The 2nd Beyond Gluten-Free Fes (第2回 ビヨンドグルテンフリー祭), a food event dedicated to gluten-free eating, will be held on Sunday, November 1, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM at Shibafu Hiroba (シバフヒロバ) in Hisaya-odori Park in Sakae, Naka Ward, Nagoya. Every shop that takes part must serve and sell food made without any of the four grains (wheat, barley, rye, and oats), including in seasonings and processed ingredients.
The first festival in October 2025 had 19 shops, and many of them sold out about an hour after opening. In response to the many people who said they had not been able to buy anything, the second festival has grown to 49 shops from 9 prefectures across Japan and will take over the whole of Shibafu Hiroba as a stand-alone event. Admission is free, and the event goes ahead in the rain.
The First Festival: Many Shops Sold Out in About an Hour
The first festival was held on October 10, 2025, in one section of the regular market at Hisaya-odori Park. With 19 shops taking part, an estimated 1,200 to 1,600 people came, and many shops sold out roughly one hour after opening. Some visitors traveled from Hokkaido and Kyushu specifically for the day.
Families were seen splitting up to line up at different shops. Visitors laughed as they said things like "Let's buy as many gluten-free items as we can" and "We came with a plan." People who usually have no choice but to give up were, on this day, surrounded by enough options to make a plan.
"I've been waiting for a market like this for so long."
"Having choices is fun."
These words from visitors on the day became the driving force behind the second festival.
What "Beyond Gluten-Free" Means: A Standard That Excludes Four Grains, Down to the Seasonings
Even among foods labeled "gluten-free," standards differ by country, certification system, and product, and some may contain barley, rye, or oats. Soy sauce, miso, malt, and malt syrup are among the many ingredients whose names make it hard to tell whether they are grain-derived, so people with wheat allergies or celiac disease have to check the ingredients every time they buy something.
At Beyond Gluten-Free Fes, the participation standard is that none of the four grains (wheat, barley, rye, and oats) may be used, not only in the main ingredients but also in seasonings and processed ingredients. Vendors declare their items and ingredients when applying, and after being accepted they submit an ingredient confirmation sheet covering seasonings, soup stock, and sauces. The organizer reviews the sheet together with each vendor and asks for confirmation from the manufacturer when an ingredient is hard to identify as grain-derived.
The aim is a venue where every shop can be chosen from under the same standard. "Beyond Gluten-Free" (ビヨンドグルテンフリー) is a registered trademark.
From the official website: all food at the venue is made without wheat, barley, rye, or oats
Facts Are Disclosed, and Visitors Choose for Themselves
Each booth displays a "kitchen classification card" (製造環境の区分カード) created by the organizer in a unified format. There are three classifications:
- A: a kitchen where no wheat or other grains such as barley (麦類) are brought in
- B: a kitchen that handles grains such as barley (麦類) but does not use wheat
- C: a kitchen that handles wheat during regular operations, or a rental or shared kitchen where other users handle wheat
All three classifications use the same size and format, and none is ranked above another. Rather than having vendors declare their food "safe," the system discloses the facts about each kitchen and leaves the judgment to the visitor. People with severe wheat allergies and people who avoid these grains for health reasons can each choose by their own standards at the same venue.
Kitchen classifications (A, B, C) displayed at each booth. The classifications describe the shop's kitchen and are not a ranking
The Founder: A Restaurant Owner Who Developed a Wheat Allergy at 46
The festival's founder, Nahoko Okamura (岡村菜穂子, known as naco), developed a severe wheat allergy at 46 while working as the manager of a ramen shop. The allergy covers not only wheat but also barley, rye, and oats. Even when she chose foods labeled "gluten-free," she often had symptoms, and she gave up eating out, convenience stores, meals with friends, family trips, and markets.
In 2023, she opened Michinori Bento (みちのり弁当), a bento shop in Nishi Ward, Nagoya, that uses none of the four grains. She then opened the restaurant Michinori-tei (みちのり亭) in front of Nagoya Station in 2024 and in Izumi, Higashi Ward, in 2026. She was repeatedly told that a gluten-free shop would not attract customers, but according to the founder, more than 90% of the shop's customers today do not have allergies. The experience of building shops that people choose "because it's delicious" rather than "because it's safe" is reflected in the name of the festival, which aims to turn "can't eat" into "delicious!"
Founder Nahoko Okamura (naco), representative director of TEMAHIMA Inc. and owner of Michinori Bento and Michinori-tei
A Vision for Nagoya as a Gluten-Free City
Behind the festival is a vision the founder has repeated through running her shops and in her morning broadcasts: "Make Nagoya a gluten-free city." It describes a city where people who cannot eat wheat can find something to choose wherever they go in Nagoya, and where shops that use wheat and shops that do not stand side by side, so that people with and without allergies can sit around the same table. It is about adding options rather than replacing any particular food culture.
One customer with celiac disease comes to the organizer's shop almost every day of their stay each time they return from overseas, because "this is the only place to eat." The goal is to widen that from "if I go to this shop" to "if I go to Nagoya." This festival, where gluten-free makers from all over Japan gather in Nagoya once a year, is the starting point of that vision.
Comment from Founder Nahoko Okamura (naco)
"'There's no way you can run a business like that.' I've been told that many times.
When I go to a market, the first thing I do is check the ingredients. One by one, checking and checking and checking. Even so, I can hardly find anything I can eat. So I decided to create that excitement with our own hands. That is how this festival was born.
We will create a day when people with and without allergies can sit around the same table and say 'this is delicious.' I want to put an end to 'giving up because of allergies.'"
Highlights on the Day
- 49 shops in one place: Rice flour bread, rice flour cakes and baked sweets, Japanese sweets such as dorayaki and chestnut senbei (rice crackers), curry, takoyaki, okonomiyaki, bread made with 100% buckwheat flour, rice flour churros, and even ramen with gluten-free noodles and soup. The lineup is 39 food booths (including 1 booth from a supporting company), 6 food trucks, and 4 goods shops (paper goods, fabric items, accessories, and a selection of wheat-free foods and seasonings).
- From 9 prefectures across Japan: In addition to shops from Aichi Prefecture, makers from Hokkaido, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Shizuoka, Gifu, Mie, Kyoto, and Hyogo are taking part.
- The whole venue is gluten-free: The first festival was held in one section of a regular market, but the second takes over all of Shibafu Hiroba as a stand-alone event. All food at the venue is made without the four grains.
- Venue map available online: The map at https://gf-fes.com/map shows the location of all 49 shops, their signature items and prices, and their kitchen classifications. It can be opened on a smartphone by shop number. The same classification cards are displayed at each food booth. The official website also has an English page for visitors at https://gf-fes.com/en/.
Venue map of Shibafu Hiroba. The numbers match those on the flyer and the official website on the day
Participating Shops (49)
Food booths: CurryDeDeux / わたしとくらす / ちいさな米粉パン工房 ねこのしっぽ / miha curry（ミハカリー） / グルテンフリーREZAN / お菓子 ももゆめ堂 / 菜食食堂ととと / Glutenfree Shop Luciole / nocochi / どらカフェ三幸 / sumikkobakery / Leciel〜やさしいおやつ〜 / CAFE&BARてりーず / はるのはな / alittle / amu / yurikomeko / グルテンフリーのお菓子ITTEN / Leaf Leaf / やさしいスイーツカフェコルポ / プルミエール / Morinaga (森永製菓, supporting company booth) / 人生変わる米粉食パン / いもこめ / 2525sweets / M lab. / にじいろ kitchen / Michinori Bento (みちのり弁当, organizer) / 田んぼのおやつ / 米粉のおやつ ココカラ日和 / くまさん家。のアトリエ / 菓子屋藤ノ宮 / とまり來 / GF RAMEN LAB by Kenmin Foods (ケンミン食品) / Bake shop SolSol / comecome.co / MAISON CEDAR / やさしいスイーツTOCOTOCO / そば処 林屋
Food trucks: グルテンフリー食堂 おみやはん / sun魂ファーム / しきぶちゃんキッチンカー コメデリちょけら / HEALTHY FOOD TRUCK MAUU / いとカフェとスパイスのFACTORY / 米粉チュロス専門店 Blue Cocina
Goods: Kaminokoya / nui nui / es gut treffen / Apartment 93E
Each shop's profile and kitchen classification can be found on the official website at https://gf-fes.com/#shops.
A Festival Supported by Many Small Contributions
The festival is organized together with its supporters. Proceeds from the "support tote bag" (応援トートバッグ), featuring a cat character called Shamoji-san (しゃもじさん) newly drawn by illustrator Shinichi Nakayama (中山信一), go toward the cost of holding the event. The bag costs ¥2,200 (tax included) in store, or ¥2,500 including shipping by mail order. There are also "support members" (応援メンバー) at ¥10,000 per unit, and volunteer staff for the day in three teams (setup, operation, and takedown) with a capacity of about 40 people. Volunteers are being recruited on the official website at https://gf-fes.com/volunteer. Rather than depending on large funding from a single company, the festival aims to be supported by many small contributions.
Support tote bag (¥2,200, tax included). Illustration by Shinichi Nakayama. Proceeds go toward the cost of holding the event
Main Partners
- Kenmin Foods (ケンミン食品株式会社, Kobe): Known for bifun (rice vermicelli) made from 100% rice, the company opened a gluten-free ramen shop called "GF RAMEN LAB" at the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. For the second year in a row, it takes part in the festival as "GF RAMEN LAB by Kenmin Foods" (booth 37), serving ramen with gluten-free noodles and soup.
- Morinaga (森永製菓株式会社): At the supporting company booth (booth 25), it sells "Mini Moonlight Made with Rice Flour" (米粉でつくったミニムーンライト), a version of the Morinaga Biscuit "Moonlight" (ムーンライト) made with rice flour as the main ingredient instead of wheat flour. The product is wheat-free, and its kitchen classification is C. It is normally sold only online by the box, but on the day it can be bought by the single bag.
- Hayama Co., Ltd. (株式会社葉山, Nakagawa Ward, Nagoya): Founded in 1960, this construction company handles piping work for water supply and drainage, sanitation, and air conditioning at universities and large commercial facilities, mainly in Aichi Prefecture and the Chubu region. As a Nagoya company, it supports the festival.
Main partners (from left): Kenmin Foods, Morinaga, and Hayama
Tips for Visitors
- Admission is free, and no reservation is required. Please come by public transportation, as there is no dedicated parking lot.
- At the first festival, many shops sold out in about an hour, so visitors with a particular shop in mind are advised to arrive early.
- Payment methods vary by shop, so it is a good idea to bring cash.
- There will be no trash cans at the venue. Please return your trash to the shop where you made your purchase. The venue is smoke-free.
- The venue map at https://gf-fes.com/map shows where each shop is located.
- If severe weather is expected, the decision on whether to hold the event will be made by 6:00 PM the day before and announced on the official website and Instagram.
Event Details
- Event name: 2nd Beyond Gluten-Free Fes (第2回 ビヨンドグルテンフリー祭, BEYOND GLUTEN-FREE FES 2026)
- Date and time: Sunday, November 1, 2026, 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM
- Venue: Shibafu Hiroba (シバフヒロバ), Hisaya-odori Park, Sakae, Naka Ward, Nagoya
- Access: A 3-minute walk from Hisaya-odori Station on the Meijo Line and Sakura-dori Line of the subway, or an 8-minute walk from Sakae Station on the Meijo Line and Higashiyama Line. There is no dedicated parking lot (for those coming by car, the nearby Central Park underground parking lot and coin parking lots are available).
- Admission: Free (food and goods are sold for a fee at each shop)
- Vendors: 49 shops (39 food booths*, 6 food trucks, and 4 goods shops). *Includes 1 supporting company booth.
- Vendor standard: All food served, sold, or distributed at the venue must be made without wheat, barley, rye, or oats, including in seasonings and processed ingredients.
- In case of bad weather: Held rain or shine. If a storm or heavy rain is expected, the decision will be made by 6:00 PM the day before and announced on the official website and Instagram.
- Organizer: TEMAHIMA Inc. (株式会社てまひま)
- Main partners: Kenmin Foods (ケンミン食品株式会社) / Morinaga (森永製菓株式会社) / Hayama Co., Ltd. (株式会社葉山)
- Official website: https://gf-fes.com (venue map: https://gf-fes.com/map / English page: https://gf-fes.com/en/)
- Instagram: @glutenfree_nagoya
