Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles
available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. A yatai is a
small, mobile food stall in Japan typically selling ramen or other hot
food. The name literally means "shop stand." The stall is set up in the
early evening on pedestrian walkways and removed late at night or in the
early morning hours before commuters begin to fill the streets. Menus
are usually limited; Japanese cuisine is of course most common, but
Western cuisine yatai are not unknown. Beer, sake and sh¿ch¿ are usually
available. A salaryman might relax with colleagues over dinner and
drinks at a yatai on his way home from work. Fukuoka is well-known
within Japan for having many yatai. Yatai are also set up temporarily
for Japanese festivals, selling foods for spectators, such as yakisoba,
kakig¿ri, takoyaki, and okonomiyaki.
