Soba allergy checker
ukiyo-e style temporary tattoos

 
You are a fan of Japanese food and eager to taste all kinds of dishes in Japan? Great, but a note of caution: some people (only a few minority, fortunately) are allergic to buckwheat, and therefore should avoid eating soba noodles.

To raise awareness among foreign visitors, a test kit has been created to detect buckwheat allergy and to avoid unpleasant and sometimes serious symptoms during their stay in the country. Simple, stylish and fun, the kit is the brainchild of the Route 230 Soba Promotion Committee in Hokkaido. Its members consist of soba noodle shops along the National Highway 230, an access route from Sapporo to Niseko area.

The Buckwheat Allergy Checker is a sticker resembling a temporary tattoo inspired by ukiyo-e design. Drops of drain water from soba noodles are applied on it and then put on your skin. And lo, part of the picture turns into red (in an artistic way!) in the presence of the allergy.

The sticker is reserved for the purpose of special events for foreign visitors of Hokkaido and not for sale as of April 2016. Hope it will be available all over Japan, including Tokyo, sometime soon. This could be a unique and memorable souvenir for many tourists!

* The above is the information known at the time of publication and subject to change without prior notice.