Rikuzentakata sake production resumes at new brewery
RIKUZENTAKATA —
Overcoming various difficulties caused by the catastrophic disaster on March 11, 2011, Suisen, a 200-year-old sake brewery in Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture, is now coming back to normal operations in the neighboring city of Ofunato, together with the famous sake brand “Yukikko.”
Several months after the earthquake, Suisen restarted its operation at a rented brewery facility in Ichinoseki City, which is over 60 km away from Rikuzentakata. The reopening was made possible due to a national government subsidy to complete the 5-month construction of a new “sakagura” (sake brewery).
Yasuaki Kaneno, president of Suisen, says, “Though we could restart the business, we will need a while to get back to full operation. Many things such as new machine setup, adjustments and staff training are still left undone.” Nevertheless, the reopening made it easier for Suisen employees to commute compared with a long ride to get to the Ichinoseki brewery.
In addition to Yukikko, Suisen plans to increase its production to cover 70% of sake lineups that Suisen used to brew before the earthquake.
Suisen plans to move its headquarters, warehouses and other facilities back to its home town to continue to be a Rikuzentakata-based sake brewer.
“Time has passed so fast for the last one and half years. Thanks to many people for their great support, we now have this superb brewery,” Kaneno said.
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4 Comments
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1
T-Mack
I can't have my sushi with out hot sake, I am glad to read about this, what dosen't kill us, only make's us stronger...Good Luck to the "Superb Sakagura" .... Kampai...!!!
-2
hereforever
Great. People need their sake. Forget those in shelters! Nice to see the government has their priorities straight.
2
Brainiac
hereforever
The rebuilding of a sake brewery and therefore restoring jobs is a top priority, and takes people out of shelters. It is a good move. I am pleased to see that many organizations are doing this. Many chambers of commerce, for example, are helping small businesses get back on their feet in just this way.
0
Fadamor
Pfft! How long are those people in shelters supposed to stay there before you start getting their businesses back in operation? Also, it's not like when the brewery subsidy was issued, support for the shelters stopped. I've kind of become disgusted with the whole "You can't spend ANY money on X until my pet cause has been taken care of" attitude.
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