Japan Foreign Tourist Spending Up 64.4% In January-March

Above, Nakamise Street in Asakusa, Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

2015 is looking to become another banner year for Japan tourist spending, according to a report from Kyodo News.

They reported:

Spending by foreign travelers in Japan in the January-March period hit a record 706.6 billion yen ($5.95 billion), up 64.4 percent from a year earlier, the government said Thursday. 

The Japan Tourism Agency attributed the rise in spending on shopping, hotels, food and drink and transportation among other items mainly to strong consumption by tourists from China during the Chinese Lunar New Year holidays in February. A weaker yen also made Japanese products cheaper in local currency terms.

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