The Japan Tourism Agency says the number of guests at hotels and inns in Japan during March reached a record high for the month.



The preliminary figure for guests at accommodations in March was 56.97 million, a year-on-year increase of 3.4 percent.



Foreign guests totaled 15.04 million, up 15.9 percent, while Japanese guests fell 0.5 percent to 41.93 million.



Agency officials say the fact that more people from overseas visited Japan in March to see the cherry blossoms might explain the increase.



They say foreign travelers have been on the rise, so the number of guests at accommodation facilities is also expected to grow.