- 14 Mar 2002
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CNN with a special feature on Fukuoka, the Japanese city that dominates street food.
Fukuoka, Japan's sixth largest city by population, has more open-air food stalls than the rest of the country combined. These stalls are called yatais, and they're an indelible part of what makes Fukuoka's food scene so special. Think of them as a sort of foodie Cinderella. Yatais are assigned specific, highly coveted spots at major pedestrian thoroughfares. However, they can only operate at night and must completely dismantle or remove their stalls before morning commuters begin swarming the sidewalks. The only clue that a yatai might materialize later is a ground-level water spigot. But at night, the city transforms. Carts and vans seem to appear by magic, serving everything from gyoza (in Fukuoka, these popular dumplings are served in mini, bite-size form) to ramen to meat skewers to a local chicken hotpot stew called oden, paired with ice-cold Asahi or Sapporo beers.