Ken and Masako were living comfortable lives in California for many years before moving to Niyodogawa-cho. Masako was a pre-school teacher. Ken was a high school chemistry teacher. Ken’s hobby was homebrewing, and Masako’s hobby was drinking Ken’s homebrew. As teachers they spent their summers traveling, often to Japan. A friend suggested they move to Kochi prefecture to start a brewery. Although taken as a joke at first, one thing led to another and soon they were committed to starting Mukai Craft Brewing in a quaint town surrounded by beautiful nature, and populated by nice people -- a place called Niyodogawa-cho.

They prepared for over a year before making the move to Japan. During that transitional period they met Yujin, a native of Kochi prefecture living in Los Angeles with a knack for cool designs. He soon joined the team. 

In February 2019 Ken and Masako moved to Niyodogawa-cho. They got to work immediately to launch Mukai Craft Brewing Incorporated and obtain their beer (happoshu) production and sales licence. They worked closely with breweries, government, and a variety of other partners to plan out their location, building, equipment, and business plan. In November 2020 Mukai Craft Brewing opened for business.