5 ms·

The Plastic Paradise of Tokyo’s Famous Kitchen Town

46 points by lxm 5y ago

snvzz 4y ago
https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/35.71265/139.78858 https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/35.71265/139.78858
hakkoru 4y ago
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.
hereforphone 4y ago
Paywall
fjeifisjf 4y ago
singingwolfboy 4y ago
https://web.archive.org/web/20220511103006/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/04/20/magazine/tokyo-replica-food.html https://web.archive.org/web/20220511103006/https://www.nytim...
- Geonode 4y ago
  Thank you, but no photos?
thematrixturtle 4y ago
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.
- elthran 4y ago
  agreed - had a great time searching the street for the perfect design of donburi bowl, squeezing in amongst the narrow aisles stacked floor to ceiling with different designs and sizes
- GuB-42 4y ago
  Also everything you can find in restaurants that is not directly related to food like tabs, cash registers, "toilet" door signs,... Special mention for display cases, displayed in bigger display cases.
- lovemenot 4y ago
  Many shops in surrounding districts such as Asakusabashi specialise in samples of various other types of products. For instance one might sell beads and another umbrellas. Like in a department store, the shops tend to be clustered functionally, so walking sticks might be near umbrellas. These stores around Asakusabashi are actually "show rooms" for national distribution networks.

46 points by lxm 5y ago

https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/35.71265/139.78858 https://www.openstreetmap.org/#map=19/35.71265/139.78858

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.

hereforphone 4y ago

Paywall

fjeifisjf 4y ago

singingwolfboy 4y ago

https://web.archive.org/web/20220511103006/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/04/20/magazine/tokyo-replica-food.html https://web.archive.org/web/20220511103006/https://www.nytim...

Geonode 4y ago
Thank you, but no photos?

thematrixturtle 4y ago

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.

elthran 4y ago
agreed - had a great time searching the street for the perfect design of donburi bowl, squeezing in amongst the narrow aisles stacked floor to ceiling with different designs and sizes
GuB-42 4y ago
Also everything you can find in restaurants that is not directly related to food like tabs, cash registers, "toilet" door signs,... Special mention for display cases, displayed in bigger display cases.
lovemenot 4y ago
Many shops in surrounding districts such as Asakusabashi specialise in samples of various other types of products. For instance one might sell beads and another umbrellas. Like in a department store, the shops tend to be clustered functionally, so walking sticks might be near umbrellas. These stores around Asakusabashi are actually "show rooms" for national distribution networks.