When Jingyan Hou made her first trip to Japan in 1997, the office worker from Beijing spent ¥200,000 during a weeklong stay on accommodations, meals, transport and souvenirs.
On her second visit this year, she spent that much on just one Louis Vuitton handbag in Tokyo's Ginza shopping district.
The increasing wealth of travelers like Hou, 45, underscores the opportunity for Japan to expand its tourism industry as China's burgeoning middle class goes on vacations abroad.