RIKUZENTAKATA, Iwate Prefecture -- A bay off Rikuzentakata, an Iwate Prefecture city severely damaged by the 2001 tsunami, has debuted as an undersea "cellar" for aging sake and wine.
Bottles of locally produced sake and wine were pulled up from the waters in Hirota Bay on Saturday for the first time since they were placed undersea for aging.
Small swings generated by the undersea current are believed to accelerate the process of maturing the wine and sake, giving them appealing mellow flavors.
Burari Kesen, a local firm promoting projects to attract more tourists to the area that was severely damaged by the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, placed the bottles at 10 meters below the surface of the sea in May.
On Saturday, fisherman Manabu Sasaki used a rope to pull the bottles up onto a raft used for oyster farming. The 48 bottles included some completely covered with barnacles, drawing a cheer from visitors.
In a bid to overcome the damage from the calamity, Burari Kesen has been making efforts to promote the undersea maturation of alcoholic beverages using a raft for oyster farming. It will also plan activities such as a sightseeing tour featuring the undersea aging project.
"I hope to reinvigorate the area," Sasaki, 35, said.
The sake and wine aged undersea will be offered at restaurants and hotels in the city from next month. Events to introduce the sake and wine from undersea maturation are scheduled to be held in Tokyo and Morioka in November.
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