Japan's fake food is real deal for tourists

I had to leave my Dad alone in Osaka one day. He got hungry, and saw a yummy looking plastic model in a restaurant display case. Not speaking a word of Japanese, he grabbed a young man walking by and pointed at the dish. The young man took him into the restaurant and politely helped him to order, and then left, without expecting any thanks or reward. Only in Japan?

Only in Japan, replicas so real that you want to eat the real thing. The attention to detail is just amazing!

They are indeed pretty amazing. I just wish the more mom-and-pop shops would open the display cabinet and give them a wipe with a dust cloth once in a while.

The variety of fake food you can find is amazing. go to Kappabashi and there are a few stores there that do everything.

What has always amazed me is the dish served is an exact "replica" of the one shown in the window. The sushi shop displays I find particularly help full.

I don't think Japan is a nation internationally "famous for its gastronomic delights". A picture menu would serve the same purpose as these replicas do, although they are very well made and sometimes look pretty real. A kanji menu with no pictures is not very welcoming for tourists.

Only in Japan?

yes, only in japan do people do nice things for others.

I don't think Japan is a nation internationally "famous for its gastronomic delights".

On the contrary, the kitchens of some of the finest Japanese restaurants in Kyoto, Tokyo, and elsewhere are teeming with foreign interns these days, from France, Italy, the U.S., and elsewhere, hoping to pick up on the techniques and traditions of Japanese cuisine. Japanese chefs are making their mark throughout much of the world, and Japan-based restaurant chains (and I'm not just talking Yoshinoya) are opening branches everywhere from Moscow to Manila.

Not to mention (as is so often mentioned in the press), Japan alone has more Michelin-starred restaurants than New York and London combined, and more three-star restaurants than France--many of them serving purely traditional Japanese food.

Seen one, ya seen'em all.

its not even unique to Japan. They have them in Korea, and probably Taiwan as well.

The young man took him into the restaurant and politely helped him to order, and then left, without expecting any thanks or reward. Only in Japan?

You haven't traveled much have you?

I saw a documentary on Japanese TV on how they make these things, amazing when you see how thay make these things.