Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum

The city of Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, which accounts for 99% of Japan’s production of gold leaf, is home to the country’s only museum devoted to this material. Located near the Higashi Chaya district, one of the city’s top tourist attractions, the Kanazawa Yasue Gold Leaf Museum is a stunning showcase of arts and crafts made with gold and gold leaf. The precious metal is also used throughout the museum on furniture, a roof dome, and elsewhere. And visitors can learn about gold leaf production from displays showing the traditional processes and tools used to turn gold into ultra-thin sheets.

(Originally published in Japanese. Created in cooperation with Kanazawa Cable Television.)