Fake Food Is All the Rage in Japan

Most restaurants in Japan have one thing in common: Sampuru. Sampuru are fake food samples crafted by artists to display the food options of the restaurant.

It seems unimportant, but it’s actually a huge business in Japan—a $90 million business to be exact.

They do this to market themselves to the public—consider it life-like advertising, making menus come alive.

Seeing the food is much better than reading about it, so it helps boost business. Talented sampuru artists are a hot commodity, too.

If a restaurant wants sampuru, they have to make the dish and then freeze it and ship it off to an artist who then uses it as a mold. From there, they craft and paint it to look as real as possible.

If this fake food is making you hungry, we’ll send your regards to the artist.

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