Japan food allergy card · for eating out in Japan

Your card is in Japanese. So is the answer.

TellTable shows restaurant staff what you can't eat in polite Japanese — and with the answer buttons, staff tap one of the ready-made answers on your screen, and you read it in English.

For food allergies, and for vegan, vegetarian and halal diets.

Free: the card to show staff, the emergency card with a Japanese voice message, and 1 profile.
Staff answer buttons and question cards: try them free 3 times, then keep using them with the Trip Pass.

1 try = 1 card, until you close it. Closing or reloading the app may also end a try. How free tries count

Open TellTable See the Trip Pass

No sign-up. No app store. It runs in your phone's browser.

You show your card

食事についてのお願い

すみません。私は次の食材を食べることができません。

えび重度

Dietary request — Excuse me. I cannot eat the following ingredients. Shrimp and prawns (Severe)

Staff tap an answer on your screen

材料を確認します。少々お待ちくださいI'll check the ingredients. One moment, please.

You read it in English

I'll check the ingredients. One moment, please.

Showing the card is only half of it

You show your card. The staff member reads it, then says something in Japanese. It might be "Let me check." It might be "Sorry, we can't." You can't tell which.

Many travelers with food allergies carry a card in Japanese. The hard part comes next: the staff answer in Japanese, and you can't read it.

TellTable is a web app for eating out in Japan with food allergies or dietary restrictions. Besides the Japanese card, it gives staff a set of answers they can tap, so the conversation can go both ways.

A note from the developer

Even if there are foods you can't eat, I hope you can enjoy Japanese food to the fullest, within what you can eat.

And most of all, I hope this trip makes you fall in love with Japan.

That's why I made TellTable: to help you tell restaurant staff what you can't eat, in polite Japanese, and get their answer back.

I hope you enjoy every moment of your trip to Japan.

Have a wonderful trip.

— Orpheus, an individual developer in Japan

Where it helps: three moments

For example. In these examples, the staff answer buttons and question cards are free to try 3 times, then part of the Trip Pass, and more than 1 profile needs the Trip Pass. Staff answers are the restaurant's own answers. TellTable doesn't check them.

A ryokan dinner, with your family

You're staying at a ryokan with your kids. One child avoids egg. You're vegan. Dinner is many small dishes, and before it's served, you show the staff your card.

You've locked a profile for yourself and one for your child, so you tap "Everyone". One card lists what each person can't eat in polite Japanese, with notes on where those ingredients are often hidden in Japanese food. The staff member taps "I'll check the ingredients. One moment, please."

With the Trip Pass, everyone at the table can be on one phone (up to 6 profiles in total), and you read each answer in English.

A ramen shop, if you eat halal

It's late, you're hungry, and the only place still open near your hotel is a small ramen shop.

Your card lists pork, meat not confirmed as halal, and alcohol (including in cooking), with a note that pork may also be in lard or tonkotsu (pork-bone) broth. You open a question card: "Is anything from pork used (lard, pork gelatin, pork-bone broth, etc.)?" The staff member taps Yes, No or Not sure, and you see the answer in English.

A "No" answers only that question. It doesn't tell you whether the food is halal. You decide what to order, or whether to try another place.

A set lunch, with a severe shrimp allergy

You have a severe shrimp allergy. You stop at a small restaurant for lunch, and some of the set meals come with fried dishes.

Because you chose "Severe", your card asks staff not to use cooking utensils, frying oil or boiling water that have been used for shrimp, and to let you know if they can't do this. Before you order, you open a question card: "Is this dish fried in the same oil as fried foods containing shrimp and prawns?"

Staff tap Yes, No or Not sure, and you see the answer in English. It's the restaurant's own answer, and TellTable doesn't check it. You decide whether to eat. If you're unsure, don't eat it.

How it works

Choose what you can't eat. Pick allergens one by one (for example, walnuts only) or as a group, and choose how severe it is. Choose "Severe" if even a trace is dangerous. The card then asks staff not to use cooking utensils, frying oil or boiling water that have been used for those ingredients, and to let you know if they can't do this.
Show the Japanese card to staff. It lists what you can't eat in polite Japanese, with notes on where those ingredients are often hidden in Japanese food.
Staff answer. With the answer buttons, staff tap an answer and you see it in English right away. You can also show a question card to ask one specific thing.

What staff can tap

With the answer buttons, staff choose from 7 answers. For example:

"I'll check the ingredients. One moment, please."
"We can make it without that ingredient. Cross-contact can't be ruled out."
"It may contain traces of that ingredient."

If you chose a severe allergy, "may contain traces" is shown with a ✕, so it stands out.

Staff answers are the restaurant's own answers. TellTable doesn't check them.

Question cards let you ask one specific question, such as whether a dish contains one of your ingredients, or, if you chose a severe allergy, whether it's fried in the same oil as foods containing them. Staff can answer Yes, No or Not sure.

A question card, if you chose a severe shrimp allergy:

「えび」を使った揚げ物と同じ油で、この料理を揚げていますか？ Is this dish fried in the same oil as fried foods containing shrimp and prawns?

はいYes いいえNo 分からないNot sure

Free and Trip Pass

	Free	Trip Pass
Japanese card to show staff	✓	✓
Emergency card with a Japanese voice message	✓	✓
Profiles	1	Up to 6
Staff answer buttons	3 free tries	✓
Question cards (staff answer Yes, No or Not sure)	3 free tries	✓
Word lists for reading Japanese food labels	—	✓

The free tries are shared: 1 try covers both the answer buttons and the question cards on the same card.

Notice (September 16, 2026): The Trip Pass is not available for purchase. Gumroad, the store we used, can no longer take payments for us. No sales date has been set. The card you show staff, the emergency card with a Japanese voice message, and one profile are free as before. We'll post news about the Trip Pass on this page.

The table shows what the Trip Pass includes. Because the Trip Pass is not available for purchase, there is no price, and no purchase or activation steps to explain. Before we sell the Trip Pass, we'll post the price and conditions on this page.

Try TellTable free

Try the answer buttons free, 3 times

Without a pass, you can try the staff answer buttons and question cards 3 times.

1 try = 1 card. A try counts when staff first tap an answer or a question card is opened, and it lasts until you close the card. Until then, staff can tap answers as often as they like. Closing or reloading the app may also count as closing the card, and the next tap then uses another try.
The app shows how many free tries you have left.
After 3 tries, the answer buttons and question cards are part of the Trip Pass. The card you show staff and the emergency card keep working for free. The app shows a message in Japanese asking staff to answer by speaking or with gestures. TellTable doesn't translate spoken or gestured answers.

The emergency card (free)

If you need help, open the SOS screen and show it to someone nearby.

The "Play Japanese voice" button plays a message in Japanese asking people nearby for help and to call an ambulance. It doesn't call 119 or contact anyone.
In Japan, the emergency number for an ambulance is 119. The "Call 119" button only opens your phone app, and you need a line that can make voice calls. Public phones can call 119 for free.

If you have a severe allergy, carry your prescribed medication and follow your doctor's advice.

Traveling as a family?

The free version holds 1 profile. With the Trip Pass, you can have up to 6 profiles in total (5 more) — for example, a child who avoids egg and a parent who avoids shrimp — and switch between them at the table.

Before you go

On iPhone, add TellTable to your Home Screen (Share → Add to Home Screen).
On Android, open TellTable in Chrome, then tap ⋮ → Add to Home screen (or Install app), and open it from there. TellTable has been tested on iPhone; it hasn't been tested on Android yet.
Open the app once while you have a connection. TellTable saves itself on your phone, so the card can usually open without a connection after that. On iPhone, open it from your Home Screen: Safari may delete saved site data if you don't open the site for a while, and private browsing doesn't keep it. Try it in airplane mode before you rely on it.
Check your choices before you show the card.

Please note

TellTable helps you communicate. It is not medical advice, and it doesn't replace your doctor's advice.
The "Wheat" option covers wheat only. Barley, rye and malt can't be selected in TellTable, so they won't appear on your card. If you need to avoid gluten, for example because of celiac/coeliac disease, selecting "Wheat" isn't enough. TellTable isn't designed for gluten-free diets.
You decide whether to eat something. If you're unsure, don't eat it.
If staff answer by speaking or with gestures instead of the buttons, it's easier to misunderstand. A nod may not mean "yes".
Translations and ingredient notes may contain mistakes. Please check with the staff every time.
The card can't make a restaurant meet your needs. Some restaurants may not be able to help.

Guides

FAQ

Do I need an account?

No. TellTable runs in your browser without sign-up. The Trip Pass is not available for purchase.

What's free?

The card to show staff, the emergency card with a Japanese voice message, and 1 profile. You can also try the staff answer buttons and question cards free 3 times.

What counts as a free try?

1 try = 1 card. It counts when staff first tap an answer or a question card is opened, and lasts until you close the card. Closing or reloading the app may also count as closing the card.

What happens after my 3 free tries?

The card and the emergency card keep working for free. The answer buttons and question cards are part of the Trip Pass. Without them, the app shows a Japanese message asking staff to answer by speaking or with gestures.

Can my family use one pass?

Yes. One pass holds up to 6 profiles in total for you and the family or companions you travel with. You can activate the key up to 3 times; entering it again on the same phone in a different browser also counts.

Can I get a refund?

The Trip Pass is not available for purchase, and we are not taking payments for it. If you see a charge that appears to be for the Trip Pass, email orpheus.apps.help@gmail.com with the date of the charge.

Do you answer questions by email?

Apart from refund requests, requests about your personal information, and requests for the details in our Legal notice (Japan), we don't answer individual questions. If any Japanese looks odd, please tell us with "Send feedback" in the app.

About TellTable

TellTable is made by Orpheus, an individual developer in Japan.

Going to Japan soon? Make your card now, and open TellTable once while you have a connection.

Open TellTable