Have you ever eaten street food in Japan? They are called yatai 「屋台」 which literally refers to the food carts. Japan is a country rich in festivals, events, and tourist spots, so it's normal to imagine that more than 200,000 events happen every year in Japan.
Some of the occasions where you can find street food in Japan are:
- Hanami Festival
- Summer Fireworks Festival
- Oshougatsu – New Year in Japan
- Bunkasai - Cultural School Festivals of Japan
Street foods are not usually found in regular restaurants, but some can be bought at fairs or even made at home with ease. Japanese street foods are based on old dishes from the 20th century or earlier and can be prepared with ease. In this article, we are going to look at the main street dishes found at festivals in Japan.
Table of Content
Yaki Imo (焼き芋)
Yaki Imo are sweet potatoes cooked in a wood-fired oven. Trucks and trailers equipped with wood-burning stoves can be found all over Japan. Trucks can drive around slowly repeating “yaki imo… yaki imo… yaki imo” over a loudspeaker.
Stews
In addition to sweet potatoes cooked on a wood stove, you will find the "Jaga Bata," a peeled potato cooked and covered with butter. Needless to say, it is common to also find fried potatoes, popcorn, and other vegetables at street festivals in Japan. Something more extreme are the "Onsen tamago," which are eggs that have been cooked in a natural hot spring, or onsen.
Japanese street crepes
Crepes are quite popular in Japan as street food or even specialty stores. You can find all kinds of sweet and savory crepes, they can be in strategic places and tourist spots. It is very common to find small stores, full of models throughout their window. One of the most popular street foods in Japan.
Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き)
Okonomiyaki 「お好み焼き」 are savory Japanese pancakes stuffed with meat, seafood and vegetables. They can be topped with mayonnaise, katsuobushi, nori, pickled ginger and a sauce similar to tonkatsu sauce.
This dish is quite popular throughout Japan and has several regional variations. It can be easily found on the streets. Okonomiyaki is one of the most sought-after street foods in Japan by foreigners. The Kansai region is one of the places where this dish is popular.
Dango (団子)
Dango「団子」 is a Japanese dumpling made from mochiko (rice flour). It is served on a skewer with 3 or 4 dangos, and is usually eaten with green tea. "Dango" is a classic dessert that is available in endless varieties, its texture is similar to mochi.
"Dango" is quite popular in shrines and temples and often stands out at certain times of the year. During the Mitarashi festival at Shimogamo Shrine, "Dango" is the main offering to the deities.
In addition to "Dango", any type of mochi can be a good choice during a Japanese festival, especially at the end of the year.
Senbei (せんべい)
"Senbei" are simple rice crackers made with a variety of sweet and savory flavors. At festivals, you can find freshly grilled senbei, and in the city of Nara, tourists buy senbei to feed the city's deer.
Ramune (ラムネ)
You can enjoy these cookies with a famous drink called "ramune". A lemon soda that comes in a unique glass bottle with a marble on the top. This drink is also very popular at street festivals.
We recommend reading: Meet Nara - The City of Deer
Takoyaki (たこ焼き)
Takoyaki (たこ焼き), literally fried or grilled octopus, is a popular Japanese round dumpling that looks more like a seasoned pancake made with a very soft, almost liquid dough and fried on a special griddle. It is quite common to find stalls with these dumplings at festivals, cultural fairs and also in specialized places in Takoyaki. It is usually stuffed with cut pieces of a small whole octopus, tempura shavings (tenkasu), chopped ginger and chives.
- Kare Pan - It's a fried bread stuffed with kare. These are just some of the many types of bread found at street festivals in Japan;
- Baby Kasutera - Baby Castella miniature Japanese cake that ends in one bite;
Shioyaki (塩焼き)
Grilled fish on a skewer (usually mackerel). It tends to be saltier than salt itself. In addition to grilled fish, another popular street food worth mentioning is "Ikayaki", which are grilled squids.
To delve further into the skewer, let's mention some skewer dishes such as "Chocobanana," which consists of a banana covered with chocolate and confetti on a stick. We also have grilled corn with miso, butter, and soy sauce on the skewer called "Tomorokoshi." Even cucumbers did not escape and can be found on the skewer with miso paste by the name of "Kyuri."
Taiyaki (田焼き) - Fish-shaped cake
The taiyaki is a sweet (or savory) cake made with flour dough, water and yeast… It is usually stuffed with sweet red bean paste (azuki) and grilled in a shape shaped like snapper fish. Taiyaki is basically a regular fish-shaped pancake or waffle. It is placed on a grill with mold on both sides. It is very similar to those Swiss crepes. It can contain sweet and savory fillings!
Oden (おでん)
Oden is a Japanese winter dish that consists of various ingredients slowly cooked in dashi broth. Some of the common ingredients include boiled eggs, fried tofu, daikon, konjac, and fish cakes.
Yakisoba (焼きそば)
Yakisoba is a dish of fried noodles, commonly found in street food stalls. The noodles are fried with vegetables, meat (such as chicken, pork, or shrimp) and seasoned with yakisoba sauce, resulting in a tasty and comforting dish.
Gyoza (餃子)
Gyoza are Japanese dumplings filled with ground meat (usually pork) and vegetables, such as cabbage and chives. They are steamed and then lightly fried until golden and crispy on the outside.
Dorayaki (どら焼き)
Dorayaki is a popular Japanese dessert made of two small pancake-like cakes (made with wheat flour, sugar, eggs, and water) filled with a generous layer of sweet azuki bean paste.
Tempura (天ぷら)
Tempura is a Japanese dish of seafood, vegetables, or meat breaded and fried in very hot oil. The light and crispy coating contrasts with the soft interior of the ingredients, creating a delicious texture.
Yakitori (焼き鳥)
Yakitori are skewers of grilled chicken traditionally over charcoal, but can also be prepared on grills or griddles. The chicken pieces are skewered on bamboo sticks and are usually seasoned with tare sauce (based on soy sauce, mirin, sake, and sugar).
Obentō (お弁当)
Although not exclusively a street food, Obentō is a practical and portable Japanese meal prepared in a lunch box (bentō). It may contain a variety of items such as rice, grilled fish, breaded chicken (karaage), pickled vegetables (tsukemono), and Japanese omelette (tamagoyaki).
Ramen (ラーメン)
Although ramen is more associated with restaurants, some street food stalls serve simplified versions of the dish. This may include a bowl of noodles with hot broth and some toppings, such as sliced pork and green onions.
Kushikatsu (串カツ)
Kushikatsu are skewers of meat, vegetables, or seafood breaded and fried. At festivals, you can find stalls offering a variety of kushikatsu, usually accompanied by tasty dipping sauces.
