Japanese Sample Food Making Experience

Near public transportation

Transportation is wheelchair accessible

Surfaces are wheelchair accessible

Most travelers can participate

Videos of Japan's “fake food” techniques have been a viral sensation for years. Many people are amazed with the intricacies of this elaborate yet delicate craft of making fake food by hand and showcasing them as displays in front of restaurants. The sample fake food look just like real food and are almost indistinguishable, which is a lot of fun for people to guess which food is real or not.Almost every restaurant will have these glistening, perfectly-plated fake food models that are tempting you from their windows. The fake foods are made of plastic or wax, and to this day each one is crafted by hand, and can take anywhere from a few hours to entire entrees that can take up to a week. Because of the detail in each food sample, artisans say it takes up to 10 years to perfect the craft and the imitations can cost up to 10 times the real food they represent (sometimes up to $500 USD or 55,000 JPY).It's said that fake food production began in the 1930s with Takizo Iwasaki, an artisan from Gujo Hachiman. Story goes, he made an omelet out of wax that was so realistic his wife couldn't tell it apart from the real thing. He would go on to start one of the biggest plastic food manufacturers in Japan that now controls an estimated 60% of the fake food market. By the 1950s, fake food had caught a wave of popularity.

In the 3-hour Japanese Sample Food Making Experience and Asakusa History Tour, learn about the history and traditional craft of Sampuru food with an English-speaking guide and translator before going to Kappabashi and Sensoji Temple. Before the workshop, see different types of Sampuru models and learn how this craft was started and what the significance of sampuru food displays are in Japan. After the explanations, join a workshop with a small group where you can get a hands-on experience in making tempura sampuru foods, which you can take home as a souvenir. This is a great experience for anyone, including young children (age 7 and up).

Availability: Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from 10:00 AM to 12 PM (except some holidays). Meeting time is 9:45 AM.

Additional tour around Tokyo: 4 hour or 6 hour add-on available at checkout (the tour can be before or after the Japanese Sample Food Making Experience). This is a private tour around Tokyo with English-speaking (or other) tour guide. This includes public transportation for you and the tour guide, but all optional activity costs for the guests and for the tour guide are not included.

Add-on Lunch at oldest tempura restaurant in Japan.

Other: Since guests are to put their hands into wax to make food samples, we recommend that guests do not have nail art or polish on their hands (please note that the wax may remove some nail art or polish from the guests’ hands during the sample food making process).

Moderate Cancellation Policy:

100% refund for cancellations made up to 4 days before the start time of the experience. Cancellations made after that time period will receive no refund

How far in advance should I book?

Preparing an event requires some time, especially if reservations for restaurants or other venues are required. We recommend making a reservation as early as possible. Ideally, it should be 3 months before your travel date, or 1 month before the travel date at the very least. We may not be able to arrange your event in time so your booking request may be cancelled and you will receive a full refund.

Why am I charged a service fee if I make a cancellation after you started planning the trip?

Organizing and planning a trip or event requires a lot of time and if we have made reservations on your behalf, it may be very challenging to cancel some booking requests. Once we receive your booking and will start arranging your tour guide, buying tickets, making reservations at venues for your tour, etc.

If you cancel the tour any time after we have sent you event details, the service fee of 15% of your total tour cost will be nonrefundable

This tour/activity will have a maximum of 15 travelers