Michinoku the Legend of Gold

Journeys in Japan – Season 12

This time, we trace Japan's legend of gold. The precious metal was actually first mined in Michinoku -- an old name for northern Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures -- in the 8th century Nara period. A photographer visits Hiraizumi and its golden Konjikido, meets a gold leaf artisan, ducks into an old mine and even pans for gold.