More restaurants, clinics in Japan offering system of paying for priority entry

A growing number of restaurants and clinics in Japan have introduced a reserved ticketing system that allows customers to gain priority entry through paying an extra fee.

Such a system aligns with the recent social trend of valuing time efficiency – or taipa in Japanese – in which they are willing to pay extra to reduce wait times.



The system helps improve services and is also profitable for providers, creating a win-win situation both for vendors and consumers.



A line formed outside Aidaya, a ramen shop in Taito Ward, Tokyo, in the early afternoon of mid-July as word spread on social media about its tsukemen dipping noodles and wagyu sirloin rice bowl.



The nine-seat counter area is often full on both weekdays and weekends, and customers sometimes wait 1½ hours to be seated during peak hours, the shop said.



Aidaya has introduced SuiSui, a reserved ticketing system designed for restaurants, in which customers get priority entry by paying a fee separate from the meal cost.