Fukuoka's open air food stands (yatai) are possibly the city's best known symbol. There are over 150 yatai across the city, with the highest concentration in the centrally located Nakagawa and Tenjin districts.
Typical dishes to be enjoyed at yatai are grilled chicken skewers (yakitori), hot pot (oden) and most famously Hakata Ramen, a local noodle dish featuring relatively thin ramen noodles in a pork bone based soup (tonkotsu).
Various alcoholic drinks are also available, and help make the yatai a great place to get in touch with the locals, although many of the "locals" happen to be Japanese tourists visiting Fukuoka from other parts of Japan.
Yatai are typically open from around 6pm to around 2am, except when the weather is very bad. Many stands remain closed on one day of the week. The closure day varies from stand to stand, but is often Sunday.
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