Customers lined up for a bowl of "gyudon" beef on rice at Yoshinoya D&C Co. outlets Tuesday, a day before it stops serving the dish at most shops due to the import ban on U.S. beef.
At a Yoshinoya outlet in Yurakucho, Tokyo, more than 50 people were in line shortly after midday. All 60 seats inside had been occupied since shortly after 11 a.m.
"I used to eat it when I was in a hurry since I was a student," said Nobukatsu Tanaka, 46, an employee at a chemical company. "Today is the last day to eat it."
"It's very delicious," said Miki Kanamori, a 22-year-old company employee. "I look forward to the day when I can eat it again."
Yoshinoya, which uses U.S. beef in 99 percent of its gyudon dishes, said it will stop serving the dish at most of its roughly 1,000 outlets beginning Wednesday.
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