Japan is a country full of delectable foods, and Japanese street cuisine is particularly tasty! Yattai is little food kiosks that may be found on Japanese streets and at festivals, and the food they provide is not to be missed! These vendors provide a convenient and delectable assortment of on-the-go meals that are low-cost but high-quality and appetising.

You may believe that Japanese cuisine is solely comprised of seafood dishes, however there is a vast world of street food available. These delectable recipes are inexpensive, but they don’t spare on flavour. While regular night markets are unusual in Japan, food vendors go to the streets in droves during the country’s hundreds of festivals each year, with some merchants moving from city to city every night.

There’s a limitless variety of Japanese street cuisine to sample in Japan, so here’s a list of items to try. It’s easy to become addicted to Japanese street cuisine!

• Takoyaki

Takoyaki are golden fried batter balls stuffed with octopus, tenkasu (tempura scraps), beni shoga (pickled ginger), and spring onions. The dough balls are fried in special cast-iron pans. You can watch as takoyaki merchants masterfully turn the balls with chopsticks at a rapid rate. Cooked takoyaki is served steam hot, somewhat crunchy on the outside and mushy on the interior, with Japanese mayonnaise, a savoury brown sauce similar to Worcestershire, aonori (dried seaweed), and katsuobushi (dried bonito fish flakes).

Takoyaki is frequently served with katsuobushi fish shavings and a drizzle of special sauce (similar to Worcestershire sauce). It’s crunchy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside, making it ideal for an afternoon snack or a beer.

Takoyaki costs 400 to 600 yen on average, and it can be found on practically every corner and street in Tokyo. Go to Gindaco if you want to try one of Tokyo’s most popular takoyaki chains.

Takoyaki is delicious and addictive, but be careful not to burn your mouth.

• Yakitori

Sunagimo (chicken gizzard), nankotsu (cartilage), and reba (chicken liver) are some of the more adventurous options (liver). These delectable chicken skewers can be found at market street food stalls as well as izakaya across the country.

• Yakisoba

Stir-fried noodles with pig pieces and veggies like cabbage, onions, and carrots. It’s then covered with fish flakes, seaweed flakes, and pickled ginger before being drenched in sauce.

Try yakisoba-pan (yakisoba bread), a bun stuffed with delicious stir-fried noodles, if you enjoy carbs on carbs. The average cost of yakisoba is 350 to 700 yen, and it is offered by street food sellers all around Japan.

• Yaki Tomorokoshi

Corn (tomorokoshi in Japanese) is commonly found on pizzas, bread, and pasta in Japan, much to the astonishment of most international visitors. Cobs on a stick are frequently seen being grilled by street vendors at festivals when they are in season.

• Yaki Imo

• Crepe

• Dango

Dango is created from sweet glutinous rice flour and water in its most basic form. The dough is formed into spherical balls, which are then boiled until they are done. The cooked dango is chilled in cold water before being skewered and grilled, basted, and garnished. Different types of dango are popular at different times of the year, but Mitarashi Dango is consumed all year. Mitarashi Dango is reported to have originated in Kyoto’s Kamo Mitarashi Tea House and consists of five white dumplings impaled on bamboo sticks and served with a sticky sweet soy sauce glaze.

Hanami dango (three-colored dango), kinako dango (dusted with toasted soy flour), and anko dango are all popular forms of dango (covered with red bean paste).

Some forms of dango are typically served with green tea, depending on the coating. They’re also popular as a dessert or snack, as well as food for festivals.

• Imagawayaki

The batter, composed of flour, eggs, sugar, and water, is mixed up to a creamy consistency. Then poured into a metal mould and stuffed with either a sweet or savoury filling, depending on the type of filling. Imagawayaki is filled with delicious, scarlet adzuki bean paste and baked in circular moulds. Some historic bakeries have come up with their own variations of the original, including a chocolate-covered pastry for the summer!

Imagawayaki is also known as taiko-manju in the Kansai region and is named after an Edo-era bridge in Tokyo where they were first sold.

Imagawayaki is one of the first desserts to sample in Japan for people with a sweet tooth. There are savoury variations as well, including ones loaded with meat, potatoes, curry, or cheese, making this a street food snack that you’ll never grow tired of ordering.

• Taiyaki

Imagawayaki, which are thick round cakes filled with sweet azuki bean paste or custard, are comparable to taiyaki.

• Senbei

Traditional Japanese senbei come in a variety of styles. They are sometimes sweetened and can be baked or deep-fried. Wheat flour or starch can be substituted for rice. Some types, such as sakana senbei (fish senbei), renkon senbei (lotus root senbei), and hone senbei, use foods other than grains (bone-senbei).

Senbei variations today are quite creative, and flavourings can range from kimchi to wasabi to curry to chocolate.

Senbei from Kansai are made with sticky rice, are gently seasoned, and have a delicate texture (saku saku). Kanto senbei were initially made with uruchimai, a non-glutinous rice, and they are crispier (kari kari) and have a stronger flavour.

• Okonomiyaki

Layers of crepe-like batter, cabbage, beef, egg. And other ingredients are stacked one on top of the other in Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. The Osaka-style okonomiyaki is an all-in-one dish made with vegetables, pork or seafood, eggs, and tempura leftovers in a batter.

okonomiyaki, which translates to “grilled to your liking,” is a versatile vehicle for a variety of fillings and add-ins. Okonomiyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise, katsuobushi (dried fish shavings), and aonori are among the toppings (dried seaweed flakes).

• Choco Banana

There’s not much to say about this one, but a chocolate-covered banana can’t go wrong.

 So there you have it: Japanese street food is a terrific introduction to the cuisine of a country known for its cuisine. It’s variety, excellent, and economical.

The list of delicious Japanese delicacies to try is vast. But here are the top Japanese street foods you must taste when visiting Japan. From the sweet Japanese dumpling mitarashi dango to the renowned savoury pancakes served “how you like it.”. However, there is a lot more street food to taste than what’s on this list. Get out there and explore the world of Japan’s tastiest meals for yourself. Find a festival or yatai, get a bite to eat and a drink to go, and you’ll soon be feeling like a native.