Blog - Miniature yatai
Miniature yatai
Today, on my daily stop at the conbini, I picked up this miniature oden yatai. A yatai is a small food stand on wheels, they're often located in front of train stations. Unlike the ones from this series though, these days most are built on a truck instead of being pulled by man power. If you go to Asakusa though you may see ones like this.
Oden is, according to my dictionary, "Japanese hodgepodge", basically all kinds of stuff (eggs, daikon (Japanese radish), tōfu, ...) in some kind of soup. Taste varies... I know for sure I wouldn't have oden from a yatai.
Actually oden yatai isn't quite common, so I was a bit disappointed with my pick. I'd have prefered to pick some yatai that's more frequently seen. The ones I see most on my usual route are for yakiimo (sweet potato), rāmen, and takoyaki, ...
The series includes yakitori, yakiimo, rāmen (don't you need one, Jean?!), and bells. I'm not planning to collect this series though. :)
Posted on February 9, 2004 at 22:47 | Tweet
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I also saw these at the combini last week. I want the ramen one. And there are actually a few those ramen carts in Ikebukuro at night, one or two right in front of the station (east side).
Posted by Jean on February 10, 2004 at 10:47
Ever gave them a try? Do they compare to ramen shops?
Posted by Patrick on February 10, 2004 at 10:53
"Japanese Hodgepodge" Ha! I love it! Sometimes dictionary translations can be great. One of my favorites is Namakemono which they usually translate into either 'Sloth' (which is a direct translation because of the animal, but funny to me as a double meaning), or 'Idle Fellow'
Since I usually use Namakemono as my excuse for not doing something, I always get a kick out of translating it back into english in my head "...because I'm a sloth" or "...because I'm an idle fellow"
Posted by Chopstick Sensei on February 10, 2004 at 23:29
Ooooh! Which combini? which combini? I have my heart set on it now, damn you!
Posted by Kinki on February 12, 2004 at 20:23
I found it at a FamiliMart. :)
Posted by Patrick on February 12, 2004 at 20:30
What conveni are you finding the yatai food carts at? Oh, FamilyMart.
By the way, Oden is literally honorable field and is short for nikomi dengaku, refering to boiled food and food cooked with miso on skewers.
ps. Feel free to visit my Japan Blog at http://blog.livedoor.jp/auberginefleur/
Posted by Aubergine on May 30, 2005 at 14:38
Thanks, I didn't know the roots of "oden"! Makes sense!
Unfortunately this series of miniature yatai were out a while ago and maybe they're not around anymore. Watch for other similar ones though (or maybe even some of this series in discount bins).
Nice blog!
Posted by Patrick on May 30, 2005 at 14:44