Tokyo Food Adventures: A Delicious Bowl of (Gluten Friendly) Ramen

Readers, when I first found out that I could no longer eat gluten, my thoughts ran towards my upcoming trip to Tokyo and all the amazing foods I could no longer eat.

Ramen. Gyoza. Tempura. Dorayaki.

But, I was not to be deterred. I set off on a Google expedition to find some alternatives to the above mentioned items, knowing that in a foodie centric city like Tokyo, there were bound to be some options. I hoped in my case they wouldn't be too far off the beaten path.

Fortunately, I found Afuri Ramen, a ramen chain located both here in the US and based out of Tokyo. Their focus is on Yuzu based ramen, which is a citrus fruit we happen to grow in our yard in Hawaiʻi. We're always on the look out for various ways to use the fruit, so not only were we intrigued by this style of ramen, but the fact that they offered a gluten free "noodle" meant I was set.

I put "noodle" in quotation marks for a reason, simply because the noodle isn't actually grain based at all, but made out of konjac, an edible starchy corm they call shirataki noodles.

Once I found out that I could have my (GF) ramen and eat it too, we made sure to find the nearest Afuri located close to all of the places we planned to visit. And wouldn't you know, right in the heart of Harajuku was one such location.

When my Japanese friend and Tokyo planning guru found out that we went to Afuri, she was impressed and glad that we found this place on our own. It should be mentioned that though Afuri offers a gluten free noodle, they are not a strictly gluten free restaurant, meaning that for those of you who want all of that deliciously springy gluten in your life, Afuri is still a perfect option for you too.

That meant Ben wouldn't lose out on a normal Tokyo-ramen-going experience, and neither would I.

There are a few things to know before hitting up Afuri in the Harukuku neighborhood.

First - there will be a line. Prepare to wait around 45 minutes or so if you show up around lunch time (and we thought we showed up "early" for lunch, so the line may in fact be worse than we experienced).

Second - you order your ramen from a vending machine. Luckily for us, there was a waitress/hostess/helper lady there who helped us navigate the process, as I was especially anxious knowing I couldn't eat the regular noodles. However, she spoke enough English to understand, and we knew enough Japanese, and together, we all navigated the experience as seamlessly (though certainly awkwardly) as possible.

Third - You'll be given a bib. Use it! You certainly won't be the only one, and it will save your precious wardrobe for a longer day out and about. The locals used it, the tourists used it, everyone used it.

Fourth - Sit back and enjoy the beautifully orchestrated dance that the Afuri employees execute bowl after tasty bowl.

This is, after all, one of the many reasons why you come to Tokyo. And now those with a gluten sensitivity don't have to miss out on all the fun too.

Itadakimasu!