Cruises around Kyushu and the Okinawa islands in southern Japan tripled in 2015 because of visitors from Hong Kong. Now they are being  marketed to mainland Chinese, Aoshima said. Chinese are also visiting smaller villages in Hokkaido, Niigata, Tokushima, and other areas outside the “Golden Triangle” of Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.

Catering to the guests, though, is hitting the hosts.

The weak yen had made overseas travel too expensive for many Japanese. The Japanese who can travel are increasingly heading to the hills to beat the influx of foreigners driving up competition in the traditional tourist areas. Hokuriku, a relatively remote region 300 miles west of Tokyo and across the Japanese Alps, has seen a surge of domestic tourists in the past few years, JATA data shows.

Hiro, a driver for a Kyoto-based chauffeured tour company, has already noticed the difference. Brushing up on his English during a break from his normal 10-hour driving day, he said work has been increasing with all the inbound travel. His company is hiring 50 people fresh out of college to help show tourists around Kyoto and is focusing on drivers who can speak foreign languages, including the hiring of a Chinese driver and chauffeurs who can speak Korean.

A less booming business? Carting around Japanese.

“They can’t book hotels,” he said. “They’re totally packed.”

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