Plastic Food

Students often ask me how I can order in Japan. While I can speak and understand a decent amount of food words in Japanese, reading it is near impossible for me. There are just too many Kanji (Chinese characters). But reading a menu in Japan is actually incredibly easy. The reason? Incredibly detailed photographs, and when these are not available, there is a good chance you can find some plastic food models along the outside window of the restaurant.

The creation of plastic food is an art in Japan. In fact, I've heard many art majors from universities will work painting or sculpting the plastic food models as a day job. It's an intricate process beginning with the restaurant providing the factory a real sample from which a cast can be made. Cutting, texturing, painting, and airbrushing help give the food a more authentic look. In Japan, having delicious looking plastic food can really make the difference. There have been many times I've stopped into a restaurant, because the plastic food was too delicious looking to pass up. Likewise, I have skipped over restaurants when hungry because the plastic food was old, the colors not vibrant, and the fake sashimi slices looked dusty. Who can eat dusty sushi?