Breaking the ice (in Nikkō)

I saw this on NHK last year:

An ice producer in Nikkō is harvesting natural ice, with this year's output expected to reach around 4,000 high-grade blocks for shipment across Japan. NHK reports that shaved-ice shops use the ice, though it is also likely to be found in some high-end cocktail bars.

The ice industry used to be pretty big around where I'm from. They'd cut it into blocks during the winter and store it in warehouses for use in iceboxes. I think they even shipped it by rail. Technology (refrigerators) decimated the industry.