JAPAN BIZ: Paid line-skipping services at restaurants catch on among "taipa" customers

Priority services that allow customers to pay fees to skip lines at popular restaurants are attracting attention among customers looking for "taipa," short for time performance.Such a line-skipping service is available in Tokyo Ramen Yokocho, a ramen food hall near Tokyo Station, through a mobile system called SuiSui. Customers scan QR codes on smartphones at ramen shops to buy tickets to bypass lines."It comes in handy for people who have something planned right after eating, such as catching a shinkansen bullet train," an official of the operator of Tokyo Ramen Yokocho said. Tokyo Station…READ FULL ARTICLE