"It's very interesting and surprising. I have been working for Cartier for eight years, and it is the first time that sales to Japanese tourists surpassed that of Korean customers," said Park Ji-hoon, a manager at the Cartier Maison in Cheongdam-dong, a high fashion district, in Seoul, showing the reporter a sales book for December.

"A total of 150 Japanese tourists visited our shop in December, and snapped up rare items like rings and necklaces that cost W20 to 50 million per item (US$1=W1,340). Some say the biggest beneficiary of the high-flying Japanese yen is not the Japanese, but luxury shops in Cheongdam-dong," said Park.

According to the Korea Economic Daily on Thursday, the boom resulting from the skyrocketing value of Japanese yen against the Korean won has expanded to luxury shops, hair salons and restaurants in Apgujeong-dong and Cheongdam-dong, districts known for luxury shopping. Japanese tourists, who generally shopped for low to mid-priced items in Myeong-dong, are now turning their eyes to Korea's mecca for luxury items.

A large hair salon in Cheongdam-dong is crowded with Japanese tourists who want have their hair done like top Korean actress Choi Ji-woo, affectionately called "Jiwoo Hime" in Japan. A three-hour course comprising perm, hair treatment, scalp massage and full makeup costs W700,000 to W1 million, but Japanese tourists line up and queue for the pampering service. This hair salon has attracted around 20 Japanese tourists every week since October 2008, the Korea Economic Daily reported.

A Louis Vuitton shop in Cheongdam-dong is also often frequented by Japanese tourists looking for rare items that cannot be found in large department stores. A manager of the shop said Japanese tourists account for 80 percent of its customers in recent days.