Japanology Plus (2014)

Season 8: Episode 15

Plastic food samples are astonishingly accurate replicas of real dishes. They can be found at the entrance to restaurants across Japan, helping potential customers to choose where to eat. They're made by expert artisans, who make molds of real food. Our guest is journalist Nose Yasunobu. He explains why three-dimensional models are so much more powerful than text or photographs. He also tells us why they became so popular in Japan, and discusses their presence in other countries.