Yukiko Saito spent three days in Seoul loading up on cosmetics last month because she has little confidence the yen's rally to a record against the South Korean won will continue.
"It would be nice if the yen stayed strong, but I'm not sure it will," said Saito, a 24-year-old bank clerk from Sendai.
Given the won's weakness, she figured the lotions, scents and spa treatments she bought cost almost half as much as at home, a bargain that "might not last another year."