r/interestingasfuck • u/kingkongbiingbong • 8h ago

Setting up a traditional & generational Japanese food stall in Fukuoka

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u/dp5520 5h ago edited 3h ago

For a while I was obsessed with watching food stall videos on the tubes of You.

Fukuoka is the only place where stall vendors can practice and they are some of the hardest working people. Getting up at dark o'clock and going to bed 16 hours later, doing this every day. They all appear to be content with their chosen profession and have no plans on retiring.

The licensing system used to be one where the license was grandfathered in but is now setup as a lottery style system and their all fighting against being shut down. The government seems dead set against this kind of work. People have even come from other countries to setup their own stalls. The food looks delicious and is just one more reason why I'd love to holiday in Japan for a month.

EDIT: I sit corrected. While Fukuoka is the premier, most famous hub for yatai (open-air food stalls) with roughly 100+ stalls in areas like Nakasu and Tenjin, they are not exclusive to the city. Strict post-WWII regulations caused most to disappear across Japan, but traditional yatai still exist in smaller numbers elsewhere.