Kanazawa’s Unique Skincare Secrets: From Sake to Gold

Japan is a nation of extreme air conditions. It’s incredibly humid in the summer and terribly dry in the winter, which makes Japan uniquely suited to providing excellent skin care and wellness products. On Japan’s west coast, Kanazawa City is home to several local producers of lotions that will make your skin very happy, indeed.

Remove fine lines with… sake?

Kanazawa’s local sake brewery, Fukumitsuya, doesn’t just uphold centuries’ worth of sake brewing tradition. They also offer an array of all-natural, rice-derived cleansers, toners, moisturizers, UV lotions, and oils. 

If you’re interested in making the switch from chemical-based facial treatments to something all-natural, Fukumitsuya’s Kome Lab Sake Yeast Extract pairs really well with the natural and organic emollient cream from their Freneva line.

While the yeast extract has almost no scent, Freneva offers a very light, floral fragrance as it’s applied. It only takes about six drops of yeast extract daily to cover both face and neck. In addition, I found that the Freneva cream spreads even more easily; a single gram lasted about a week.

And it’s edible!

Based near Kanazawa City is Revanche, a skin product manufacturer which prides itself on its completely natural and safe recipes. With the aim of creating creams and cosmetics that are as safe for your body on the outside as they are on the inside, Revanche has become locally famous.

I carry a tube of their tinted UV lip cream with me wherever I go. My skin stays moisturized for over an hour without any sort of waxy residue or buildup. It just feels good to wear. Their Water Veil Hand Cream is, as the name suggests, quite light and really hits the spot when your skin is starting to feel a little tight from lack of moisture.

As a cyclist, I was interested in Revanche’s preventative sunburn options. Their Moist UV Cream SPF25 Sunblock was a pleasant surprise. Just one small dollop protects the entire face outdoors in the bright sun. Applying a second coat after an hour or two doesn’t end up turning into a sticky film, either. This coconut-scented sunblock gets the job done while still being as light as can be.

It’s a hotel. It’s a spa. It’s a soap maker!

Korinkyo Distillery, located on the first floor of their hotel of the same name in downtown Kanazawa City, creates soaps and skin lotions from locally sourced ingredients, drawing inspiration from the area’s sacred Mount Hakusan.

Their brand, Petrichor, offers a body milk that goes on like silk, releasing a gentle evergreen scent that’s perfect for relaxing right before bed. There’s no need to worry that your sheets are going to start smelling like a forest, though; the scent fades within minutes and the lotion absorbs into the skin well, leaving you feeling refreshed. In my case, the moisturizing effects lasted for a couple of hours afterward.

The sustainable scent of nature!

Another company inspired by the lush forests and majestic slopes of Mount Hakusan is Shinchiringyo. Based near the mountains visible from Kanazawa City, Shinchiringyo boasts a sustainable ingredient collection method, such as utilizing fallen branches and evergreen needles to formulate products like essential oils for your simmer pot. If aromatherapy isn’t your speed, there’s also a room spray. Very handy for bringing the medley of scents down out of the mountains and into your hotel room or wherever your travels take you.

Bring out the bling!

Kanazawa City is famous for its gold leaf crafts. Just about every gold leaf manufacturer that has a retail outlet also manufactures its own cosmetics as well. Many offer gold face masks and various skin creams, touting the health benefits of gold: you may not know this, but gold has both antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties which may lead to younger, healthier-looking skin.

Rather than choose a moisturizer, I went with something that just about everybody needs in order to combat Japan’s dry winter air: cuticle oil. It’s also called nail oil here and, luckily, oil gets along with just about every skin type, making this a charming gift for anyone who enjoys pampering their hands.

Whether you have a favorite cosmetic or wellness brand back home or you’re in the market for something different, local manufacturers in Kanazawa offer an intriguing range of products for you to try, so take a break from sightseeing to stop in their stores and be good to yourself.

About Keri Yazawa

Keri Yazawa, a resident of Kanazawa City since 2005, guides bicycle tours specializing in good food, quirky history, local craft making, and gorgeous landscapes.

Article photos and written content © 2025 Keri Yazawa. All rights reserved.