The Plastic Paradise of Tokyo’s Famous Kitchen Town

Sanpuru is simply the Japanese rendering of "sample", and by itself means the same as in English.

Kappabashi-dori is definitely worth a visit though: in addition to fake food, they have epic selections of Japanese ceramics and all sorts of kitchenware. It was originally mostly for wholesale quantities, but has become increasingly retail/tourist-friendly.

Last time I went to Tokyo I bought some plastic food as ornaments for my desk at work. I wanted a huge beer mug but that ran like 9000 yen, so I got a smaller beer glass. It's very realistic looking - it has a foam head and it even has fake condensation on the glass. At my previous job I freaked out a few managers who thought it was real.

Paywall