A yen for Japan

Macqueena Fan has been to Japan 15 times. She is a huge fan of the cuisine and every time she goes, she makes sure she indulges in local delicacies like sashimi and Sendai , a type of grilled ox-tongue. But her most recent trip over Easter was extra sweet. With the yen down 26 per cent against the Hong Kong dollar in the past five months, she found her money going much further than usual.

"I didn't really go to shop, but even from just eating out, I could tell I definitely used fewer Hong Kong dollars," says Fan.

Fan is one of many Hongkongers who are taking advantage of a weak yen to visit Japan. It is no Thailand - Tokyo still features at the top of many "world's most expensive cities" lists - but policies implemented this year by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, dubbed "Abenomics", have sent the yen into a tailspin, giving tourists a big discount in the country relative to their home currencies.

Travellers have noticed. The number of visitors to Japan rose by one-third in February compared to last year, making the month the busiest ever in terms of tourist traffic, according to the Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO).

Hongkongers are a big part of the surge. JNTO director Yoshihisa Ogawa says the number of Hongkongers visiting Japan doubled in February compared with last year. Traveller numbers from Taiwan rose 74 per cent in the same period. The only decrease has been among mainland Chinese visitors, largely because of an anti-Japan backlash related to the dispute over the Diaoyu Islands (known in Japan as the Senkaku chain).

Michelle Kwok is one Hongkonger on holiday in Osaka to make the most of the situation.