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.

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

The city produces some 98 percent of Japan’s decorative gold leaf and Hakuichi is Kanazawa's main gold leaf producer. The company keeps a shop in the preserved geisha neighborhood of Higashiyama.

The Ingredient: Gold leaf Gold is tasteless, odorless, and completely lacking in nutritional value. Unless you happen to believe that the elixir of life (said to contain gold) ...