Kongobu-ji Temple, Mount Koya. Photo provided to China Daily

Dai notices that Chinese visitors are more interested in detailed, independent tours of single cities including Osaka, Tokyo and Kyushu. Less-crowded destinations such as Lagoshima, Okinawa and Nagasaki are attracting more Chinese visitors. There is also a rising number of repeat Chinese visitors to Japan.

"I'm amazed that Tokyo is so beautiful and clean, with well-designed architecture. The Japanese are very hospitable and polite, including strangers, hotel waiters and waitresses, and cosmetics sales staff," says Zhang Ning, 30, from Shanghai. She visited Tokyo in January and plans to visit Japan again.

According to Dai, most Chinese travelers to Japan in the past few years were middle class people aged between 30 and 40. Nowadays the age groups are diverse, and the proportion of university students and the elderly is rising.

"Many Chinese customers join traditional group tours, especially the itineraries between Tokyo and Osaka. It's like taking a bus, with fixed itineraries. Some choose the more expensive customized tours, and they can decide the itineraries just like taking a taxi," says Wang Guangxin, 33. He is in charge of the outbound and inbound tours of the Tokyo office of Nagoya-based Caravan Tour Co. He has lived in Japan for nine years.

According to Wang, Chinese visitors like to go shopping, dress up in kimonos and they enjoy tea ceremonies, kabuki performances and delicious food. The number of those who come to ski in winter is increasing.