Christchurch is known for its beautiful parks and gardens, English heritage and access to adventure sports, but there's another reason to join the 96,000 Japanese who visited the largest city on the South Island of New Zealand last year. If you're unhappy wearing glasses or contact lenses, it's also home to two clinics offering laser correction of shortsightedness, longsightedness and astigmatism. It's even feasible to work the operation into a holiday for less than the cost of having the surgery done locally.

Laser-assisted in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK) surgery has been available in the city since 1995 but only gained the approval of Japan's health ministry last year. It is currently performed by Dr. Ian Dallison at the Laservision Eye Clinic and by Dr. David Kent at the Fendalton Eye Clinic. They have performed over 7,000 operations between them in a field where a surgeon is considered competent after 600.

The procedure involves the creation of a hinged flap in the corneal tissue using a knife called a microkeratome. A laser beam is then applied for up to 90 seconds to remove microscopic amounts of tissue, thereby reshaping the cornea and improving focus. The surgery takes only about 10 minutes.