Starving Beauties?: Instabae, Diet Food, and Japanese Girl Culture

Tokyo is home to many dreamy culinary delights, such as cheesy sandwiches oozing with the colors of the rainbow and whimsical parfaits dressed with a cloud of cotton candy. These items reflect a food culture characterized by decadence and excess, one that is increasingly “all for the ‘gram.” Tokyo has the highest number of posts in the category of “food and drinks” on Instagram of any city, at 42.6 percent, followed by Bangkok (17.7 percent), Berlin (12.8 percent), Sao Paulo (11.9 percent), and Moscow (8.4 percent).¹ In addition to these Instagram food trends, Japan is known for its traditional cuisines,