Amidst this chaos, my beloved grandfather passed away. The combination of grief and exhaustion was too much, and my body finally screamed for help.

I thought it was just a cold. But when I went to the hospital, I was admitted immediately. The diagnosis was Eosinophilic Pneumonia, an autoimmune disease. I started on 20mg of steroids.

While my condition improved, the side effects were relentless. My swelling became severe, my shoes became too tight, and when I looked in the mirror, a "moon face" stared back at me. For a woman in her mid-20s, this reality was agonizing.

Losing confidence, facing anxiety about endless treatment, and fearing the side effects, I fell into depression.

A Word from My Mother Changed Everything

That's when my mother said, "Maybe there's another cause?"

I decided to review my diet. Dairy, eggs, nuts... I tried eliminating potential allergens one by one. But I couldn't find the answer.

Then my mother suggested again, "Could it be wheat?"

I tried eating and avoiding wheat on and off for about a month. The days I didn't eat wheat, I felt clearly better. My body felt lighter, and breathing was easier.

The answer was wheat.

Looking back, I was healthy until high school, but started getting sick easily in college. That coincided with living alone and eating much more wheat: bread, pasta, fried foods.

A few years after quitting wheat, my steroid dosage went to zero. After about five years of gluten-free living, I no longer needed any medication, except during pollen season.

What It Means to Not Be Able to Eat Wheat

But once I knew it was a wheat allergy, a new struggle began.

Lunch with friends, office drinking parties. Back then, I lacked knowledge and assumed, "I have a wheat allergy, so I can only eat Japanese food." I started declining invitations.

Working outside the office, I often couldn't find a place for lunch and worked on an empty stomach. At workplace parties, sometimes the course was full of fried foods, and I went home hungry.

When I asked restaurants without gluten-free options, "Can you make this without wheat?", I sometimes saw annoyance on their faces. I felt sorry for troubling them and ashamed of my lack of knowledge. Dating was hard, too; seeing people's expressions change when I mentioned my allergy happened more than once.

Honestly, it felt hard to live.

Hope Found on Instagram

One day, I found a post on Instagram introducing a gluten-free shop.

"There are so many places in Japan, too."

That was the spark. I learned that there are people with wheat allergies all over the world, and many shops in Japan where you can enjoy gluten-free food. Just knowing where to go brought such relief.

The people at gluten-free shops were so warm. "It's okay, leave it to us," they'd say. Friends started helping me find shops with all their might. Even at tourist spots, staff would earnestly look for things I could eat.

And then I met my husband. When I told him about my allergy, he said, "Then let's look for gluten-free shops together." He enjoyed finding places even more than I did. Eating gluten-free with me even improved his IBS-like symptoms.

I believe I met these people precisely because I developed this allergy.

Gluten-Free in Japan is Evolving

To be honest, gluten-free food used to be hit or miss. But now, it's completely different.

Japan's gluten-free world is truly evolving. Rice flour bread is chewy and delicious, and gluten-free pasta is authentic. Japanese food, sushi, rice flour sweets... there are so many unique and delicious shops.

There are things I honestly prefer over their wheat counterparts. There are many shops I want to visit again and again.

I Want to Support Your Trip to Japan

Through this experience, I realized something.

Even with a wheat allergy or Celiac disease, you can enjoy delicious food in Japan. You don't have to give up.

The difficulty of finding food, the anxiety when you can't, the loneliness of not being understood. I experienced it all. That's why I believe there is something I can do.

Japan has shops that will welcome you warmly. Delicious gluten-free dishes. Wonderful encounters waiting for you.

I want to share the information I found, my experiences, and the shops I know with you. The joy of finding delicious gluten-free restaurants and the happiness of becoming healthy.

I want your journey in Japan to be full of "Discovery," not "Limitation."
Let me support you.