Railway in Gifu Launches New Food Model-Themed Train

Welcome to "Learn Japanese from the News."

In this program, we'll learn Japanese and about the country through Japanese news stories.

Our headline for today is:

Railway in Gifu Launches New Food Model-Themed Train.

"Sanpuru" comes from the English word "sample."

It has the same meaning.

"Shokuhin-sanpuru" is an established
Japanese expression.

Yes. So here we have some "shokuhin-sanpuru."

All inedible, of course.

But they look so delicious!

I mean, look at the level of detail on these things!

Now personally I've never really seen them outside of Japan.

But, here they're pretty common, especially in restaurant displays in areas with lots of visitors.

Right, exactly. They also have food sample keychains like these...and also magnets.

Apparently they're popular souvenirs.

Now, before we listen to the story in Japanese, let's go over some key terms.

"ressha."

train.

"koboreru."

to spill.

"tsurikawa."

hand strap.

OK, see if you can follow along.

Nagaragawa Railway in Gifu Prefecture

has been running a train decorated with
realistic-looking food models since August.

The city of Gujo, where the railway runs,
is famous for its food models,

and the project was started in conjunction with
seven model manufacturers in the city.

There are 35 models inside the train,
including sushi, ramen, and a hamburger.

The models include spilled miso soup
and soft serve ice cream by the windows,

and natto spilling out of its container
up on a hand strap.

A man from Chiba Prefecture said,
"I was amazed at how real the spillage looked."

Train times can be found on
the company's social media.

Ooh, now that is definitely an only-in-Japan train ride!

Yes, this is really cool.

So Gujo City in Gifu Prefecture is nicknamed "shokuhin-sanpuru no machi."

Around 60 percent of fake foods produced in Japan come from the city.

The "shokuhin-sanpuru-ressha" is currently scheduled to run until next summer.

OK, let's review the following sentence from the story.

Nagaragawa Railway has been running a train decorated
with realistic-looking food models.

Now read along with me.

"Nagaragawa-tetsudoo wa

hontoo no tabemono no yoo ni mieru

"shokuhin-sanpuru" o kazatta

ressha o unten-shite imasu."

Today's key expression is the "yoo"
in "tabemono no yoo ni."

We use "yoo" when we want to describe
the condition or appearance of something

by likening it to something else.

In today's case, the food models
look like real food.

So we use "yoo" and say...

"tabemono no yoo ni mieru."

We can use this expression
with people too.

For example...

Chiara...what do you think?

"Sensee, majo no yoo ni miemasu."

Right.

When someone's actions or appearance
resemble something else,

we use "yoo ni mieru."

We can also leave out "mieru"
and say...

"Majo no yoo desu."

Right. Now, isn't the expression "mitai" used in a very similar way?

That's right.

"Mitai" is more casual, so it's used
a lot in conversation.

So you could also say...

"Majo mitai desu ne."

Exactly.

You could also say "majoppoi,"
because "poi" has a similar meaning.

But technically, it's different from
"yoo" and "mitai."

"Poi" is used not to liken something
to something else,

but to describe a characteristic
or tendency.

Chiara, what kind of shirt is
Yamaguchi-san wearing?

"Aoppoi shatsu desu ka ne?"

But I see what you mean, you wouldn't say "Ao mitai na shatsu."

That just sounds very weird.

So it's like the English suffix -ish.

So it's a bluish shirt.

Exactly.

"Poi" can also refer to personality,
for example, "okorippoi."

You wouldn't use "yoo" or "mitai"
in this context.

I see. So there are different ways to describe someone or something's appearance.

OK, Tokunaga-sensee, thank you very much.

Thank you very much.

Inside Japan.

So getting back to the "shokuhin-sanpuru," how did this craft come about?

Yes, good question.

It turns out that the models weren't originally meant for restaurant displays.

Take a look at this.

It's said that the original "shokuhin-sanpuru" were developed in 1917.

They were created by Nishio Sojiro, a Kyoto craftsman who made replicas of plants.

He was commissioned by an institute of health sciences

to make food models that could be used to provide nutritional guidance.

"Shokuhin-sanpuru" took off nationwide during the department store cafeteria boom of the 1920s.

There were restaurants serving tens of thousands of customers a day,

and they displayed food replicas at the entrance to streamline the ordering process.

They had customers choose their order
before entering.

By doing that, they were able to
increase table turnover.

As menus diversified with Western dishes, "shokuhin-sanpuru" helped put diners at ease.

Gradually, they became a fixture of the Japanese restaurant industry.

Over the past hundred years, makers have been perfecting the method for creating molds from real food.

When they receive an order, they take the actual dishes and make individual molds for each piece.

And they've made innovations along the way that have led to more realistic samples.

They originally used agar jelly, but later switched to silicone, which is able to retain more detail.

The replicas themselves were originally made of wax, but because they were vulnerable to heat,

producers later switched to plastic, which is more durable.

That's fascinating.

And I had no idea that they started by creating a mold from the actual dish itself.

Pretty cool, right?

And these days the method for making "shokuhin-sanpuru" is being applied in other fields.

Check this out.

This is a model that was developed to help train doctors

to guide a catheter through coronary arteries.

It was made from resin and molded in one piece to simulate blood vessels as realistically as possible.

So doctors can get a tactile sense of the procedure.

Oh wow, that's incredible.

- It's really a testament to the level of detail that goes into molding these models.
- Yes, exactly.

And actually I have one more sample here -

this is also used in health care.

OK...

Wow, it's heavy. What is this?

So that's actually a replica of human body fat.

A kilogram's worth, to be exact.

It's used in hospitals to educate patients about weight loss.

Yeah, the method for making "shokuhin-sanpuru"

really has a lot of different potential applications, doesn't it?

OK, that's all for today.

- We'll see you next time.
- See you soon.