When a dozen Americans visited Beppu, Oita Prefecture, in early October they weren't heading for the city's renowned hot springs.

They were on an art collectors tour sponsored by a U.S. gallery to check out an exhibition of works by the prefecture's bamboo craft artists.

A number of works at the international conference hall were sold, fetching prices ranging "around ¥500,000 to ¥1.2 million," according to an exhibition organizer.