This wooden shrimp looks so real, we’re tempted to eat it

Have you ever heard of turning wood into food? (By woodworking, of course, not by magic.) Seiji Kawasaki is a Japanese man who sculpts wood into food, and we’re the first to admit that the man’s got talent.

Somehow, his ‘food,’ which is made from small pieces of wood, looks more fresh and vibrant than the food we actually eat.

“The person who looks at my work feels like eating even though he knows that it is actually wood. I think that’s very interesting. I think at the same time, my work is also a fan art of food. I’m a fan of food,” said Kawasaki. In other words, his art will mess with your mind and make your stomach growl.

When we first heard that these creations weren’t edible, we could barely believe it ourselves. Take a look below to see what we mean.

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This wooden shrimp looks so real, we’re tempted to eat it

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  Dried fish, but not really

  Warped pieces of wood have never looked so life-like. These miniature fish bring the spirit of the lake without the smell of rotting fish. Plus, they double as chopstick holders, which is always nice.Facebook

• Fresh wooden shrimp

  It's so life-like, we can practically crack off its shell and eat it. This is starting to make us confused, and yet, it looks too good to walk away from.Facebook

• Chocolate made of driftwood

  Who knew a piece of driftwood, warped and forgotten by the world, could be capable of looking so beautiful? Yeah, we'd like to feature this in our homes. You can never have enough chocolate, after all.Facebook

• This is wood, not asparagus

  Wouldn't you like to throw a few of these into a baking sheet with some oil and rosemary and just pop them into the oven for a few minutes? Serve with some salmon, and you're good to go. Oh, wait, it's wood. Forgot for a second.Facebook

• Wooden potato chips

  Seiji was smart to include the picture of him sculpting the chip before adding colour. All we're going to say is that we wouldn't have believed these chips were made of wood unless we saw the process.Facebook

• Incredibly detailed toast sculpture

  Just look at that delicate top layer of bread. You can tell just by looking that he completely nailed the bread bake and texture. Can we have the recipe?Facebook

• Wood good enough for breakfast

  Here, Seiji perfectly captured the glaze and the flakiness of the pastry. We're pretty sure that this sculpture would melt in your mouth. There's no way this is made of wood, right?Facebook

• This is wood, not a bowl of nuts

  If you have a peanut allergy, you may want to step away. Because the wooden peanuts in that bowl look more real than actual peanuts.Facebook