Food Stalls in Nakasu

Last night we needed to get out of the house so we took the train down town to Tenjin to discover some new parts of the area. We ended up in the Nakasu area, along the Naka River at an Italian bistro for a glass of wine. It was a really cute little restaurant. They had lots of different kinds of wines which is unusual for Japan, usually they just have red and white both of which are chilled. Weird coming from the States where there are always many different choices and it is well known that you don't chill red wine. Come on Japan get with the program!

After, we headed to the food stalls for a dinner date and what an experience that turned out to be!! They are called "yatai" which I guess means food stalls and they are one of the attractions here in Fukuoka. When you first see them you immediately think there is no way that I could eat here without getting sick. They are just little shacks they set up every day around 6 and close around 2 when the bars close. They have room for about 8 people to eat around a bar and they serve yakitori (food on sticks) and Hakata Ramen, which is very popular here in Fukuoka. Matt and I chose the one that looked the cleanest and already had people eating. Turned out to be an excellent choice. There were 6 business men in suits there who were more than happy to have 2 American's eating with them. The 2 closest to Matt knew some English and so we were able to talk a little. We both had to pretend that we didn't know what "ganbe" meant because it is custom here when someone says that to chug your drink and they were all a little tipsy. Anyway, the food was awesome, except the hairy crab the guys made me try. We had chicken, steak, pea pods wrapped in bacon, tomatoes wrapped in bacon, asparagus wrapped in bacon . . . Japanese love pork! At the end the guy next to Matt, the CEO of the company, paid for our entire bill which I think was about $80. Thank you Mr.CEO! All in all a wonderful date night with my husband that didn't cost him that much!