Help! I'm going to Japan!

My SIL was Japanese and I can assure you youll find no shortage of sweets, cakes etc on sale in Japanese shops!
I would think that most Western sweets will be on sale - My SIL was particularly partial to Kit Kats - same wrapping, japanese writing although a wider rane of flavours - I never tried it but was intruiged to find there was a Wasabi flavoured kitkat!
This is what the selection of japaese branded sweets etc Japan centre in London stocks with nutritional infoon most of them
https://www.japancentre.com/en/cate...gclid=CLP51rTlx9YCFcud7QoduYQBOQ&gclsrc=aw.ds

Hey @Dana_Heath Exciting trip - fabulous country

I'd stock up on dextrose tabs from the chemist, they're easy to pack into your case and carry every where, generally 3 tabs brings me up from a hypo. However they also love their sweets so you won't have a problem stocking up.

Don't panic about food, get carbs and cals downloaded on your phone as an app to judge quantities by particularly rice and noodles, do some research before hand on what japanese foods you would enjoy too, as you will want to enjoy the culinary experience, so just familiarise yourself as much as possible with food beforehand so you feel clued up.

Seriously though I would be more excited about the trip than worrying about what to eat as you will find your way there fine

wow !! what a great holiday you're going on !!!!!!!!!!!!

I use Rowntree's fruit pastilles -- whenever I go on holiday I take a couple of those 4 roll packs ( sold in most pound shops )
1 x 4 roll pack in my carry on and 1 x 4 roll pack in my checked luggage

Hi!

I actually went to Japan last year for 3 weeks, and we just treated it like any other holiday. Ever since we've gone abroad we just make sure to take as much non-perishable food with us as possible, if you use fruit pastels, then pack as many packets as will fit around your luggage, both hand luggage and suitcase. Since they aren't too large you should be able to fit a fair amount in, I can't remember seeing them in the supermarket but there is always a chance that there may be one nearby that stocks them if you run out.

It's great that you are able to monitor how much they bring your bloods up (I've got no clue myself), but if it comes to it the most important thing is getting your blood sugars up, so if you're in that situation just grab what you can and monitor your bloods closely, if it pushes you higher than normal then just correct later.

Dana_Heath said:

brief summary:

April 6th 2018 I'm going to Tokyo with my boyfriend for 2 weeks.

I am so excited but equally bricking it because of my diabetes.

What can I use in replacement of Rowntrees fruit pastilles when I'm there?
-I use 1/2 a tube packet which bring me up 4-6 units-

Japan= no english writing on food packaging (but there is english for cafe's and stuff).
There's a Mcdonalds next to our hotel- should I just go with muffins or something from there when I can??

seriously panicking, need some help from someone who's been to Japan for food reccomendations.

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Plenty of Japanese (especially the young) speak English and speak it well. You shouldn't have a problem.

Fabulous country so enjoy it. Won't be something you'll soon forget

badcat said:

I never tried it but was intruiged to find there was a Wasabi flavoured kitkat!

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I'm tempted to book a holiday in Japan just to try that! I occasionally use a couple of fingers of dark chocolate kit kat to nudge up a slow slide before I hit sub-4. Am wondering how dark chocolate and miso kit-kat would work. Might just try smearing some miso paste on top of one...

I love dark choc with chilli and also love wasabi so think it could work I really like these too now wasabi peanuts spike my sugars too high
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8...argid=kwd-215465431010&ref=pd_sl_5bpi7avf2e_e
miso with tahini dressing and steamed broccoli is another favourite, particularly with some of this https://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Sanchi-Furikake-Seasoning-Japanese/333921011?from=search&tags=|20000&param=furikake&parentContainer=SEARCHfurikake and some wasabi mayonnaise

Dana_Heath said:

What can I use in replacement of Rowntrees fruit pastilles when I'm there?

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I've been in about twenty countries and there's always someone selling Mentos. You could turn up at a yurt in the Mongolian desert and there'd be some Mentos on sale there. Haven't carb counted them but they're about the same size as pastilles. Plus, they don't melt in heat.

Dana_Heath said:

Japan= no english writing on food packaging

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I just play "looky likey". You can normally find something in Carbs & Cals or from your own knowledge of home food which looks near enough to theirs to make a reasonable guesstimate. For example, Italian tortellini, looky likey Polish pierogi, looky likey Tibetan momos, looky likey Japanese gyoza, so likely same carbs with a few adjustments for pierogi having more dough in them etc. (although, after a quick lookup, Carbs & Cals kills that theory! - it says 3 gyoza has 1 g - not convinced).

Im not convinced either - In mfp gyoza wrappers shows at 4g carbs each

badcat said:

I love dark choc with chilli and also love wasabi so think it could work I really like these too now wasabi peanuts spike my sugars too high
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8...argid=kwd-215465431010&ref=pd_sl_5bpi7avf2e_e
miso with tahini dressing and steamed broccoli is another favourite, particularly with some of this https://www.ocado.com/webshop/product/Sanchi-Furikake-Seasoning-Japanese/333921011?from=search&tags=|20000&param=furikake&parentContainer=SEARCHfurikake and some wasabi mayonnaise

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Yes, wasabi is entertaining - a crack cocaine version of horseradish sauce!

One of the barmen in my former local got a taste for sushi, so for a while he was serving up shooters with the layers of spirit separated by layers of wasabi and tabasco chipotle sauce - it was more of a dare than anything.

Tahini - tried some black tahini for the first time a few weeks back. Clags up the mouth as much as the normal stuff, but the rich dark smokey aftertaste lasts for ages. Haven't tried cooking with it yet.

There's a Japanese restaurant not far from me which does a regional soup, Tonkotsu ramen. They slowly simmer the bones for like 2 or 3 days to make the broth. It's like eating silk.

Curious thing about ramen is that I've generally found that my levels will be very stable for a few days afterwards. I wonder whether the spices play a part in that, there's been research suggesting so.

Scott-C said:

Yes, wasabi is entertaining - a crack cocaine version of horseradish sauce!

One of the barmen in my former local got a taste for sushi, so for a while he was serving up shooters with the layers of spirit separated by layers of wasabi and tabasco chipotle sauce - it was more of a dare than anything.

Tahini - tried some black tahini for the first time a few weeks back. Clags up the mouth as much as the normal stuff, but the rich dark smokey aftertaste lasts for ages. Haven't tried cooking with it yet.

There's a Japanese restaurant not far from me which does a regional soup, Tonkotsu ramen. They slowly simmer the bones for like 2 or 3 days to make the broth. It's like eating silk.

Curious thing about ramen is that I've generally found that my levels will be very stable for a few days afterwards. I wonder whether the spices play a part in that, there's been research suggesting so.

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I find cold soba ( buckwheat noodles) v BS friendly compared to wheat noodles like Udon
That drink sounds quite intimidating but strangely appealing!

badcat said:

I find cold soba ( buckwheat noodles) v BS friendly compared to wheat noodles like Udon
That drink sounds quite intimidating but strangely appealing!

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Buckwheat's got a lot going for it. Apart from being full of minerals etc etc, it's full of stuff called chiro-inositol which seems to lower blood sugar by acting as an insulin mimic in ways I don't pretend to understand.

Don't have the reference to hand, but I recall reading something about a part of China where it was a staple instead of rice, and the reported rates of diabetes was pretty much nil, although it's difficult to believe anything reported from a rural area of a communist country.

Although I'm T1 and have a bit of scope with carbs by, well, injecting insulin, I do make a few adjustments: white rice, potatoes throw me out, brown rice, buckwheat seem to actually level me.

I sometimes do this: boil some buckwheat groats (available in any real food or Polish shop, hell, even Tesco does them), fry some lardons of ham, chestnut mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, samphire, plate it up with some tabasco chipotle sauce on top. On the face of it, the buckwheat is a large amount of carbs but my levels barely shift and stay stable for a few days after.

It's from the same family as rhubarb, which often gets a positive T2 write up.

Dana_Heath said:

do you need internet to access it) at a later date,

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When you download it and start it up for the first time, you can then click the menu button at top right, three vertical dots, then select "setup", then scroll down to "download food images". It's a big download about 90mb.

That way you can use it offline. If you don't then it'll start chewing up phone time to get each picture when you select one. I've just got a cheapo pay as you go phone and was surprised to get messages saying I'd used 2 quids worth of credit that day when I'd made no calls or texts, then realised it was down to getting the pictures.

It can get a bit ropey. Maybe it's just my phone but it frequently loses all the pictures and I need to download them all again.

Hi,

I have spent a month there and also went to very remote places in the Japanese Alps. It is usually fine, people are VERY willing to help, and usually the young understand at least basic English.

When you look at packages, the nutrition info contains the same stuff as in UK. Carbohydrates is: 炭水化物
Look that article to help understanding the packages: http://www.survivingnjapan.com/2012/04/ultimate-guide-to-reading-food-labels.html
So hopefully you won't be limited to MacDonalds...
They also have lots of grilled meat such as chicken, calmar, eel, pork, beef which are sugar-free. They love that food! Miso soup and tofu contains no sugar at all as well so go for it! And they have lots of vegetables and fish, which is great for avoiding carbs.
Be careful of the sauces, most are heavily sugar-based.

Some useful Japanese:
to-nyo-byou ga arimasu
I have diabetes

teiketto ga atte satou ga irimasu
I need sugar because I have a hypoglycemia

If you stay in cities, there is always a small convenience store or a vending machine nearby. You will be amazed how many you will find.
My partner is Japanese so if you need more info, just let me know and I can ask her.