nighttime soba vendor; night-hawk soba
Historical term for a mobile soba noodle vendor who walked around at night, or the noodles sold by such a vendor. The name comes from the nightjar bird (夜鷹), which is active at night.
In the Edo period, stalls selling night-hawk soba went around the streets at night.
The term 'yotaka soba' is hardly used nowadays.
屋台そば refers to soba sold from a stall in general, not specifically at night or by a walking vendor.
夜鳴きそば is a similar historical term for nighttime soba vendors, literally 'night-crying soba', often used interchangeably with 夜鷹そば.
Common mixed-kanji spelling.
Full-kanji spelling; 蕎麦 is the kanji for soba noodles.
Compound of 夜鷹 (yotaka, 'nightjar') + そば (soba, 'buckwheat noodles'). The vendor was likened to the nightjar bird because both are active at night.