6 ms·

The Japanese city that dominates street food – and no, it's not Tokyo

50 points by mikhael 3y ago

_3u10 3y ago
I love this kind of thing. In Asuncion, there are whole food parks dedicated to this kind of thing, and many parking garages have the top level converted to clubs on Friday and Saturday, usually with a smattering of food carts. Also, abandoned buildings where the roof is partially or fully collapsed are popular spots for bars. Here's a parking garage club. https://www.instagram.com/mollys.py/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/mollys.py/?hl=en Food park https://www.instagram.com/villamorrapark/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/villamorrapark/?hl=en Bar in a crumbling building, you can kinda see where the walls are caving in. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2447548432045770&set=pcb.2447549992045614 https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2447548432045770&set=pc...
qmarchi 3y ago
Surprised to see this here, but pleasantly so! Street food in Japan and Fukuoka in particular is one of my favorite reasons to visit. Seemingly ever foodstuffs location (whether that be a yatai, a ramen shop with a kiosk, or a small hole in the wall dart bar) has a different feel to it, and many have "regulars" that frequent the location often are are willing to chat up a newcomer. Would heavily encourage any tourist to the country to take a moment and don't do any research, just pick your next meal from something that's close by.
satvikpendem 3y ago
It's Fukuoka, please edit the title to eschew clickbait.
- keiferski 3y ago
  Yeah I assumed it was Osaka, which has a lot of good street food like the octopus takoyaki.
  - red-iron-pine 3y ago
    > which has a lot of good street food like the octopus takoyaki at risk of being pedantic, all takoyaki is octopus. tako = octopus, and yaki is to grill or pan fry. it's like talking about an apple-flavored apple-pie. a true statement, to be fair.
    - keiferski 3y ago
      I only included the word octopus so people unfamiliar with takoyaki know what I’m talking about.
    - eska 3y ago
      There are popular variations “wiener takoyaki” and “cheese takoyaki” which don’t contain octopus, however. Example: https://www.yonekyu.co.jp/recipe/detail.html?pdid=217 https://www.yonekyu.co.jp/recipe/detail.html?pdid=217
TulliusCicero 3y ago
Went to a Yatai in Fukuoka this last summer, was pretty neat. Though it's also kind of intimidating, especially compared to a lot of Japanese restaurants where there's some kind of screen to order from at the front or at a table, and often there's an English translation even.
- kredd 3y ago
  Oh, totally! However when I was travelling around Japan, especially in smaller towns, restaurants and shops were very accommodating as I took my time to use Google Translate. Very lovely people!
  - TulliusCicero 3y ago
    Agreed, though there's other intimidating aspects too. It was hard for my wife and I to even decide on a stall, between a lot of them filling up fast + some ambiguity of lines (because you need to leave space for pedestrians) and it also felt a bit harder to gauge whether each one was the kind of food we wanted from the outside.
    - kredd 3y ago
      Yeah, you’re actually right. I’m travelling around Taiwan now and it does get a bit crowded to the point you can’t really figure out what is what. And by the time you can unlock your phone you gotta move to make space for people coming from behind.
sahinyanlik 3y ago
[flagged]
- guessmyname 3y ago
  > Hackernews getting weird place. How come war between Palestine-Israel is forbidden to talk about but this news is not. Because the people who run Hacker News decided to implement guidelines around what they consider on-topic and what they consider off-topic. According to this page: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html , anything related to politics is considered off-topic and, consequentially, discouraged from being posted here. Not that I agree or disagree, just answering your question.
- onetokeoverthe 3y ago
  [dead]
Rodeoclash 3y ago
I'd just been on holiday to Japan and one thing that really stood out to me was how social some of the bars (and it's a bit of an assumption on my part but the restaurants in the article) are. I suppose by now everybody is fairly familiar with Golden Gai in Tokyo now but the concept of these mini bars only seating a few known regulars does not seem to be limited to just Tokyo. I found similar setups in Kyoto and Kanazawa. These tiny bars seem to fulfil this need for a 3rd place. To help facilitate the social aspect of them, the owner of the bar will tend to make introductions between the people that are visiting (rather than say the Australian model where the bar is kind of a "rented space" to hang out with your friends). I've also discovered very niche bars in Tokyo, dedicated to Punk music, or Jazz etc. A place for those with similar tastes to come together and hang out and talk about these similar interests. I'd love to bring this concept back to Australia but the liquor laws here prevent something like this from being financially viable due to the requirements around the size of the bar, available toilets (the mini bars all shared one central toilet) etc. The attitudes around alcohol were very different as well. At at Jazz festival in Kanazawa, bars were free to open stalls out the front and sell drinks to those watching gigs in the laneways. Young kids were free to mix with adults who were drinking and having a good time (here is an example of what I mean: https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMS1Z-NymXvHBCcfb4sxrp7Pma9MdH6X6g_PBqy https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMS1Z-NymXvHBCcfb4sxrp7...)
- OfSanguineFire 3y ago
  I just watched Ozu’s 1956 film Tokyo Twilight and the opening scene has two strangers introduced to each other in a tiny bar, and within minutes one of them is sharing his food with the other. I wondered how realistic the scene was, but from what you write, perhaps it was representative of everyday life. Still, Japan is such a regimented society. How do bar owners ensure that the regulars it attracts belong to the same level in the social hierarchy, so that they can feel comfortable among one another?
  - getwiththeprog 3y ago
    In Japanese compainies, CEOs sit and have lunch with the rest of the workers (I have heard).
jazzkingrt 3y ago
I love cities that embrace street food. My home (New York City) is well-regarded for street food, but I found it that it's nothing in comparison to Mexico City where a vendor seems to dot every single street corner. With our density, New York could have a much richer street foods scene if the permitting and regulations allowed it. I have put Fukuoka on my travel list.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  Go to China in the summer, especially in southern China where it is hot in the day and only bearable at night, night markets with just lots of street food are pretty intense.
  - berserk1010 3y ago
    Unless you want to be easily exposed to dangerous elements like gutter oil or fake food, which is prevalent in China, I recommend other food stall cities like Singapore or Taiwan.
    - Cookingboy 3y ago
      Gutter oil has been exceedingly rare in recent years in China due to extremely harsh crackdowns (literally death penalties were handed out). You will be fine these days in bigger cities. And it's funny that you suggested Taiwan, which is the country that gutter oil was first seen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutter_oil#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutter_oil#History
      - berserk1010 3y ago
        nope, gutter oil won't go away in China https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu6yJyi97ZI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu6yJyi97ZI, especially since it's getting harder to make money in food service these days. And fake food is rampaging through the cities in China, such as moon cake and alcohol. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIpA_RwEtLE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIpA_RwEtLE Not sure why you would take Chinese government's word on anything, when they still refuse to accept blame for releasing covid to the world and killing millions, and giving long covid and removing smell and taste for many more.
raincole 3y ago
Content farm style title. A rising programming language that dominates system programming - and no, it's not Rust. Would the above title be acceptable for HN?
- DandyDev 3y ago
  Well, don’t keep us in suspense! Which language is it?!
  - kristopolous 3y ago
    I don't know but I'll never be able to guess what it does next.
    - agent327 3y ago
      Will the third reason it's good surprise us?
    - lubujackson 3y ago
      You will be able to guess correctly once you learn this one weird trick!
barlog 3y ago
You would think that Japanese people are taciturn, but most taciturn Japanese actually love to be talked to by foreigners
ChatGTP 3y ago
Why would anyone have assumed it would be Tokyo?
CyberDildonics 3y ago
Fukuoka, Japan’s sixth largest city by population, has more open-air food stalls than the rest of the country combined. Avoid the clickbait, this the whole article.

50 points by mikhael 3y ago

I love this kind of thing. In Asuncion, there are whole food parks dedicated to this kind of thing, and many parking garages have the top level converted to clubs on Friday and Saturday, usually with a smattering of food carts. Also, abandoned buildings where the roof is partially or fully collapsed are popular spots for bars. Here's a parking garage club. https://www.instagram.com/mollys.py/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/mollys.py/?hl=en Food park https://www.instagram.com/villamorrapark/?hl=en https://www.instagram.com/villamorrapark/?hl=en Bar in a crumbling building, you can kinda see where the walls are caving in. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2447548432045770&set=pcb.2447549992045614 https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2447548432045770&set=pc...

qmarchi 3y ago

Surprised to see this here, but pleasantly so! Street food in Japan and Fukuoka in particular is one of my favorite reasons to visit. Seemingly ever foodstuffs location (whether that be a yatai, a ramen shop with a kiosk, or a small hole in the wall dart bar) has a different feel to it, and many have "regulars" that frequent the location often are are willing to chat up a newcomer. Would heavily encourage any tourist to the country to take a moment and don't do any research, just pick your next meal from something that's close by.

satvikpendem 3y ago

It's Fukuoka, please edit the title to eschew clickbait.

keiferski 3y ago
Yeah I assumed it was Osaka, which has a lot of good street food like the octopus takoyaki.
- red-iron-pine 3y ago
  > which has a lot of good street food like the octopus takoyaki at risk of being pedantic, all takoyaki is octopus. tako = octopus, and yaki is to grill or pan fry. it's like talking about an apple-flavored apple-pie. a true statement, to be fair.
  - keiferski 3y ago
    I only included the word octopus so people unfamiliar with takoyaki know what I’m talking about.
  - eska 3y ago
    There are popular variations “wiener takoyaki” and “cheese takoyaki” which don’t contain octopus, however. Example: https://www.yonekyu.co.jp/recipe/detail.html?pdid=217 https://www.yonekyu.co.jp/recipe/detail.html?pdid=217

TulliusCicero 3y ago

Went to a Yatai in Fukuoka this last summer, was pretty neat. Though it's also kind of intimidating, especially compared to a lot of Japanese restaurants where there's some kind of screen to order from at the front or at a table, and often there's an English translation even.

kredd 3y ago
Oh, totally! However when I was travelling around Japan, especially in smaller towns, restaurants and shops were very accommodating as I took my time to use Google Translate. Very lovely people!
- TulliusCicero 3y ago
  Agreed, though there's other intimidating aspects too. It was hard for my wife and I to even decide on a stall, between a lot of them filling up fast + some ambiguity of lines (because you need to leave space for pedestrians) and it also felt a bit harder to gauge whether each one was the kind of food we wanted from the outside.
  - kredd 3y ago
    Yeah, you’re actually right. I’m travelling around Taiwan now and it does get a bit crowded to the point you can’t really figure out what is what. And by the time you can unlock your phone you gotta move to make space for people coming from behind.

sahinyanlik 3y ago

[flagged]

guessmyname 3y ago
> Hackernews getting weird place. How come war between Palestine-Israel is forbidden to talk about but this news is not. Because the people who run Hacker News decided to implement guidelines around what they consider on-topic and what they consider off-topic. According to this page: https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html , anything related to politics is considered off-topic and, consequentially, discouraged from being posted here. Not that I agree or disagree, just answering your question.
onetokeoverthe 3y ago
[dead]

Rodeoclash 3y ago

I'd just been on holiday to Japan and one thing that really stood out to me was how social some of the bars (and it's a bit of an assumption on my part but the restaurants in the article) are. I suppose by now everybody is fairly familiar with Golden Gai in Tokyo now but the concept of these mini bars only seating a few known regulars does not seem to be limited to just Tokyo. I found similar setups in Kyoto and Kanazawa. These tiny bars seem to fulfil this need for a 3rd place. To help facilitate the social aspect of them, the owner of the bar will tend to make introductions between the people that are visiting (rather than say the Australian model where the bar is kind of a "rented space" to hang out with your friends). I've also discovered very niche bars in Tokyo, dedicated to Punk music, or Jazz etc. A place for those with similar tastes to come together and hang out and talk about these similar interests. I'd love to bring this concept back to Australia but the liquor laws here prevent something like this from being financially viable due to the requirements around the size of the bar, available toilets (the mini bars all shared one central toilet) etc. The attitudes around alcohol were very different as well. At at Jazz festival in Kanazawa, bars were free to open stalls out the front and sell drinks to those watching gigs in the laneways. Young kids were free to mix with adults who were drinking and having a good time (here is an example of what I mean: https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMS1Z-NymXvHBCcfb4sxrp7Pma9MdH6X6g_PBqy https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipMS1Z-NymXvHBCcfb4sxrp7...)

OfSanguineFire 3y ago
I just watched Ozu’s 1956 film Tokyo Twilight and the opening scene has two strangers introduced to each other in a tiny bar, and within minutes one of them is sharing his food with the other. I wondered how realistic the scene was, but from what you write, perhaps it was representative of everyday life. Still, Japan is such a regimented society. How do bar owners ensure that the regulars it attracts belong to the same level in the social hierarchy, so that they can feel comfortable among one another?
- getwiththeprog 3y ago
  In Japanese compainies, CEOs sit and have lunch with the rest of the workers (I have heard).

jazzkingrt 3y ago

I love cities that embrace street food. My home (New York City) is well-regarded for street food, but I found it that it's nothing in comparison to Mexico City where a vendor seems to dot every single street corner. With our density, New York could have a much richer street foods scene if the permitting and regulations allowed it. I have put Fukuoka on my travel list.

seanmcdirmid 3y ago
Go to China in the summer, especially in southern China where it is hot in the day and only bearable at night, night markets with just lots of street food are pretty intense.
- berserk1010 3y ago
  Unless you want to be easily exposed to dangerous elements like gutter oil or fake food, which is prevalent in China, I recommend other food stall cities like Singapore or Taiwan.
  - Cookingboy 3y ago
    Gutter oil has been exceedingly rare in recent years in China due to extremely harsh crackdowns (literally death penalties were handed out). You will be fine these days in bigger cities. And it's funny that you suggested Taiwan, which is the country that gutter oil was first seen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutter_oil#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutter_oil#History
    - berserk1010 3y ago
      nope, gutter oil won't go away in China https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu6yJyi97ZI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gu6yJyi97ZI, especially since it's getting harder to make money in food service these days. And fake food is rampaging through the cities in China, such as moon cake and alcohol. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIpA_RwEtLE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIpA_RwEtLE Not sure why you would take Chinese government's word on anything, when they still refuse to accept blame for releasing covid to the world and killing millions, and giving long covid and removing smell and taste for many more.

raincole 3y ago

Content farm style title. A rising programming language that dominates system programming - and no, it's not Rust. Would the above title be acceptable for HN?

DandyDev 3y ago
Well, don’t keep us in suspense! Which language is it?!
- kristopolous 3y ago
  I don't know but I'll never be able to guess what it does next.
  - agent327 3y ago
    Will the third reason it's good surprise us?
  - lubujackson 3y ago
    You will be able to guess correctly once you learn this one weird trick!

barlog 3y ago

You would think that Japanese people are taciturn, but most taciturn Japanese actually love to be talked to by foreigners

ChatGTP 3y ago

Why would anyone have assumed it would be Tokyo?

CyberDildonics 3y ago

Fukuoka, Japan’s sixth largest city by population, has more open-air food stalls than the rest of the country combined. Avoid the clickbait, this the whole article.