Evacuees staying at hotels and inns following the 7.6 magnitude earthquake that struck the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture on Jan. 1 face a fast-approaching deadline to find alternative accommodations.
The hotels and inns that have acted as secondary evacuation sites for such people are in a difficult situation, as the planned extension of the Hokuriku Shinkansen high-speed train line from Kanazawa in Ishikawa to Tsuruga in neighboring Fukui Prefecture on March 16 is expected to lead to a surge in bookings.
Meanwhile, it is proving hard for evacuees to find new places to stay, causing widespread concern.