In a new series, BBC News focuses on aspects of life in countries and cities around the world. What may seem ordinary and familiar to the people who live there, can be surprising to those who don't.

In Tokyo, many restaurants tempt in customers by displaying plastic versions of their menu in the window.

And as Roland Buerk reports, what started as a marketing ploy is now almost an art form, as skilled workers recreate everything from a bowl of soup to an ice-cream sundae.