HIDA GLUTEN-FREE FRIENDLY PROJECT
飛騨グルテンフリーフレンドリープロジェクト
Hida Gluten Free Friendly Project
The big secret to travelling GF in Japan is that a lot of Japanese food is naturally gluten free.
Japanese restaurant culture is very consistent & reliable, so when you find a type of food that is gluten-free, you can enjoy it all over Japan.
All that is missing is the information & tools to allow travellers to access it. That’s where our project comes in.
The Hida GFF Project works to uncover and open up the gluten free meals already here in Hida - and show travellers how to eat gluten free - Japanese style!
If our approach works in Hida, we hope it can become a model for Gifu and other regions in Japan.
Who We Are
The ITADAKI ・ Hida GF Friendly Project is a community-led project founded by Tomoko Shimizu and Kate McMahon-Bell (who are double neighbours in both Melbourne & Hida).
Our aim is to make gluten free travel safer, easier and more enjoyable for everyone who visits Hida and the surrounding Northern Alps. We also want to encourage slow, community-led tourism in Hida.
The project will run for 6 months from the Takayama Autumn Festival to the Hida Furukawa Festival in spring.
Join us in Hida for GFF goodness!
October 8, 2025 - April 22, 2026
Supported by the local business community, Eat Easy Japan, Hello City, Hida Social Club, Bothie Campers & Bothie Projects INC
What We Do
21 Meals Challenge
Together we aim to uncover 21 safe and delicious gluten free meals across Hida during this six month program. That's a week worth of GF meals!
Help us by adding your discoveries to the community map.
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Japanese/English GF translation cards (with more languages coming)
Online community GF map
Monthly GF walking guide
These tools help you find safe meals and discover the hidden delights of Hida.
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Come to Hida and feast on naturally GF wagyu beef, sake & tofu made from pure alpine water. Eat honest mountain dishes built on miso, pickles and wild seasonal vegetables.
We help uncover these options by working with local cafés, collecting community reviews and adding new places each month.
Try our partner eateries on the map, add your own finds and leave honest reviews to help the next traveller.
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We support local cafés and restaurants through
Staff workshops
Info packs
GF welcome cards
One-on-one assessments
Onboarding for the GF map
This helps Hida build long-term confidence in welcoming gluten free travellers.
How it Works
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Download the GF cards, check the GF map and read this month’s GF walking guide.
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Take a self-guided walk using the monthly guide
Book a GF friendly Fieldtrip
Visit cafés on the map
Add new places you discover
Leave honest reviews to help the next traveller
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Stay in the Popup Hida GFF Guesthouse
Hire the Hida GFF camping car
Join a local experience or class
Help uncover meals for the 21 Meals Challenge
パートナー募集
飛騨を日本でいちばんグルテンフリーにやさしい地域にするために、ぜひご参加ください。
観光客へのおもてなしを一緒に考え、すぐに使えるサポートをご提供します。
Partner with us// Partner recruitment// Please join us in making Hida the most gluten-free friendly region in Japan.// We will work with you to consider how to welcome visitors and provide practical support you can use immediately.
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英語圏のグルテンフリー旅行者を安心して迎えるために、すでに安全に提供できる料理を一緒に確認し、分かりやすい英語での説明方法をご案内します。
飛騨市内の事業者さまには、ボランティアスタッフによる無料訪問をご利用いただけます。
近隣市町村への訪問も、少額の費用で手配可能です。
Knowledge sharing// Knowledge sharing// To welcome gluten-free travellers from English-speaking countries with confidence, we will check together which dishes you can already offer safely and guide you on simple English explanations.// Businesses in Hida City can request a free visit from our volunteer staff.// Visits to neighbouring cities and towns can also be arranged for a small fee.
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お店やカフェで使えるよう、月刊の「飛騨グルテンフリー散策マップ」を無料でお届けします。
今後発行予定のガイドブックや翻訳カードの販売にもご参加いただけます。
LINEグループに参加していただくと、その月のマップをスタッフが直接お届けします。
Map distribution and sales cooperation//Map distribution and sales cooperation// We will deliver free monthly Hida gluten-free walking maps for use in your shop or café.// You can also participate in selling guidebooks and translation cards when they are released.// If you join our LINE group, staff will deliver the current month’s map directly to your business.
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飛騨をグルテンフリーフレンドリー地域にする取り組みにご参加ください。
登録いただいた事業者さまには、英語圏のお客様向けウェルカムカード、メニューガイド、情報資料が入った無料スターターキットをお渡しします。
また、月刊マップや関連出版物でご紹介し、国内外の旅行者が利用するオンライン「飛騨グルテンフリーマップ」に掲載されます。
ご希望の事業者さまは、月刊マップのスポンサーとして自店の取り組みを紹介したり、2026年4月開始予定のGFF DMCにサービスを登録して、グルテンフリーツアーに参加することもできます。
Project partner registration// Project partner registration// Please join our effort to make Hida a gluten-free friendly region.// Registered partners will receive a free starter kit with a welcome card for English-speaking guests, a menu guide and information materials.// You will also be introduced in the monthly map and related publications and listed on the online Hida Gluten-Free Map used by domestic and international travellers.// If you wish, you may feature your services as a sponsor of the monthly map or register your services with the GFF DMC scheduled to launch in April 2026 and participate in gluten-free tours.
ご興味がある事業者さまは、ぜひご連絡ください。
メールまたはLINEグループからご参加いただけます。
LINEグループに参加する
If you are interested, please contact us.
You can join by email or through the LINE group.
Contact us by email. Join the LINE group
FAQ
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A six month community project led by ITADAKI (founded by Tomoko and Kate).
The aim is to help travellers safely enjoy the gluten free meals already found in Hida by providing simple tools, clear information and local support.
The project runs from the Takayama Festival, Oct 2025 to the Hida Furukawa Festival, April 2026.
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Hida is a big-hearted, welcoming community where chefs work with ancient traditions and have a deep understanding of locally produced ingredients.
Hida Furukawa is perfectly sized, big enough to support a rich dining culture and plenty of things to do - but small enough to have strong community ties that make it easier to share knowledge and talk directly with growers & producers.
The Hida Express connects Hida Furukawa to nearby Takayama and to the bullet train stations of Toyama & Nagoya. Stunning mountain roads and paths make the region a hiker, cyclist and road trippers paradise. Finally, untouched ski resorts, alpine hot springs, Edo-era streets lined with wooden shophouses, and the ancient carpentry traditions of Hida Takumi and UNESCO listed festivals make Hida a globally significant destination.
With the right tools, Hida is one of the easiest and rewarding places in Japan to start a gluten free journey.
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Our shared goal is to uncover 21 safe and delicious gluten free meals by next spring.
Twenty-one meals equals one full week of eating well. Our ambition is to encourage slow tourism and invite travellers to use Hida as a convenient base to explore nearby areas of Shirakawa-go, Takayama, Oku-hida and the wild beauty of the Northern Japanese Alps.
Add any safe meals you discover to the community map. Every entry helps the next visitor.
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The map shows three levels so you can choose what suits your needs:
Level 1 – extremely low cross contact risk
Level 2 – very low cross contact risk
Level 3 – low risk, usually suitable for travellers who can tolerate trace amounts of gluten
Each entry explains why it has its level and what to expect when visiting that eatery.
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Many celiac visitors feel comfortable at Level 1 eateries where ingredients and preparation steps are very clear. Hida’s small size makes it easy to plan routes, talk with staff and return to places that work well for you. Always check the map notes before visiting.
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No. The GF translation cards and Restaurant Welcome Card help you explain your needs clearly. Staff are also provided with tools to help them communicate possible risks without speaking English.
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Each month we publish a short guide linking seasonal sights with GF friendly eateries nearby. Themes change with the micro season - we started with Autumn leaves, November was Carpentry, January is snow, and the project finishes with Spring festivals.
Use the guide for a self-guided walk or book a professional local GF friendly guide who understands the region, the map and the needs of GF travellers (Japanese/ English).
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Use the link on the map and fill in the short form. Add photos or notes if you can. Community contributions help everyone.
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Eateries & accommodation providers & tour operators can join through staff workshops, info packs, GF welcome cards, one-on-one assessments and simple onboarding for the GF map. This builds long-term confidence in welcoming GF visitors.
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The project is supported by local business partners and the wider community.
You can support the project by:
buying translation tools or guides from project partners
booking a tour with project partners
staying at the Hida GF Friendly Pop-up guesthouse - or partner guesthouses
hiring the GF camping car
using and sharing the free tools
buying us a coffee
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Yes. Custom translation cards and tailored guides are available through our collaboration with Eat Easy Japan. We can provide cards for vegans, allergies and combination diets.
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We follow Coeliac Australia guidelines, and assume all soy sauce contains gluten. If you can safely consume traditionally brewed soy sauce as guidelines for organisations such as Norwegian Celiac Association suggest, please contact us directly - we can provide a custom translation card that allows safely fermented soy sauce.