When the Kinoya fish processing company in Ishinomaki opened its brand new flagship factory last month, it gave employees a ray of hope that it would recover from the 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that destroyed much of the city.

Like many of the 200 fish processors built near the port, tsunami destroyed all of Kinoya's facilities. But there was a silver lining: The brand became more famous after about 1,000 volunteers salvaged and cleaned a half million cans of Kinoya mackerel left over in its crippled storage facilities.

And its signature canned whale meat, made by the company for the past 50 years, became a coveted item after its 11-meter-high whale can monument was toppled by the waves. Demand for the meat has spiked 50 percent since the quake.