Truly tasteless: Japan's plastic food artists get creative

Plastic food samples on display at an exhibition hosted by Japan's Iwasaki Group in Tokyo. - AFP

TOKYO (AFP): From the "leaning tower of pizza" to a fish slicing and cooking itself and a dragon emerging from a dragon fruit, Japanese artisans' quirky plastic food sculptures went on display this week at an exhibition in Tokyo.

The models were made with the same painstaking detail as the rock-solid noodle soups and crispy-looking plastic snacks that have long been displayed outside Japanese restaurants where they are called "shokuhin sampuru", or "sample food products".