2023-11-23 10:09:15
All that glitters is gold in Kanazawa. In the old town district of Higashi Chaya, all souvenirs are available in a golden version, waving cats, lucky owls, cups, bowls, lacquered boxes, chopsticks, Hello Kitty figures. Even gold-plated golf balls are available, but with a price equivalent to thirty euros each, you shouldn’t throw them into the bushes with the first tee shot. If you’re looking for a cool refreshment, you can find soft ice cream covered with a wafer-thin layer of the precious metal for six euros. Kanazawa loves gold, gold is alive. It is Japan’s Eldorado. Almost all of the local gold leaf production for the country’s temples and shrines, for statues, picture scrolls, lacquerware and ceramics comes from the city on the west coast of the main island of Honshu. The famous golden pavilion Kinkaku-ji in Kyoto is also covered in gold leaf from Kanazawa.
The coin becomes a table tennis table
Gold deposits in the neighborhood and a 400-year-old craft tradition have led to the amazing monopoly of the city, whose name translates to “gold swamp”. Their masters manage to roll and beat a coin-sized piece of gold until it becomes an arc the size of a table tennis table, so wafer-thin that even light can pass through. A museum, founded by goldsmith Yasue Takaaki, explains in detail the history and elaborate manufacturing methods of the guild. It is just a few minutes walk from the old town.
A picture like from another century: Sometimes the past overshadows the modern in Kanazawa. : Image: Mauritius
It’s not just the gold-filled souvenir shops of Higashi Chaya that are worth a visit, the entire district is a gem. Between the wonderful wooden houses in the narrow streets you feel like you have been transported back to the time of the old shoguns. It is a picture-perfect Japan that doesn’t have to shy away from comparison with Kyoto’s most beautiful streets, but is nowhere near as crowded. No colorful company logo defaces the facades, no sign from an international coffee house chain. Instead, there are panels with kanji characters hanging on the doors, lanterns made of perforated iron or frosted glass, and the typical short entrance curtains, called “noren”, are everywhere.
Hot water bubbles out of the sidewalk
Everything is designed in a restrained and elegant manner, with attention to detail evident in everything. Even the electricity meters on the facades are hidden in small wooden cabinets. If a shop is still closed, an oak block is pushed in front of the door with “Closed” burned onto it in curved black letters. No more explanation is provided. The visitor will notice when the owner is ready to sell golden golf balls, sushi platters with fish fresh from the Sea of Japan or the highly valued Kagabocha tea here, roasted from tea stems, which tastes a little bitter. There is no hostility to modernity, it just has to be useful, like paving. Small nozzles are built into the light brown stone slabs of the alleys. In the harsh winters, warm groundwater flows out of them like a sprinkler system installed from the ceiling into the ground and washes the snow into the canals on the side of the road. No road salt or sharp grit should ruin the pretty stone floor.
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