We read every gluten-free convenience store guide before our trip, then barely used them. Here's what we actually bought at 7-Eleven, Lawson, and FamilyMart, why we stuck to so little, and how to read a label even if you don't read Japanese.

Short answer: yes. After 14 days in Japan with our 5-year-old, here's what worked, what was genuinely hard, and everywhere we stayed and booked.

Miyajima was our intentional splurge, and staying overnight let us see the floating torii gate at both low and high tide. Here's where we stayed, how a typhoon rearranged our plans, and honest picks for families in every price range.

We booked our Hakone stay chasing the classic Mount Fuji view — and got fogged out instead. Here's an honest breakdown of the four main areas to stay in Hakone, family-friendly hotel picks in each, and what we'd actually do differently next time.

Most guides will tell you gluten-free options are hard to find at national parks — we found the opposite. Here's exactly what we ate camping 3 days at the Grand Canyon, including the gluten-free pizza and Reuben we didn't expect to find at a campground general store.

Deer hugs, a tick, and one of the best pizzas of our whole trip — here's our honest take on Nara with kids, deer bites and all.

Is Japan actually gluten-free friendly? After 14 days of research, planning, and eating our way through the country, here's our honest answer — plus everything we learned along the way.

Before our trip, I wasn't sure gluten-free travel in Japan was possible without sacrificing the food experience. Here's the honest answer, after 14 days of testing it firsthand.