Delicious-looking, life-like ramen, sushi, steak, and beer. Have you ever noticed food replicas of these things on display while walking along restaurants and shops in Japan? It’s said that 60% of these replicas are made here in Gujo City.
At Sample Kobe, visitors can get a first-hand experience of watching artisans make food models and also try creating one of their own! It’s a fun, affordable experience and a great souvenir you can take home to your family and friends!
Here’s a photo essay of our food sample making workshop…
Sample Kobe
956 Hashimoto cho, Hagimachi cho, Gifu Prefecture
Opening Hours: 9 am – 5 pm (Closed: Thursday)
Contact: 0575-67-1870
Website: www.samplekobo.com
Central Japan Blog Series
• MY WAX TEMPURA: Food Sample Workshop in Gujo City!
• TONAMI TULIP GALLERY: The World’s Only Tulip Garden Where It Blooms All Year Round!
• SHIRAKAWA-GO: The Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō!
Known in Japan as sampuru サンプル or “sample”, these wax or plastic representations of dishes often found in many restaurants in Japan are used to entice customers.
It has been around for nearly a decade, and Gujo Hachiman makes the majority of food samples in Japan and is considered as the local industry representative of the region.
Sample Kobe is located in the town center and is around a kilometer (20-minute) walk from Gujo Hachiman railway station (郡上八幡駅).
Via bus, it’s about a 5-minute walk from Joukamachi Plaza (城下街).
There are life-like exhibits of ramen, seafood, hamburger, sushi, and soft ice cream on display.
It also functions as a store selling food replica samples as cell phone charms, key chains, pen holders, etc.
Ramen! <3
Besides replicas of your favorite foods, the workshops offer souvenirs in the form of classes and demonstrations.
How much does food replica making cost? While admission is free, a class would range from 800-1,200 yen.
Tempura and Lettuce
Set B (1pc of Tempura) 800 yen
Set A (3pcs of Tempura) 1200
Mini Tart
880 yen
*Mini parfaits are also available
Food samples are no longer made of wax but of durable plastic instead. But you can still create wax samples in the food model workshops.
The typical food sample workshop would be ebi (shrimp) tempura and lettuce leaves, with the assistance of the artisan staff.
To make tempura you first drip wax into the water until it looks like tempura coating. Then you place the plastic shrimp on top then gently wrap the batter-like wax around it!
Voila!
A yummy looking piece of our creation!
To make the lettuce, layers of white and green wax are poured into the water. We then slowly lift the sheet…
…cut it in half, then scrunch it all up until it looks like the real deal!
It’s amazing how realistic it looks and fascinating how simple wax can transform into a lettuce leaf!
It was a fun activity and we learned a lot. I strongly recommend this food sample making to anyone visiting the area!
Sample Kobe
956 Hashimoto cho, Hagimachi cho, Gifu Prefecture
Opening Hours: 9 am – 5 pm (Closed: Thursday)
Contact: 0575-67-1870
Website: www.samplekobo.com
Central Japan Blog Series
• MY WAX TEMPURA: Food Sample Workshop in Gujo City!
• TONAMI TULIP GALLERY: The World’s Only Tulip Garden Where It Blooms All Year Round!
• SHIRAKAWA-GO: The Historic Villages of Shirakawa-gō!
Live an Awesome Life,
ABI of Team Our Awesome Planet
Disclosure: Our trip was courtesy of Central Japan International Airport. I wrote this article with my biases, opinions, and insights.
P.S. On our way back home while walking along several shops, the group had one thing in mind: “Now we know how they are prepared!”