MEXICO CITY - A JAPANESE tourist who spent three months living in Mexico City's airport has returned home.

Airport spokesman Victor Mejia said Hiroshi Nohara left on Monday on a flight for Japan via San Francisco.

Mr Nohara arrived in Mexico City on Sept 2 and spent the next three months at a food court in Terminal 1 of Benito Juarez International Airport.

His residency there made him a local celebrity and Mexican news programmes ran regular updates on his life.

Mr Nohara left the airport on Dec 31 to stay with a woman who invited him to her Mexico City apartment.

But Reforma newspaper reported that Mr Nohara returned to the airport on Sunday carrying three plastic bags with his clothes and blankets.

He declined to speak to reporters. -- AP