Why sake lees, rice bran & kiku charcoal from Noto can change your skin.
Noto — a land shaped by a thousand years of farming. The junmai daiginjo sake lees, organically grown rice bran, and hand-fired kiku charcoal born here carry beauty compounds that no chemical synthesis can reproduce.
of farming culture raised by Noto's satoyama and satoumi
2011
designated a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) by the UN FAO
3 ingredients
sake lees, rice bran, kiku charcoal — all born from Noto's artisans and farmers
Noto, Japan
The satoyama and satoumi of Noto — recognized as a World Agricultural Heritage. The harvest of its fields and the fermentation craft of its sake breweries are where NAIA begins.
能登の里山里海 — where Noto's hills meet the sea
Sake lees — the heart of NAIA's fermentation skincareRice bran from Suzu-grown "Sakura Fukuhime" rice
Brand Story
A thousand years of ingredients. A century of craft. For your skin.
NAIA Inc. was founded by the Astena Group in Suzu City, at the tip of Ishikawa's Noto Peninsula. Under the concept "Clear translucency and firmness — a new beauty born in Noto," NAIA combines the region's natural treasures — sake lees, rice bran, kiku charcoal, and deep-sea water — with modern science to draw out the skin's own strength.
Instead of purified water, NAIA formulas use 100% Noto deep-sea water. Every core ingredient is born from the daily work of Noto's artisans, farmers, and sake breweries.
GIAHS World Agricultural Heritage
能登の里山里海 — Noto's Satoyama & Satoumi
Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa / designated by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in 2011
A landscape where people and nature have lived side by side for over a thousand years — recognized as a World Agricultural Heritage.
The rice NAIA uses ("Sakura Fukuhime") is grown in Suzu with local farmers, free of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.
The kunugi oaks for kiku charcoal are planted by the charcoal artisan himself, protecting the satoyama cycle.
Even after the earthquake, the artisans, farmers, and breweries who keep Noto alive are what sustain NAIA.
2024.1.1
The Noto Peninsula Earthquake. The sake breweries were destroyed — and all four charcoal kilns collapsed.
NAIA was preparing to launch in January 2024. Then the earthquake struck. The breweries of Sakurada and Matsunami — NAIA's sake lees suppliers — were destroyed, and charcoal artisan Choichiro Ono lost all four of his kilns. The blow was heavy enough that the artisans considered closing down for good. Yet supported by fans across Japan through crowdfunding, NAIA launched in May 2024 — holding to the belief that "revitalizing this region and creating jobs is exactly our role." The brand walks step by step with Noto's recovery.
Inside every NAIA product lives the pride and craft of the artisans, farmers, and breweries who overcame the earthquake.
Sake Brewery
Two sake breweries behind NAIA's sake lees.
The quality of sake lees is the quality of the sake itself. NAIA uses only premium lees born from junmai daiginjo and junmai brewing, from two breweries in Suzu City and Noto Town, Ishikawa.
Sakurada Sake Brewery
桜田酒造
Suzu City, Ishikawa — founded in the Taisho era
Junmai Daiginjo · Junmai
A historic Suzu brewery operating since the Taisho era. Its sake lees are freeze-dried to remove alcohol while keeping amino acids and natural moisturizing factors alive — becoming the "Noto aged sake lees powder" blended into several NAIA formulas.
Noto Town, Hosu District, Ishikawa — brewers of "Oheyama"
Noto toji tradition · Oheyama sake
The Noto Town brewery behind the celebrated "Oheyama" label. Its kura was destroyed in the earthquake, but under the rallying cry "Don't let Noto's sake stop," brewing continues from Kanazawa. Oheyama sake lees go into NAIA's Aqua Cleansing Gel.
Sake lees, rice bran, kiku charcoal — three beauty ingredients raised by Noto.
None of these can be created by chemical synthesis — they are born from nature and human hands. NAIA analyzes and refines them with modern science to bring out their full potential for the skin.
From Sakurada & Matsunami breweries
酒粕
SAKE LEES
The fermented press-cake left after sake is drawn. NAIA freeze-dries it to remove alcohol while extracting natural moisturizing factors alive — its signature "Noto aged sake lees powder & extract."
保
Natural Moisturizing Factors · 18 amino acids
Draw moisture to the skin and hold it there for lasting hydration.
白
Kojic acid — fermentation-born brightener
The famed compound from koji fermentation, for a clearer, more even-toned look.
抗
Ferulic acid — antioxidant skin conditioner
Helps defend against UV-induced free radicals and keeps skin looking firm.
角
AHA (alpha hydroxy acids)
Support the skin's natural renewal rhythm for a brighter, smoother look.
From organically grown "Sakura Fukuhime" rice, Suzu
米糠
RICE BRAN
The outer layer and germ of brown rice — used for skin care in Japan since the age of the nuka-bukuro cloth pouch. NAIA extracts the bran of "Sakura Fukuhime" rice, raised in Suzu's sea winds, with its own extraction methods.
γ
γ-Oryzanol — rice bran's signature antioxidant
Known for supporting a brighter, more even-looking skin tone.
壁
Ceramide precursors (phytosphingosine)
Building blocks of the ceramides that form the skin barrier — help guard against dryness.
E
Tocotrienols — high-activity vitamin E complex
An antioxidant complex with 40–60 times the activity of regular vitamin E.
B
B vitamins & sea minerals
Rich nutrients unique to Suzu's coastal soil that keep skin looking healthy.
From Notohahaso — Choichiro Ono, Suzu
菊炭
KIKU CHARCOAL
Charcoal from kunugi oaks the artisan plants himself, fired by hand the traditional way. The cut surface blooms like chrysanthemum petals — hence "kiku" charcoal. Prized since the Muromachi era as one of Japan's finest charcoals, once reserved for the tea ceremony.
孔
Ultra-porous structure
Hand-firing leaves countless micro-pores that lift excess sebum, grime, and dead skin from pores.
Paired with kiku charcoal in NAIA's face wash to keep skin calm and balanced.
泡
Dense, friction-less foam
With sake lees powder the lather turns thick and bouncy — cleansing by foam, not friction.
職
Artisan craft · the satoyama cycle
Felled kunugi stumps send up new shoots, ready to harvest again in a few years — charcoal that keeps the satoyama cycle alive.
炭
ARTISAN
Choichiro Ono
Notohahaso — Higashiyamanaka, Suzu City, Ishikawa
A charcoal artisan who hand-fires kunugi oak deep in the hills of Suzu, producing kiku charcoal of striking beauty. He plants and raises the trees himself, guarding the cycle of harvesting, firing, and replanting. The 2024 earthquake collapsed all four of his kilns — but his walk toward recovery has never stopped. The charcoal born of his hands is essential to NAIA's facial cleansing foam.
Daily Ritual
Five daily steps that layer fermentation and the land onto your skin.
Each NAIA product is designed for layering — every step primes your skin to absorb the next.
01
Cleanse
Aqua Cleansing Gel
Made with "Oheyama" sake lees from Matsunami Brewery — melts makeup and impurities while conditioning skin
