Tiny kaiten sushi-ya

I normally stay away from kaiten-zushi (kaiten sushi) or conveyor-belt sushi restaurants, since the quality can be iffy. But I could really go for this adorable miniature kaiten-zushi miniature set! (I'm not sure why the itamae-san (sushi chef) has Angelina Jolie lips, but it's oddly compelling.) It's a new themed set from Re-Ment (US site) (Japanese site), a Japanese company that makes amazingly detailed die-cast miniatures called Puchi Petites, mostly of food and related items like cooking equipment, but of other things too. The miniatures started out as omake, or free gifts that came with the purchase of candy, but the miniatures have become so popular that the candy, while it's still included, is now a mere afterthought.

You can get Re-Ment miniatures on eBay, in a few stores in the U.S., many stores throughout Japan, or by mailorder from JList. The U.S. product lines are different from the Japanese ones, though equally cute. Beware though: once you get into collecting Re-Ment, it's hard to turn back. It's highly addictive. There are a lot of diehard Re-Ment collectors and fans in Japan and elsewhere - there's even a Re-Ment Addicts group on flickr.

I love cute non-edible food in general, especially if it's tiny..I've even thought about creating a blog just about non-edible depictions of food, if I could ever find the time for it....