About Us
Walk past almost any restaurant in Japan and you will spot them in the window: bowls of ramen and plates of curry that never go cold and never get eaten, yet still look good enough to make you hungry. That craft began in Osaka in 1932. Every piece we sell is made by hand here in Osaka, in a family workshop that has been practising it for more than eighty years.
Fake Food Japan opened in 2012 with one goal: to give people anywhere the chance to own this Japanese craft for themselves. Every item is handmade to order by artisans who have spent their lives perfecting it. No two pieces come out exactly alike, which is rather the point.
Have a look through the catalog to see what is possible. If you have something specific in mind, we also take customized orders for one-of-a-kind pieces you will not find anywhere else.
Who buys fake food?
More people than you might think:
- Travelers after a uniquely Japanese gift for family, friends, coworkers, clients, or corporate event guests
- Teachers and instructors who want durable, reusable teaching aids
- Advertising and film crews who need set props that read perfectly on camera
- Restaurant owners who want customers to see a dish before they order it
Our track record
- Shipping from Osaka since 2012, working with the same workshop throughout
- More than 1,400 designs in the catalog, from life-size plated meals down to keychains and magnets
- Customers in more than 50 countries, with the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, France and Germany our largest markets
- Over 350 customer reviews, published in full and unedited on our Testimonials page
Meet the team
Originally from Ohio, Justin has called Osaka home since 2003. A longtime fan of Japanese culture and food, he started Fake Food Japan to share both with the rest of the world. He handles the business personally, from the first email through to the export paperwork, in English and Japanese.
Born and raised in Osaka, Japan's food capital, Morino-san has spent his entire life in the family fake-food business. The workshop was founded by his father more than eighty years ago, and the techniques have been handed down within the family ever since. He is known across the industry for his precision, down to the last grain of rice. In 2012 he teamed up with Justin to bring that work to customers worldwide.
Inside the workshop
Everything is made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), the material the trade has used for decades. It holds fine detail, takes paint well, and does not yellow or shrink the way the earliest wax replicas did. Each piece is cast, trimmed and then painted by hand, which is why lead times are measured in weeks rather than days.
How to reach us
We handle requests in both English and Japanese. Email is the fastest way to reach us at info@fakefoodjapan.com.
Fake Food Japan is operated by JD CREATIONS LLC, Osaka, Japan. Our registered address and Japan Corporate Number are on our Legal Notice page.
Based in Japan? Visit our Japanese store on Yahoo! Shopping.
