Hokkaido’s cold-climate and abundant forests has produced companies specialized in making wood-burning stoves. Production is at its peak in Japan’s northernmost prefecture.
The stoves have found a market nationwide because they function after a disaster has knocked out power for heating.
A factory in Hakodate City has been making the stoves for more than 70 years and is getting ready for winter shipments.
Workers use hammers to shape metal plates so they can be assembled into a stove.
“We are working hard to make the stoves so that customers can stay warm in winter,” says Takagishi Masahiro at the company.
The factory plans to produce about 18,000 stoves by the end of this year and ship them to home improvement centers and other retailers nationwide.
AloJapan.com