More restaurants in Japan allow customers to pay extra to avoid queues
SuiSui was used at 104 outlets in 20 Japanese prefectures as of September 18, with priority-entry fees generally between 500 and 2,000 yen.
- A growing number of restaurants in Japan are offering a paid "fast pass" service, allowing customers to pay a fee to avoid long queues, which can exceed two hours at popular spots.
- The service is particularly popular with tourists, who want to save time for sightseeing, and younger Japanese people, who prioritize using their time efficiently, a concept known as "time performance".
- Prices for the queue-skipping service, often accessed via a smartphone QR code, typically range from 500 to 4,000 yen depending on the restaurant's demand.
- The trend is expanding, with one service provider, SuiSui, already partnering with over 100 restaurants in city centers and tourist destinations across 20 prefectures.
A couple paid 4,000 yen each to go ahead of the queue at Kyoto Kamosoba Den, a soba restaurant in Kyoto, western Japan, where weekend and holiday waits exceed two hours.
More restaurants in Japan are offering paid fast passes, an option particularly popular with young people and tourists.
Tourists have accounted for most of Kyoto Kamosoba Den’s SuiSui customers since the restaurant began using the service in June 2024.
“People seem to appreciate the service because it allows them to finish dining early and use the spare time to visit tourist spots,” said Hideyuki Shibata, 45, head of the restaurant’s operator.
For younger generations, paying to avoid a queue reflects a strong preference for “time performance”, or using time effectively, according to Yutaka Suzuki.
Suzuki is a researcher at the Distribution Economics Institute of Japan, which studies consumer behaviour.
“I can't get my time back, but I can make up for the 500 yen pretty quickly,” said Yusuke Takenouchi, explaining his use of a restaurant fast pass.
The 29-year-old company employee is from Tokyo’s Taito Ward.
Takenouchi said he liked being able to avoid the queue and had used the service more than 10 times.
For an after-work visit to Butayama with a friend, he used a 500-yen pass to “make effective use of the time after dining”.
Customers use SuiSui about six times on an average weekday at the Butayama ramen branch, where waits at lunch and dinner can last from 30 minutes to an hour.
Located in an underground shopping street with a direct connection to Tokyo Station, the restaurant began offering the service in December 2023.
“As fast pass services become better known, people other than the younger generation may also start using them,” Suzuki said, also identifying art museums and other facilities with long waits as places where such services could spread.
SuiSui’s operator reported 104 participating outlets in 20 Japanese prefectures as of September 18.
The operator said the service was mainly used by restaurants in city centres and tourist destinations where queues often form.
SuiSui prices change with how busy a restaurant is and differ between outlets, although 500 to 2,000 yen is the usual range.
To buy a ticket in advance for priority entry, diners scan a quick response (QR) code outside the restaurant using their smartphones.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
