A group of 95 Chinese arrived at Narita airport on Wednesday for a nine-day tour of Japan, the first package tour from China authorized by the Japanese government.
Several dozen people with Chinese flags and banners were at the airport to welcome the tourists.
Until recently, Japan had refused to issue tourist visas to Chinese on the grounds that opening the door to Chinese tourists could lead to a flood of illegal immigrants.
Tokyo relaxed the ban at the beginning of this month after two years of negotiations with China. However, it still imposes strict conditions on Chinese travel agencies organizing the tours.