During the pandemic, fourth-generation sake brewer Akira Sasaki realized that, despite having worked at his family business for over 25 years, he had rarely had a chance to see the faces of the customers drinking the sake he made.
His brewery, Sasaki Shuzo, which has been in operation in the heart of Kyoto since 1893 when his great-grandfather started the business, had mainly been selling their products to wholesalers and stores that served their product.
But with restrictions implemented during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a ban on serving alcohol at restaurants, retailers weren’t buying their sake, causing his business to suffer.
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