Plastic food

Many restaurants in Japan display plastic or wax replicas of their dishes at the entrance.
Food replicas serve several purposes such as attracting customers, advertising menus, whetting appetites (and making it easier for tourists to point at the dish they fancy? not sure about that last one. I don't think so, actually).

The heart of the replica food world is the shopping district of Kappabashi in Northeast Tokyo. Sushi, noodles, vegetables, pizzas, ice cream, beer and many many more are sold (if you want to take one home, be prepared to pay about 4000Yen - 300Euro for a bowl of plastic tempura udon).

Restaurants can also order "tailor made" replicas of their food for display.
Just like real chefs, replica artists spend a lot of time mastering their craft (full training can take as long as two years). If they are talented the real dish and replica may be indistinguishable (or sometimes the latter one looks better than what is brought to your table?).