The recent earthquake in northeast Japan severely affected wide areas centered in the Tohoku area, around Sendai city. Fortunately, Kyoto Prefecture was not damaged by the earthquake and we, at Hibiki-an, are safe. We now do business under normal condition.

We sincerely pray that the damage will not expand further and our hope is that the people damaged by the earthquake will return to everyday life as soon as possible.

Fukushima Power Plant Declared Safe:
The Japanese government declared cold shutdown conditions of the Fukushima nuclear power plant on December 16, 2011. It was proclaimed that the Fukushima nuclear power plant reached safe conditions and the nuclear incident has ended. The Japanese government will now begin lifting caution zones within 20 kilometers (12.5 miles).
On December 16, 2011, IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano issued the following statement.
"The IAEA welcomes the announcement by the Government of Japan that the reactors at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station have achieved a 'cold shutdown condition' and are in a stable state, and that the release of radioactive materials is under control."

Hibiki-an's Location:
We at Hibiki-an continue to do business under normal conditions. Kyoto is approximately 800 kilometers (500 miles) southwest of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant, and in addition, Mt. Fuji and Hida along with other tall mountain ranges lie between Kyoto and Fukushima, therefore the radiation does not reach here in Kyoto and is not detected.
All of our merchandise ships from Kansai Airport near Kyoto.
We are monitoring the situation very closely.

Certification of No Radiation:
To provide our customers with assurance that our teas are not affected by radiation, with help from the Kyoto Tea Industry Cooperative Association, we at Hibiki-an have asked the laboratory to analyze our new tea crop to be harvested May 2022. Below is a picture of the certification that is not affected by radiation.

All of our delivery routes worldwide now work under normal conditions. As usual, all of our merchandise is packed and shipped here in Kyoto and delivered to customers all over the world by international air mail.
The IATA (International Air Transport Association), IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), WHO (World Health Organization) and other United Nations organizations have agreed that air transport operations at Japan's airports are safe, in a statement issued March 19, 2011. According to the IATA, "Safety is our number one priority. If it is not safe, we won't fly. Today's joint statement by the five most authoritative United Nations (UN) organizations on air transport, nuclear energy, shipping, health and weather confirms that it is safe to operate in Japan." (More info, click here)
We are monitoring the situation very closely and will provide you with new information as it becomes available.

(Delivered to every country in Europe without restrictions)
All parcels containing food for commercial purpose bound for EU from Japan are required to have attached the certification issued by Japanese authority according to the EU regulation issued on March 25. All parcels shipped from Hibiki-an are not for commercial purpose but personal use, so they do not require the certification. All of our merchandise is now delivered to each country in the EU under normal conditions.