Chances are you will never look at your books the same way.

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Japan seems to be really big on fake food. Usually, they use elaborately crafted, next-to-real-looking imitations in the windows and display cases of restaurants - a way for them not to worry about the displayed food rotting away. The craftsmanship of creating imitations of food has even become an art form. Japanese plastic food by the Maizuru Company, a large and very old manufacturer, was even put on exhibit in 1980 at London's Victoria and Albert Museum.

Once they were created with wax, but these days they tend to use handmade, custom-tailored plastic models, so the fake food looks exactly like a certain establishment needs it to look. If you're curious to see what these look like, anything from life-size replicas to keychains, magnets and even iPhone cases, USB flash drives (of course) and necklaces are available from Fake Food Japan.

One of possible uses for the fake food items is, apparently, also keeping them as flat, 2-dimensional bookmarks. Yes. You can read 'Wuthering Heights' and have a juicy slice of bacon sticking out of your book, you know, just to let you know where you need to pick up reading after a break. They are quite realistic and can make you feel a bit hungry. If you're not into bacon, worry not. You can choose between eight different designs, including a sunny-side-up egg or a piece of salmon. They cost between 1,080 yen and 1,620 yen (cca. 9 and 14 euros), depending on the design. 

These look quite amazing, especially considering all the work and attention to detail that's been put into them, but we think, for now, we'll stick to real food... not sticking out of our books.

May 31, 2016 Living photo: Tokyo Kitsch

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