"They're coming in the winter, which has traditionally been a very, very slow season for tourism in the North," Stoneman said.

Aside from Americans, the Japanese would rival for the largest group of foreign visitors to the North and would "definitely" comprise the fastest-growing segment, said Stoneman.

Dog sleds and Northern food, particularly arctic char, are also big hits for the Japanese, according to Seiji Suzuki, who runs Canadian X Tours with his brother, Shoko.

Suzuki said Canadian X arranges tours for close to 800 Japanese tourists each year. That number has been climbing since the operation was established five years ago. The majority of his Japanese clients are 22 to 30 years old and come from North America, primarily Toronto and Vancouver, Suzuki said.

"It's a lot of fun," he said of his business. "I really enjoy it, too."

Bob Tait, owner of Raven Tours, another major host for Japanese visiting Yellowknife, declined to comment on the matter.

Regardless of their reasons for coming, Japanese tourists are a boon to the economy.

"They're wonderful," Stoneman said. "They eat in restaurants, they stay in hotels, they use the services of tour operates, etc. And their average per-person expenditure is relatively high."

Suzuki often brings his hungry tourists to Bullock's Bistro. Sam and Renata Bullock have menus printed in Japanese, remain open on Christmas and New Year's Day because many Japanese don't observe those holidays and prepare sushi and sushimi for the traditionalists in the crowd.

There has been some talk about town of an official Japanese Week, but no such proclamation has been made by the Yellowknife council, according to economic development officer Peter Neugebauer. However, he said he expects such efforts would be supported by the city.