A yatai (屋台) is a small, mobile food stall in Japan typically selling ramen or other hot food. The name literally means “shop stand.”
The stall is set up in the early evening on pedestrian walkways and removed late at night or in the early morning hours before commuters begin to fill the streets. Menus are usually limited; Japanese cuisine (often of Chinese origin) is of course most common, but Western cuisine yatai are not unknown. Beer, sake and shōchū are usually available. A business person might relax with colleagues over dinner and drinks at a yatai on their way home from work.
So now you know…!
jcb