Gluten Free Bread in Tokyo (Dec 23, 2015)

This is how to find, prepare and store gluten free (rice) bread in Tokyo. Anyone with celiac disease knows how difficult it can be to find food, especially in Asia due to celiac being a western genetic mutation.

Product: the brand maisen makes several varieties of gluten and dairy free rice bread in Japan. Look for the clearly marked no wheat and no milk symbols on the front of the package.

Where: the small supermarket on the 3rd floor of Akihabara Station had this bread near other breads. They also had a really good selection of “international foods” primarily American, German, Italian and Hispanic. They have peanut butter, jam, gluten free pasta (requires boiling) and much more.

Preparation: the bread comes unsliced. I purchased a small knife with sheath for ¥600 at Don Quijote (ドン・キホーテ), which is a multi-level superstore. It’s messy with crumbs when you slice it, so you can either slice it all in advance and put it back in the package.

Storage: there is no way to re-seal the bread package. I folded over the open end and wrapped it tightly with a plastic shopping bag. It dries out fairly quickly, but that is common for rice bread.