Taco Bell Japan Inspires Absurd Lines in Tokyo

Who knew that shrimp-and-avocado burritos and Taco Rice could induce insane, feet-numbing lines? The stunt food sorcerers over at Taco Bell did. The chain opened their first Japan location today in the Shibuya neighborhood of Tokyo and people went nuts. The restaurant opened at 10 a.m., but people were lined up well before then.

A California native who now works as an English teacher in Japan tells the Japan Times that he arrived at 7:30 a.m. so that he could receive a free t-shirt and taco as one of the first 100 customers. Reuters writes that some people "camped overnight" to be one of the first to eat at the stores. Lines quickly reached into the hundreds and stretched out of the store and around the block.

Japan appears to be going crazy for popular American brands opening that open within the country. When cult-loved coffee shop Blue Bottle open in Tokyo in February, avid coffee drinks waited in three hour lines to get into the shop. So if coffee and pseudo-Mexican food can induce such lunatic lines and wait times, Japanese Cronut fans may want to start camping out now for the opening of pastry chef Dominique Ansel's Tokyo outpost. Check out tweets and images from the Taco Bell line below:

Photo: Chris McGrath / Getty Images

Photo: Chris McGrath / Getty Images

150 people waiting for the opening of the first #TacoBell in Japan #TacoBellJapan pic.twitter.com/vDoDtwBUKd

— Axel Riffard (@AxRiff) April 21, 2015

It's begun. #TacoBellJapan pic.twitter.com/UTCTfRjhbT

— Billy Grenham (@BillyGrenham) April 21, 2015

無事ライブ終わりました まだ大行列です pic.twitter.com/tBOXWHgiDi

— YALLA FAMILY (@YALLAFAMILY) April 21, 2015

Hundreds lined up in Shibuya, Tokyo today as @tacobell returns to #Japan. (@ReutersPhotos) pic.twitter.com/CyqTKOdb0w

— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) April 21, 2015

@TacoBellJP queues still out the door. Every domestic news outlet had extensive reports on it too. pic.twitter.com/j57RPUt1Pa

— Gearoid Reidy (@GearoidReidy) April 21, 2015