Activities & Experiences · Kappabashi

Ganso Shokuhin Sample-ya Kappabashi (Food Sample Workshop) 元祖食品サンプル屋 合羽橋店

Make your own plastic-looking food replicas, wax tempura and a head of lettuce, at the shop of the company that invented Japan's fake-food displays, on Kappabashi kitchenware street.

About

Those uncannily realistic plates in restaurant windows were pioneered in the 1930s, and Ganso Shokuhin Sample-ya is the retail arm of Iwasaki, the company that started it all. Upstairs at its Kappabashi store, a short workshop teaches the classic wax technique: you pour coloured wax into warm water and, with a few deft folds, it blooms into crispy tempura batter around a shrimp; then you layer pale and green wax into a surprisingly convincing lettuce. It's quick, funny and genuinely clever, and you keep everything you make. Downstairs the shop sells replica sushi magnets, keyrings and full-size dishes that make great souvenirs. Instruction is mostly demonstration-led, so language is not a barrier. Advance booking is required, and watching without taking part now costs a small fee.

Highlights

• Wax tempura shrimp that 'blooms' in warm water
• Layered wax lettuce that fools the eye
• Shop of the company that invented food samples
• Replica sushi magnets, keyrings and dishes to buy
• On Kappabashi, Tokyo's kitchenware street

Tips

• Booking is required, weekend sessions fill weeks ahead
• Spectators who don't take part pay ¥500
• Allow time afterwards for Kappabashi's knife and ceramic shops
• Tawaramachi Station (Ginza Line) is a 5-minute walk

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

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