Yatai yakitori is the canalside grilled-chicken-skewer format. Charcoal grill at a 6-stool counter on the Nakasu canal, served with beer and conversation across the river from 18:00-02:00.

Yatai yakitori traces to the Edo-period dockside stalls along the Nakagawa river, where charcoal grills were the simplest cook fire. The format codified after the Second World War, when the Fukuoka city government licensed yatai positions on the Nakasu canal and Tenjin grid. Today around 100 yatai run on the canal and Showa-dori, of which a third do yakitori as the primary order. The chicken is locally raised, the charcoal is binchotan or sub-binchotan, the seasoning is salt or tare; the format is fast.

4 editor picks for Yatai yakitori in Fukuoka, ranked by editorial score. All Fukuoka signature dishes · Yatai yakitori across every city.

Learn to cook it, or eat it with a guide

Yatai yakitori makes more sense with someone from Fukuoka explaining it. These are the classes and tours we have checked, with booking links.

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