Kappabashi & Plastic Food in Japan

Kappabashi is a street, in Tokyo, known for being the best place to buy all things kitchen related. The street is lined with stores selling any type of pots or pans you can imagine, quality japanese plates and dishware, embellished chopsticks, obscure kitchen devices, famously reliable japanese knives, and hyper realistic plastic sample food.

Placed outside restaurants in Japan to entice diners, plastic sample food has been used in Japan for the last century to make it easier for patrons to order without the use of menus. Over the years, the techniques and craftsmanship have evolved. While some samples (you can find nearly every dish imaginable) clearly have a plastic quality to them, others could easily be mistaken for the actual dishes they represent.

We visited when the street was closed to vehicle traffic, and crowds meandered across the street from vendor to vendor. Loudspeakers above the street played the official Kappabashi theme song as we shopped and marveled at the unending selection. Because of the frequency and repetitiveness of the jingle, we wondered if anyone had gone insane being forced to hear it day after day on a continuous loop... it's a cute tune with a 50's vibe but even we were sick of hearing it after awhile.

Our trip came to a close when we had reached the end of the street and saw the huge chef statue and cups atop a building, which marks the border of Kappabashi “Kitchen Town”.