Chinese customers visit a Japanese tourism promotion event in Beijing in 2014. Photo provided to China Daily

More than 20 voyages to Japan are now offered on Ctrip's website for April and May. Some also make South Korean stops, such as Jeju and Busan.

They cover Japan's Fukuoka, Sasebo and Kagoshima.

Most five-or six-day routes departing from Shanghai cost less than 3,000 yuan ($483).

Japan was China's third-biggest outbound tourist destination last year, after South Korea and Thailand, says Dai Yu, marketing director of Ctrip's tourism department.

More than 2.5 million Chinese traveled to Japan from January to November in 2014, a 51 percent increase over the same period in the previous year, the China National Tourism Administration reports.

Many visit to shop. More than 450,000 Chinese tourists spent nearly 6 billion yuan ($1 billion), Japanese media report.

Individual Chinese travelers spent $2,000 on average last year, up 10.3 percent over the previous year, Chinese media report. Most are concerned about product safety at home.

Many Chinese who take the cruises will shop upon disembarking, China Tourism Academy's International Tourism Development Institute director Jiang Yiyi says.

"Tourists can shop for duty-free goods on board and explore Japan's shopping facilities when they land," Jiang says.

Royal Caribbean, Star Cruises, Oceania Cruises and Chinese operator Taishan are among the operators designated to offer visa-free Japan trips, Ctrip says.

But industry insiders agree that the policy change makes it likely that more cruise liners will soon voyage into the market.

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