Wandering the busy streets of Tokyo, one can come across dozens of window displays filled with enticing and delicious-looking food — from ice-cream sodas to full tempura lunches. But wait! Why haven’t these foods melted or spoiled? Are they preserved? Are they even real?
The answer to both questions is no. They’re not preserved, and they’re not real either. The food samples that decorate the shop windows of almost every restaurant in Japan are all fake — made using resin, plastic, wax or some other inedible material.
In this article, we’ll dive into why these Japanese fake foods were first developed, and give some information on a few places where you can make fake foods around Japan!
Why do they make fake food displays in Japan?
These fake food displays are meant to act as a 3D menu, enticing customers with an almost real look at the foods offered by the restaurant. They can give a realistic idea of portion size and may also help customers who don’t know a specific food item.
Most fake foods are customized to the restaurant that orders them, so they’re usually one-to-one replicas of what will be on your plate. Before color photography was commonplace, these fake foods were the next best thing to an actual cooked dish being put on display.
Where did Japanese fake food samples begin?
Fake foods trace their origins back to the beginning of the Showa Era almost 100 years ago. Back then, paper menus and color photography weren’t commonplace yet, and older members of the populace who had grown up before the education reforms of the late 1800s had lower literacy rates than younger individuals. So, it was easier for stores and food carts to display several plates of real food to advertise their daily offerings.
However, this system had one rather stinky flaw — fresh food tends to go bad after a few hours of exposure to the elements and attracts nasty insects! To combat this health hazard, candle artisans like Iwasaki Takizo, known as “The Father of Japanese fake food,” used their skills with wax to develop fake food models that businesses could use commercially.
Before the Showa Era, fake foods did exist in Japan, but they were used as educational tools. While living in Osaka, Iwasaki saw the commercial potential of fake food and in 1932 he created his first fake food, the staple of Japanese Western cuisine: an omelet. By marketing his fake food models to department store chains with large food halls like Shirokiya, they became advertising staples throughout Japan.
If you ever visit Gujo Hachiman in Gifu Prefecture, you might notice the prevalence of fake foods skyrockets. This is because Iwasaki was born in Gujo Hachiman and moved his factory there in the 1950s. The town has fully embraced his legacy as one of the pioneers of Japanese marketing history, and is said to make almost 50% of the fake food in Japan!
How to create Japanese fake food displays?
Fake foods in Japan are overwhelmingly still handmade. Even though mechanical means do exist to speed up the process, most fake food artisans opt for creating and painting pieces by hand to ensure they are as realistic as possible. Modern fake foods are made using plastic or vinyl due to their long-lasting qualities; the colors don’t fade as quickly as wax creations.
But how exactly are these creations made? For some foods, a silicon mold is made of the actual food item to achieve the closest shape possible, while molds for more fragile foods must be made from hand-sculpted clay models. The mold is then filled with plastic or vinyl and then airbrushed or hand-painted to achieve the desired finish.
Food models for dishes with multiple parts, like hamburgers and parfaits, are also made using separate pieces. A fake hamburger would be made using fake lettuce, a fake patty and a fake bun; not from a single mold of an entire hamburger. This attention to detail is the key to Japan’s fake foods' mouth-watering realism.
What is Japanese fake food called?
So, what’s the Japanese word for these fake foods, anyway? And what does it mean? Fake foods are called “shokuhin sampuru” in Japanese, with “shokuhin” meaning “foodstuffs” and “sampuru” being a loan word straight from the English “sample”. Based on the history of fake food replicas replacing real food samples, it only makes sense that these replicas would also get to be called food samples.
But enough background information, let’s cover some of the workshops for making fake food in Japan...
Making fake food in Japan: 5 fake food workshops
1. Japanese fake food: Food sample making workshop in Tokyo
Learn how to make a variety of colorful samples at this fake food workshop in Tokyo! You’ll be taught by a professional from Yamato Sample Factory, a factory with almost 70 years of fake food experience. You can make the default to-scale ramen or make foods like a parfait, curry rice or fried rice.
2. Kappabashi Kitchen Town, fake food samples and Tokyo Skytree
Want to experience all that Tokyo’s food culture has to offer? Then join this full-day tour complete with fake food workshop in Kappabashi. Ogle Japanese kitchenware in Kitchen Town, make some fake food, enjoy a delicious lunch and then admire the view from Tokyo Skytree.
3. Japanese fake food sample making workshop in Yokohama
This unique fake food workshop in Yokohama allows you to assemble a multi-piece item yourself or mold your piece by hand. It's incredibly rare to be able to mold your own piece of fake food, so don't miss out on this chance. You can make a multi-piece seafood rice bowl, moldable toast clock or moldable sushi set. The seafood rice bowl only takes 30 minutes to put together, while the other options take an hour to mold and decorate.
4. Japanese fake food samples: Plastic cake workshop in Fukuoka
In need of a sweet decorative treat or a family-friendly workshop? You’re in luck. This fake food workshop in Fukuoka sees participants making brightly colored cookie cakes out of plastic, and the bright-colored surroundings are a hit with kids. There are also package options that allow participants to make a plastic cake and a variety of extras, like tempura, natto and salmon roe.
5. Japanese fake food samples: Plastic parfait class in Fukuoka
Unleash your creativity and design a fake sweet like no other at this fake parfait workshop in Fukuoka. Located at the same venue as the plastic cake workshop listed above, this workshop sees participants making mouth-watering parfaits. Just remember, no matter how delicious they might look, they’re still just plastic!
Hungry for some more crafty workshops around Japan? Check out our indoor arts and crafts guide or to watch byFood host Shizuka Anderson try her hand at making some fake foods before you try a workshop for yourself, check out this fake food workshop challenge.
