Specifically, I am talking about plastic food. It is quite common for restaurants to display what they offer in a window case on the street, so that you'll know exactly what you're getting inside. And while this is extremely helpful to those of us who don't speak Japanese, and I do appreciate it, I also find it really weird that every restaurant uses the same plastic food figurines. Just take a walk down Kappabashi Street in Asakasa, Tokyo and you'll find shop after shop after these plastic creations.

Most restaurants seem to offer either a single speciality food, or they offer a variety as shown here, where spaghetti and ice cream are (strangely) always on the menu. I guess it wouldn't do to put a real ice-cream sundae on display, and since these wax figurines look so delectable, how could any reasonable restaurateur resist?