Mar 8, 2013 - 1 min read

Plastic Food at Kappabashi, Asakusa

Real or fake? Synthetic food models in downtown Tokyo

By Manish Prabhune

Community writer

Plastic Crepe models at Kappabashi Street in Asakusa

Delicious looking but fake icecream at Kappabashi

Hanging forks over pasta plastic models on sale for Italian restaurants in Japan

Assortment of food models: The more time you spend on Kappabashi, the line between being fake or real gets thinner and thinner

Ramen & udon: From a distance the food looks definitely real—great Japanese craftmanship

Kappabashi Street landmark of the kitchenware Niimi store

Ready for a beer now? Make sure you get a real one!

Just recently I went to Kappabashi Street located between Ueno and Asakusa for the first time, despite of having been in Japan for over 14 years. It's a place which I'm likely to frequent more often now with my wife to buy some kitchenware (dishes, pots, pans etc.); a lively street with shops selling unique synthetic food items used by restaurants across Japan to display their menu to customers. The wax food samples look so real that after an hour of walking through the street the real and fake food definitions started to blur, seriously!

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By Manish Prabhune

Community writer

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Victoria Vlisides 10 years ago

Really want to go here! Haha, I had no idea some of it was so expensive! Crazy.

Olga 11 years ago

Wow, at first I thought those were real!

Jon Collins 11 years ago

I remember riding my bike through the fake food 'district' between Asakusa and Ueno three years ago and finding it so intriguing. Glad to find this article on here to reminisce. Look forward to riding my bike through these streets again!

3 comments in total