Hard times and hard drinking don’t mix. The addition of frequent typhoons and sweltering heatwaves not only hinder search and rescue efforts, but also make a hard situation exponentially harder for those who have had to evacuate their air-conditioned homes. It should be noted here that Kumamoto has a reputation as being a land of hard drinkers. “The downtown areas weren’t affected very much by the earthquake, so it’s probably business as usual there.” “I visited Kumamoto before the earthquake and was surprised how many people were out drinking at night, even on weekdays.”