Morino-san is on his fifth visit to Tenterfield. As an avid stargazer, he said the area was so good for viewing stars that he had brought a friend with him on this most recent stopover.

He and his friend Norihito Shimizu, also a keen stargazer, hail from Takasaki City in the Gunma Precinct about 100km north of Tokyo.

Morino-san said he was so impressed with the area that he wanted to bring Shimizu-san, a volunteer at the Gunma Astronomical Observatory, along with him this time.

"It is a very great area for stargazing. The night skies are very clear and the stars are very bright," Morino-san said.

"And the wine is very good, too," he added.

It is the first time Shimizu-san has visited Australia. He and Morino-san are staying at the Twinstar Guesthouse and Observatory at Ballandean, the owners of which must now be used to Morino-san since he stays there every time he visits.

The men count the climb at Bald Rock - which Morino-san has now done three times - as one of the highlights of the trip.

"It's a very big, wonderful land and a beautiful site," Shimizu-san said. "I will talk to my friends [in Japan] about it."

Morino-san is already planning his next trip back to the Twinstar bed and breakfast and Tenterfield for August or September this year. He said he tries to come to the area at least twice a year.

Tenterfield Tourism Manager Patti Ainsworth said about 10 per cent of the tourists who visit the information centre were international travellers mostly from Germany, so it was good to see Japanese tourists making the effort to return to the local area.

"I've seen Takumi here a few times now, so we must be doing something right," she said.