At the company's store in the upscale Ginza shopping district, dozens of blue-shirted employees counted down the final seconds to 8 a.m. local time when sales began. A phalanx of reporters several rows deep crowded the main door as the first of over 400 shoppers streamed inside to buy the device, which is priced at ¥42,800 (US$515) for the cheapest model.

[Watch a video of the scene .]

Since the iPad 2 went on sale here in April of last year, dozens of rival tablets have launched, some by big-name Japanese companies like Sony and Toshiba. But none of these come close to generating the buzz - or sales - of the iPad, even in its third iteration.

Ryo Watanabe, a 19-year-old university student, said he lined up 36 hours before the device went on sale so he could be the first to buy it at the Ginza store. He talked to reporters as he cradled his new 16GB Wi-Fi model, still in the box.

"It's not that I like Apple itself so much, it's just that Apple makes good products, so I choose them," he said.