An image processing apparatus has a processing circuit. The processing circuit functions as a three-dimensional data generation unit, a two-dimensional data generation unit, and a recognition image generation unit. The three-dimensional data generation unit generates three-dimensional data of an object ton the basis of an image of the object on which object information represented by a character or a symbol is attached, and a distance image indicating a distance between a reference position and the object for each pixel. The two-dimensional data generation unit flattens the three-dimensional data generated by the three-dimensional data generation unit to generate two-dimensional data. The recognition image generation unit generates a recognition image which is used to recognize the object information, on the basis of the two-dimensional data generated by two-dimensional data generation unit.