Queuing for food in Tokyo Japan

食事のための行列

Queue for a restaurant, Shibuya Mark City, Tokyo

Anyone who knows anything about Japan will know that it is a nation of foodies. Anything gourmet-related in Japan is bound to excite interest, and it would be very unusual indeed if you were to flick through the TV channels and not find at least a couple of scenes of people chowing down on something and exclaiming "Oishii!" ("Delicious!").

The Japanese preoccupation with food means that people are willing to put up with a lot in order to get their teeth into something new and that promises to be good - as evidenced by the commotion that heralded the advent of Krispy Kreme in Tokyo.

Inside Shibuya Mark City, Tokyo

Further evidence of the lengths Japanese people go to to avail themselves of something oishii was on display today when walking through the very hip Shibuya Mark City shopping center. This incredibly long queue (see photo at top) had formed outside the main store of a sushi chain called Umegaoka Sushi no Midori.

Entrance to Umegaoka Sushi no Midori, Shibuya Mark City, Tokyo

I assumed Umegaoka Sushi no Midori must be new as I walked on past, but, looking it up online, it seems to be an established presence, meaning that it is a sushi restaurant that has clearly earned itself a formidable reputation. Nevertheless, no matter how good the sushi, where else on earth would you see a queue of people who, at its end, would be facing a wait of at least 45 minutes - perhaps even an hour or more - to get a seat?

Umegaoka Sushi no Midori main store, Shibuya Mark City, Tokyo

Read more about Shibuya shopping.

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