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Food Samples

If you’ve seen a restaurant in Japan then you’ve most likely taken notice of the replica food they have on display. You were likely made keenly aware of the shortcomings of the photos of dishes in menus back home that rarely ever accurately represent what will be brought out to you from the kitchen. These plastic replicas (“Shokuhin Samples” in Japanese) are beautifully made and virtually indistinguishable from the real thing. Everything from a plate of fresh sushi to a frothy pint of beer is perfectly crafted, down to the smallest grain of rice.

Food replicas have a rather long history in Japan, the first having been made from wax in 1917 to provide examples of healthy cooking. In 1923 they saw their first use in a restaurant in the Shirokiya department store in Tokyo. The restaurant saw a large increase in sales and the popularity of using food replicas as an advertising aid started to become widely-adopted. In 1932 Iwasaki Ryuzo started the first company to make food replicas and Iwasaki Ltd. is now the largest manufacturer in Japan.

The actual replica manufacturing process itself is surprisingly similar to actual cooking and they are all made-to-order individually by hand. First, the restaurant provides a sample of the actual dish to be replicated. This is then photographed and sketched by artists, before being encased in silicon. The resulting mold ensures that the final result will be perfectly shaped and sized. Food artists then create sauces and garnishes, plastic carrots and onions are chopped to size, and individual grains of rice are placed just so. Full training to become a food artist can take up to two years and this is apparent when viewing the finished product.

So next time you’re out to eat, take some extra time to study the mouth-watering replicas in the display case out front. If you’d like to know more, or even take some home with which to impress your friends, you can head over to Kappabashi, the restaurant supply district near Asakusa. All manners of replica are sold there as souvenirs, and you can even get miniatures, perfect as a keychain or cell phone accessory.