An offshoot of his restaurants is the growing demand for his 'Taj Mahal' catering services, with clients including the Japanese defence forces on special occasions.

In tribute to his iconic India brand, the forces built a giant Taj Mahal at the snow festival here out of large blocks of ice and powered snow. Sapporo is said to get more snow than any city in the world.

"I have been very lucky," Mansukhani said. "Almost all Indian ambassadors posted in Tokyo have visited my restaurants here and former ambassador Prakash Shah even made me an honorary consul to promote India and its tourism.

"I'm proud to be an Indian here," says he. He retains his Indian passport but has permanent resident status in Japan.

He estimates his total business in catering and real estate to be around $15 million. One of the reasons for his success here, he says, is because he has been able to customise his food to the local palate, evidenced by the steady stream of Japanese diners at his restaurants.

"The Japanese love curry - but it has to be mild and without too much pungent spices," says he.

He is contented with his business, is not planning too much diversification - "unless it is adventurous" - and has settled down to a second marriage with a Sindhi woman after his first wife decided to settle down in the U.S., where his three daughters also live.