SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Yuichi Sakamoto is spending cold nights under the northern lights while earning enough to cross pan-American destinations off his bucket-list.

Yuichi Sakamoto said he came to Yellowknife to begin a bucket-list mission to learn English, earn money and explore North America early last summer. -

The 29-year-old moved from his home ­ Hokkaido Island in Japan ­ at the beginning last June and landed in Vancouver. After a couple of months learning the basics he needed to converse in English he found steady work in Yellowknife. He said he isn't bothered by cold weather so long as he's studying English and saving cash to help him continue a sight-seeing tour from South America to Eastern Canada and the U.S.

"This summer maybe I will leave here for Eastern Canada ­ maybe South America," Sakamoto said at his place of work ­ Javaroma Cafe ­ on Sunday. "Then Boston, Chicago, New York and maybe I'll drop by Hawaii before I go back to Japan."

Sakamoto said he's surprised by the "crazy people" he's met in the city and isn't lonely. The city is flush with Japanese nationals who have found work at the Explorer Hotel, the Days Inn, Javaroma and more, he said.

"There are lots of Japanese," he said, adding that the others have similar goals ­ to speak English and see the continent. The chance to make money and see the wild landscapes and auroras are what draws them to the city, he said.

"People I know in Japan want to see the Northern lights so maybe they envy me," said Sakamoto. Kei Horinouchi, a 27-yearold who moved to Toronto from Osaka, Japan about three months ago has been in Yellowknife for three weeks to take a job at Sushi North. Horinouchi said he moved to Canada to be close to his favourite sports franchises ­ the Toronto Raptors and Blue Jays ­ but is thousands of kilometres away from them now because he wanted to live surrounded by natural beauty.

"I really like it here," he said. Horinouchi said the temperatures could be warmer, but overall he likes the weather in the North and loves to see the northern lights. He said he plans to stay in the country for about five years and he too hopes to visit South America before returning to Japan.

Both Horinouchi and Sakamoto said they keep in touch with their families in Japan.

"I don't think they miss me," Horinouchi said, adding that family members thought a move to Canada would be a good opportunity. Sakamoto said his family members don't worry about him being so far away, and he keeps in touch with them monthly.

Statistics Canada's census found 25 Japanese speakers living in the city in 2011 ­ with 10 of those speaking the language regularly at home ­ and a further five living elsewhere in the territory, according to the Stats Canada website.

Sakamoto said he's met lots of Japanese tourists since arriving in Yellowknife and that they're often surprised to find fluent Japanese speakers working around town. He said they come here to "spend lots of money and see the northern lights," and that he was surprised to find so many multilingual people living in the city.

"A lot of people can speak two or three languages," he said.

"I didn't expect that."