For generations, the artisans of Ishikawa Prefecture, located in the Hokuriku region along the northern coast of Japan’s main island of Honshu, have been renowned for their skill with gold leaf.

Traditional arts and crafts are alive in Kanazawa, a Japanese city filled with Edo-era homes, museums – and workshops for making everything from sweets and porcelain to gold leaf work.

In experiments, thin layers of gold—yes, the real deal—allowed visible light to shine through, provided the metal was reduced to a thickness of 100 nanometers (or: gold leaf).

The thin gold leaf material used to decorate picture frames or lamp bases could also be used to detect viral infections.

Travellers are going beyond the Golden Route of Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto to discover the treasures and traditions of diverse ...

In the 1700s, there were about 300 artisans making gold leaf in the city. Now there is just Marino Menegazzo, who is also one of very few remaining in Europe.

Pho with foie gras and gold leaf costs $170 at this Ho Chi Minh City restaurant.

Edible gold leaf Estimated price per pound: $15,000 Like calcium and iron, gold is a mineral that's safe to eat, although it's not an essential part of the human diet.

Hard Rock Cafe just released a burger covered in 24-karat gold leaf. But there isn't much reason to get it unless you're looking for Instagram likes.

In Kanazawa, Japan, one of the main producers of gold leaf has found a new treat to top: vanilla soft serve at Hakuichi.

Making gold leaf is the signature handicraft of Kanazawa. Pieces of a specially prepared gold alloy are passed through rollers that press them to a thickness of about 0.01 millimeters.