Many Tokyoites counted themselves lucky when the March 11 quake left their homes largely intact, except, perhaps, for the odd broken glass. But while the damage was of course far more grave in the northeast, this wine writer would like to spare a thought for those in the hospitality business, whose stock in trade is in fragile glass bottles and tableware. These are among the many thousands of Japanese businesses that face difficult months ahead.
When Kunio Naito, managing director of Cave de Relax in Shinbashi, Tokyo, initially heard the first reports of the damage to his stock, he feared the worst. "At my warehouse in Yokohama, my staff informed me that about 2,000 cases of wine were damaged," he tells me. "However, I checked the damage myself and found only fewer than 10 percent were broken."
Though many labels and boxes were damaged, he adds, 90 percent of his stock was thankfully left unharmed.