HAKUI, Japan -- Miho Fujita was visiting her mother in Tokyo when a massive 7.6-magnitude earthquake hit Ishikawa prefecture's Noto Peninsula on Jan. 1, 2024. As the tremors rattled the capital, Fujita's thoughts turned to her staff at Mioya Shuzo, the sake brewery she has poured her soul into for the past 20 years.
Unable to return immediately due to bullet train disruptions caused by the quake, Fujita relied on phone updates from Toshiaki Yokomichi, her toji, or master brewer. The news that many bottles had shattered in the quake made her anxious to get back and assess the damage.
