Support project helps Fukushima ice cream shop operate in Tokyo hotel

An ice cream shop from Fukushima Prefecture is being allowed to temporarily operate in a Tokyo hotel under a project to support areas struck by the March 11 disasters.

Nonfiction writer Michiko Yoshinaga and other people borrowed the space for free from the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa near JR Shinagawa Station and are offering it to survivors of the March 11 disasters.

Yoshinaga says, "There are many people in Tokyo who want to support the disaster-struck areas. I want them to interact with the disaster survivors and put their thoughts into action."

Yoshinaga and her friend, singer Sachiko Kobayashi, earlier visited the disaster area, and wanting to continue their support after returning to Tokyo, discovered that there was empty shop space in the Grand Prince Hotel New Takanawa. They talked with the hotel's management and reached an agreement to borrow the space.

The first to use the area is Shinsaku Katahira, 34, who runs an ice cream shop called "Makiba no Jersey" (Jerseys of the ranch) in Date, Fukushima Prefecture. The store will operate through Aug. 14, and it is already enjoying popularity with customers on their summer breaks.

Makiba no Jersey sells 22 varieties of ice cream using high-fat Jersey milk. The shop has been in business since 1993, using milk from the ranch of Katahira's 65-year-old father Yoshio, and it enjoyed a good reputation for its flavor.

In 2009, Katahira's father collapsed, and Katahira and his younger brother Yusaku, 27, quit their jobs in Tokyo to take over the business. The shop did well under the two brothers, and just when they were planning to expand the business, the March 11 earthquake struck.

There was almost no damage from the earthquake, but because of the disaster at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant about 50 kilometers away, the government on March 21 ordered that shipments of Fukushima milk be stopped. The restriction was lifted about a month later, but the store's customers did not return to their previous levels. Sales during the store's busy times were less than one-third of what they had been before. Learning of the store's plight, Yoshinaga invited them to use the hotel space.

"I was thankful because I was worried about the future," says Katahira.

On Aug. 6, the first day of business at the hotel, the shop sold around 800 orders, and Katahira senses that the shop will do well during its stay.