Roughly 6000 people remain in temporary evacuation shelters ever since the Noto Earthquake on January 1st upended life for so many. And while the recovery is long and arduous, many are doing what they can to return to normal and that includes the many local businesses in the Noto community. Authorities are still discouraging travel to the Noto region (but other cities like Kanazawa are open for business!) but in this day and age, many business have their online shops up and running. Below are a few that you can support.
Obviously this is not a complete list so if you know of any others, please leave them in the comments!
Wajima Kirimoto
Wajima Kirimoto is a family-run business that has been specializing in wood and urushi lacquerware products for over 200 years. Now in its 7th generation, the prestigious brand is known for its simple yet beautiful products that emphasize meticulous wood work.
The company explains that, while all their staff are safe, many of their homes and studios have been destroyed so they had to suspend online sales. They have since resumed operations in the form of taking pre-orders for certain products but ask customers to expect delayed turnaround times.
Noto Wine
Not to be confused with the sub-region of Italy, Noto Wine is Ishikawa’s first winery, founded in 2004. Its vineyards are spread among the rolling hills of the town of Anamizu, drawing on fertile soil enhanced with oyster shells from the nearby bay.
In a blog post the company reported that all their staff are safe and that their winery is still standing but there was significant damage. They will happily accept orders but ask customers to be patient as deliveries are expected to be delayed.
Kazuma Sake Brewery
Kazuma Sake Brewery has been making sake with only local Noto ingredients for over 150 years. The brewery sits on a quiet street between rising green hills and the blue waters of the coastline. Kazuma uses locally grown rice, local water and locally developed techniques for sake that could only come from their home in the Noto Peninsula.
In a blog post the company reports that all staff and families are safe but that operations were halted. They temporarily closed their online shop but expect to re-open and begin taking orders in the coming days so check back!
Noto Style Online Shop
Noto Style is an e-commerce business that partners with micro producers to ship local Noto specialties all over Japan. Their collection includes everything from salt and gin to raw oysters. Their interface is only in Japanese but they’ve created a special page of products from producers who are up and running.
Kaneyo Soy Sauce
Kaneyo Soy Sauce is a family-run business that has been making soy sauce in Noto since 1920. They’re known for their amakuchi sweet soy sauce, which has evolved over time to go perfectly with fatty yellowtail, as well as other seafood, all of which are abundantly caught in the rough waves of the Sea of Japan.
Hiramiyuki Farm
Hiramiyuki Farm is a Noto-based blueberry farm that makes blueberry based products like jams and vinegars with minimal additives like sugar.
Many thanks to my old friend and local resident Shin Tajiri for helping put together this list.
January 22, 2024 at 12:21 am
I’d like to know places that is possible to support internationally. The hardest thing I find is to get products from Japan that I’m interested in because the website is in Japanese or they don’t ship internationally.
January 24, 2024 at 8:10 am
Use a proxy shipping service
February 3, 2024 at 9:46 am
Since my last stay in Japan, I’ve been diagnosed with Celiac disease, which makes any meaningful amount of soy sauce off limits. Any suggestions for how to deal with this there?