Five Japan Airlines jets lined up yesterday at Honolulu International Airport -a sign that Hawai'i is enjoying a resurgence in visitors from Japan this week.

The occasion was dubbed, "Silver Week," a confluence of three Japanese national holidays that combined with the weekend to give workers five days off and boost the number of Japanese visitors.

While normal daily arrivals from Japan recently have averaged about 2,500 to 3,000, this past week that doubled and tripled to 6,500 to 7,500, according to the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism.

"It's a long time since we've seen these kind of numbers," said Hawai'i Tourism Authority vice president David Uchiyama, who just returned from a week in Japan.

Uchiyama and other tourism officials have been cautiously optimistic about a recovery in Japanese visitors that began in April but then plummeted in May with swine flu fears.

Other factors that have helped are the strength of the Japanese yen against the dollar, modest fuel surcharges and a favorable reaction to the new Japanese government.

"Silver Week" is a play on the "Golden Week" holidays that occur in late April and early May, with another national holiday grouping that encourages Japanese visitors to travel.

Uchiyama said the number of visitors hasn't been this high since the boom time of 2005.

Uchiyama said he and HTA chairman Mike McCartney found high interest in travel to the Islands as well as an opportunity to expand with more flights from northern and southern parts of Japan, once served by direct flights.

"We're starting to see that recovery take hold," Uchiyama said.