Travel Startup "Deeper Japan" Expands Experiential Products in Kanazawa Area, Adding 7 New Cultural Experiences Rooted in Kaga Crafts and Hokuriku Nature.

Deeper Travel Inc., operating "Deeper Japan" which develops and provides cultural activities for foreign visitors to Japan in collaboration with artisans, artists, and nature guides across Japan (Headquarters: Setagaya-ku, Tokyo / Representative: Hikaru Ishikawa), has added seven new experiential products to its existing Kanazawa area offerings.

The Kanazawa area is one of the regions where Deeper Japan launched its services early on. In addition to popular existing products such as textile dyeing, metal inlay, kintsugi, and Japanese sword forging, the addition of new experiences in diverse genres like woodworking, casting, gold leaf, distilled spirits, and shrines will further enhance the area's lineup.

Deeper Japan Kanazawa Area: https://deeperjapan.com/kanazawa

Kanazawa's Depth – A Hub of Crafts Since the Edo Period

The Kaga Domain actively patronized scholarship and crafts for approximately 280 years. As a result, an astonishing diversity of traditional crafts, including gold leaf, casting, wood carving, lacquerware, and textile dyeing, accumulated in and around Kanazawa. These crafts are still inherited as living industries, and this region, often called the "craft city second only to Kyoto," is home to numerous artisan workshops still unknown to many tourists. Deeper Japan will expand its partnerships in the Kanazawa area, delivering the cultural richness of the Hokuriku region, spanning Kaga, Noto, and Toyama, to global travelers as small-group programs with interpreter guides.

Introducing New Products

- 14th Generation Kaga Tea Kettle Workshop Kanazawa's tea ceremony culture developed uniquely under the patronage of the Kaga Domain. This tea kettle workshop has upheld the tradition of Kaga casting for over 350 years since its founder, who learned techniques from a master in Kyoto, started as a tea kettle artisan for the domain. Deeply connected to the lineage of renowned tea ceremony families, the current 14th generation also engages in casting works that fuse traditional techniques with experimental expressions. The workshop offers a two-hour program that includes a tour of the casting process, followed by a tea ceremony experience performed by the tea kettle master himself.

- Wood Carving Tradition Thriving in a Temple Town In a mountainous area of Toyama Prefecture, there is one of Japan's leading wood carving towns, which originated from a gathering of woodcarvers responsible for building and repairing temples. In this village nestled at the foot of the mountains, many artisans still use hundreds of types of chisels to create transoms, temple signboards, and more. In the workshop led by the 3rd generation, apprentices live and train, working on intricate pieces that can take several years to complete. This is a three-hour experience to observe techniques passed down for over 100 years and the daily life of an artisan up close.

- Exquisite Woodwork Without Nails – Kanazawa Sashimono Sashimono, a precise woodworking technique that assembles boxes and furniture using only wood-to-wood joints without any nails, allows no deviation in angle. It developed with the introduction of Buddhism in the Heian period and eventually became integrated into the lives of nobles and warriors. In this workshop, run by an award-winning artisan with over 60 years of experience, works are created using historically significant timbers such as felled trees from local famous gardens, scraps from renowned Kyoto temples, and even hinoki cypress preserved for over a thousand years in the soil. This 1.5-hour workshop visit includes observing the artisan's handiwork and finished products, and enjoying tea.

- Woodworking Factory Handling Castle Repairs Mountains cover over 70% of Japan's land, and abundant timber resources have fostered a woodworking culture. This woodworking factory, celebrating approximately 70 years since its founding, is led by a 3rd-generation artisan and handles a wide range of products, from repairing wooden structures of local castles to making furniture for nurseries. After touring the factory and closely observing techniques like kumiki (wood joinery) and kumiko (lattice work), participants can experience making kumiko coasters or chopsticks in this two-hour program.

- Gold Leaf Experience at a Former Geisha House in a Pleasure Quarter Kanazawa is a major production center for gold leaf, accounting for over 99% of Japan's output. Gold leaf, used for decorating temples and shrines since the Kaga Domain era, eventually developed into its own unique craft. In this workshop, a renovated former geisha house located in Kanazawa's pleasure quarter, participants can experience applying gold leaf to a lacquerware plate under a program operated by a long-established gold leaf company. The two-hour program concludes with a break for Japanese sweets and matcha.

- Visiting an Ancient Shrine on the Noto Coast with a Head Priest The ancient shrine in Noto, whose name is mentioned in Japan's oldest poetry anthology and boasts a history of over 2,000 years, is one of Ishikawa Prefecture's representative shrines. Behind its grounds, overlooking the coastline, lies a sacred guardian forest accessible only to the head priest, and its main shrine buildings, constructed between the 16th and 17th centuries, remain in their original form. This two-hour private experience allows participants to learn directly about Shinto faith and the shrine's history from the head priest or shrine maidens, and also participate in Shinto rituals.

- Craft Whiskey Distillery with the Flavor of Kaga's Terroir In the suburbs of Kanazawa, surrounded by hot springs, clear streams, and the peaks of the Japan Alps, there is a craft brewery and distillery that reflects Kaga's food culture in its distilled spirits.