FEATURE: "Yatai" food stalls bring spark to nightlife in Japan's Fukuoka

This month marks a decade since a city ordinance established new rules for "yatai" food stall operators in Fukuoka, southwestern Japan.The tightening of yatai regulations in the 1990s had caused a decline in Japan's famous food stalls. But since the ordinance went into effect -- the first in the nation to clarify rules for the stalls -- a resurgence has been underway, despite the aging of shop owners and the more recent consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.The "akachochin" red lanterns of the yatai are part of the nightlife scene in the city's Hakata district, where more than 100 food c…READ FULL ARTICLE