A yatai is an movable eating place. It's traditional shape is depicted in red in the window of the photograph from the inside of the ramen shop above. You can still see the occasional noodle seller setting up shop on the pavement late at night on the weekends. They serve from traditional style trolleys or converted vans and wait in the drinking areas of Nagoya to catch drunken salary men with the lure of noodles in cholesterol soup, but otherwise Nagoya does not have a very lively yatai scene.Nearby our old apartment was a small warehouse building called 'Yatai Mura' (the yatai village). Inside were spaces for eight small counter spaces, with each space serving their own speciality dishes. These non-movable eateries were microcosms of the larger Japanese Izakaya, and each place had it's own regular clientele that seemed to provide the entirety of the business.
It was an interesting space that I haven't visited for a year. Now that we have a baby in the house I am unlikely to do so for a while yet. The customers were always down-town born to the city types, with the occasional politician or salary man thrown in. If you are ever in the Kanayama neighbourhood I would recommend it for a bite and a drink. I would, of course, be happy to join you. Make haste though, because places like this are slowly being swallowed up by office blocks and chain restaurants, and the owners aren't getting any younger.
