This year's Beaujolais Nouveau wine has hit store shelves across Japan. Retailers and importers have beefed up sales efforts as they expect higher demand this season. It is the first since the country eased COVID-19 restrictions.
The wine, made from grapes harvested in France's Beaujolais region, goes on sale worldwide on the third Thursday of November.
A shop inside major department store Takashimaya in Yokohama set up a section dedicated to the wine. It has prepared 15 percent more bottles and twice as many types as last year.
Staff say the price is about 6 percent on average lower, thanks to a decline in transport costs.
A female customer said that tomorrow is her husband's birthday and almost every year they buy a bottle to celebrate and drink together.
One store official said that people are partying more since the country came out of the pandemic. He said he hopes everyone will enjoy this year's Beaujolais Nouveau.