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You’ll see a lot of gold leaf in Japan. Mostly on shrines and temples, but nowhere will you see it used in more fun ways than in Kanazawa. There are entire walls covered with it, you can eat food sprinkled with sparkly particles, and add it to cute souvenirs on one of Kanazawa’s gold leaf craft sessions. Here’s what happened when I tried the Hakuichi Gold Leaf Experience in Kanazawa.
Article by Helen Foster. Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. See our Affiliate Disclosure.
I need to prefix this with the announcement that I do not have an artistic bone in my body.
As an example of how bad I am, my friend bought me a ‘Paint Your Own Baby Yoda’ set roughly four years ago. It sits on my cupboard untouched because I’m scared I will spoil it if I get out the paints.
Despite this, I really wanted one of the cute gold-leaf motive boxes you could make at the Gold Leaf Experience at the Hakuichi store in the middle of Kanazawa’s historic Higashii Chaya district. So, at 11 a.m. on my third day in Kanazawa, I nervously made my way up the stairs to the crafting room.
I was greeted by the faint smell of glue, which I’m pretty sure gave me the extra buzz I needed to break out of my creative comfort zone. It was time to begin.
What Can You Make?
However, before you get crafty, you must make two important decisions: First, what do you want to stick gold leaf on, and what shape do you want to stick it in!
When you book the experience in advance, you decide on the first option before you arrive as each shape of object has a different price and time they estimate you will take to complete your crafting. You book in for the plate, the box, the bowl, or the tray in advance.
I picked the small square black box that I could see easily fitting in my luggage.
The second decision you to make, which you do on the day is what stencil design you want to use. There’s a sheet to choose from, including many traditional Japanese motifs like sakura, koi carp, daruma, and cranes and some other cute options like cats and bunnies. I’d already decided that I wanted a waving cat.
Now, it was time to get creative.
How Do You Apply Gold Leaf?
The process has four steps. Sadly, there are not pictures of all these as I was concentrating way too hard on putting the gold leaf where it was supposed to go and not all over me, the table, and my phone! But here’s the synopsis.
One. Decide where to apply the stencil (easy). Your helper then applies the glue over the top so you don’t use too much, and it’s time for Step 2—sticking on the gold leaf sheet (also easy).
Step 3 involves pressing the leaf firmly into the gaps in the stencil so that it sticks onto the glue. For most people, this will also be easy, but I have inch-long fingernails, which meant I kept scratching bits off, and I had to have some help from someone with fingertips so my waving cat didn’t look like it had mange.
Once all the gold leaf is successfully transferred, fixer is applied, and as the last step, you peel off the backing sheet. This is where things can go wrong, especially if you haven’t stuck the gold down properly in Step 3, so pay careful attention to your instructor. The staff speak enough English to explain how not to make any mistakes.
Success! I managed to stick my cat to the box with only a few tiny flaws. Give it a bit longer to set, and then it’s time to have your photo taken with your new creation.
How Long Did It Take?
It took me about 15 minutes to make my box, even though the experience is booked as 35 minutes. This was probably because the box I chose allows you to use two different motifs if you want to, but I didn’t trust myself to position two things without making it look ugly (seriously, the level of my lack of art skills is that high).
It sits on my bookshelf now, collecting bits and bobs, and is a great souvenir of my time in Kanazawa.
Now, does anyone know where I can get enough gold leaf to cover a Baby Yoda?
How Much Does it Cost?
The prices vary depending on what you want to apply the gold leaf to. At the time I write this, working on a simple plate with one motif will cost 1500 yen, and the box I made is 1600 yen. The most expensive option is a large round tray, which costs 2200 yen.
How to Book
Hakuichi is one of the biggest gold leaf makers in Kanazawa, and they offer the Gold Leaf Experience in two of their stores. However, if you want to be in the middle of the tourist area, pick the Bikazari Asano store. On their website, this is known as the Master Course. Reservations are required.
You can book online up to a week before your visit. If you want to book closer to the time, you’ll need to call the store—or maybe pop in. They offer sessions at 10:00, 11:00, 13:00, 14:00, and 15:00. The experience is closed on Tuesdays.
The other branch, the HAKUKOKAN main store, offers more complicated designs known as The Wizard Course on its website, but it is not in the middle of Kanazawa and isn’t that easy to get to via public transport. Stick to Bikazari Asano.
Need Extra Planning Help?
Our Japan trip planners can help. You might like our First-Timers Japan Planner, which will help you plan your trip to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka step-by-step, including tips on everything from picking hotels to sightseeing and dining. Or our super-duper Tokyo Disney Planner makes arranging your park trip MUCH easier. Find them in our Planners store – printable and digital versions are available.
So, there you have it, my review of the Hakuichi Gold Leaf Experience. You can also eat ice cream with gold leaf, buy gold leaf sprinkles from a vending machine, eat it on top of takoyaki, and much more.
Oh, and if you like the idea of spending some of your time in Kanazawa making crafts, there are other things you try – including making the unique local style of pottery, making jewellery from intricate knots and creating local sweets with wooden molds. See more in our guide to the best hands-on craft experiences in Kanazawa.
