Most homes and businesses in Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture, lost their water supply due to the New Year's Day earthquake. It is not expected to be fully restored until April of this year.
Facing this situation, a hair salon in Ikoma Town hit on drawing water from a nearby well in order to resume offering services, such as haircuts and shampooing.
Ito Noboru, the owner, filled containers with well water early in the morning on January 23 and transported them to his salon.
Ito then heated the water in an electric kettle before rinsing customers' hair. He used a shower device made for nursing care and outdoor activities.
A local resident in her 80s said, "Having my hair washed made me feel refreshed and rejuvenated."
"We want to get back to normal as soon as possible, but in the meantime, we want to bring smiles to our customers while coming up with ways to help as much as we can," said Ito.
"We want to be a place that lights up the community, even just a little, amid this tragic situation."
