Shannon Walker, of Tourism New Zealand's Tokyo office, said Nippon TV's coverage of the France v Japan match on September 10 was seen by four to five million people. He expected a similar audience for tomorrow's match in Whangarei.
The footage shot in the Hokianga on Sunday could run as a "colour story" before the match or as a straight news item.
Mr Roberts said Northland promotion in Japan was built around Tane Mahuta and a "sister trees" relationship linking the Waipoua giant with a Japanese cedar, Jomon Sugi.
Japanese visitor numbers had fallen during the recession but had started to pick up until the Christchurch and Japanese earthquakes and tsunami.
He hoped the Rugby World Cup would revive Japanese tourist arrivals over summer.
Other dignitaries at the welcome included Far North Mayor Wayne Brown and Kaipara Mayor Neil Tiller. Mr Brown prompted nodding and clapping from the visitors by launching his speech in Japanese.
He presented the team with a rugby ball carved from 45,000-year-old swamp kauri by Kerikeri man Davey Briggs.
The Japanese team flew to the Bay of Islands from Hamilton on Saturday and spent three nights at Waitangi, with an open training session in Kerikeri yesterday. They travel to Whangarei today.
