A new specialty confection from Kanazawa. We are in charge of planning and designing "Matcha Macaron Sable KINTSUGI," a collaborative sweet with a British artist.

2025.07.29

Digital nomads and local businesses

Press release here

[Digital Nomads x Local Business] A new specialty confectionery from Kanazawa. "Matcha Macaron Sable KINTSUGI", a collaboration with a British artist, will be on sale at Jeu Plan Sa Kanazawa Station Anto store from August 1st.

"Sweet Scape Kanazawa" is a collaborative sweets project that was launched with a focus on digital nomads, taking advantage of the "Digital Nomads and Local Business Matching Program" hosted by Kanazawa City.

Nozaki Bussan Co., Ltd. (Head office: Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture), a company that has been in the confectionery supply business in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture for over 100 years, has launched a sweets project called "Sweet Scape Kanazawa," which aims to spread Kanazawa's beautiful confectionery culture while collaborating with artists through sweets . The new Kanazawa specialty confection developed in conjunction with this project, "Matcha Macaron Sable KINTSUGI," will be on sale from Friday, August 1st at the Juplansa Kanazawa Station Anto store, which is operated by the company.

What is Sweet Scape Kanazawa (a landscape of Kanazawa revealed through sweets)? [About the project]

Kanazawa, home to one of Japan's leading confectionery cultures, has a long-standing tradition of gifting sweets with messages such as "thank you," "see you soon, take care," and "please take care." These are not just sweets, but expressions of relationships that have been passed down in daily life along with the seasons and aesthetic sense.

By collaborating with artists and using their cultivated perspectives, the project aims to capture the atmosphere and aesthetic sense of Kanazawa, promote the development and circulation of the local economy and creative culture through sweets, and pass on Kanazawa's confectionery culture to the next generation .

For the first collaboration, British artist Molly Maine's work "Falling Rain" was used for the packaging design of the sweets. The work depicts the atmosphere she felt during her extended stay in Kanazawa.

◆ A perspective woven by digital nomads and local businesses 【Project history】

After participating in the Kanazawa City sponsored "Kanazawa Culture and Tourism Revitalization Program through Business Matching between Digital Nomads and Local Companies," the company was quick to focus on the global situation and future potential surrounding digital nomads. After the program members returned to Japan, they contacted Molly Maine, a British artist who was also a participating digital nomad, and this project became a reality.

Producer: Masaaki Nozaki (Nozaki Bussan Co., Ltd.)

Art Director: Tsutomu Yoshizaki (MiKS Co., Ltd.)

Illustrator: Molly Maine (Digital Nomad)

Pastry chefs: Shigenori Kanaiwa and Yusuke Kuroki (Fran Doll)

About the artist Molly Maine [First collaboration artist]

A London-born illustrator and designer, she is known for her graphic travel illustrations, skillfully using light, color, and perspective, and has created many works with a focus on travel and culture. Since 2016, she has been working as a freelancer, continuing her nomadic lifestyle, traveling to over 50 countries and creating her own work .

This confectionery, "Matcha Macaron Sable KINTSUGI × Falling Rain," was also exhibited at the artist's solo exhibition "NOMAD | Perspectives on Home in a Changing Japan," which was held in London, England for 10 days from July 4, 2025.

About the exhibition: https://www.mollymaineillustration.com/nomad-exhibition

◆ Expressing Kanazawa's aesthetic sense. "Matcha Macaron Sable KINTSUGI" is born. [About the sweets]

Kanazawa accounts for approximately 99% of Japan's gold leaf production, and gold is used not only in tea utensils and crafts, but also in beauty products, food, building materials, and more, making it truly the "city of gold." In order to express Kanazawa's unique aesthetic sense in a sweet, we have developed a new product, "Matcha Macaron Sable KINTSUGI."

Matcha-flavored marshmallow cream is sandwiched between crunchy matcha sable and soft macaron, creating a luxurious texture. Enjoy the scenery of Kanazawa with your taste buds and eyes, along with the design reminiscent of kintsugi (golden repair).

◼Product name: Matcha Macaron Sable KINTSUGI × Falling Rain

Price: 1,620 yen (tax included) (6 pieces)

◼Sales location: Juplansa Kanazawa Station Ando Store

Release date: August 1, 2025 (Friday)

◆Connecting Kanazawa culture to the next generation through sweets. [Project members' thoughts]

Masaaki Nozaki, sweets director of Jupranga, and Tsutomu Yoshizaki of MiKS, art director of Jupranga, have been working together to think about how to convey the "Kanazawa-ness" to customers as a select shop of sweets and connect Kanazawa's confectionery culture.

In this collaborative sweets project, "Sweet Scape Kanazawa (Opening up the scenery of Kanazawa through sweets)," we, who are originally from Kanazawa, are trying to realize ideas that we were not able to realize by collaborating with the aesthetic sense of digital nomads who travel the world through sweets, in order to pass on Kanazawa's beautiful sweet culture to the next generation.

Starting with the first collaboration with digital nomad Molly Maine, "Sweet Scape Kanazawa" aims to continue as a series with a variety of artists who capture Kanazawa from new perspectives, fostering and circulating Kanazawa's local economy and creative culture .

Masaaki Nozaki | Juplansa Sweets Director

This project began when, while we were searching for a way to express "Kanazawa-ness," we had the opportunity to interact with people known as "digital nomads." In order to reexamine our "Kanazawa-ness" from a broader global perspective, we wanted them to express the charms of Kanazawa that can only be felt through a long-term stay, and that are difficult to experience on a short trip! With this in mind, we commissioned Molly Maine, a digital nomad and British artist, to create the art design. Through her long-term stay, she carefully depicted the scenery and atmosphere of everyday life, and we were delighted to have been able to rediscover an aspect of Kanazawa that we ourselves had overlooked. We hope to continue this type of activity in the future.

Tsutomu Yoshizaki | Art Director, Juprance

Our top priority for this project was to enable sustainable collaboration and sustainably spread Kanazawa's confectionery culture. To that end, we turned the artwork into postcards and used a slit structure in the packaging design to allow for interchangeable inserts. We also wanted the eye-catching yellow packaging to further enhance the art cards. By verbalizing and visualizing our respect for the people involved and the local community and incorporating it into graphic design, we hope that the gift of sweets given to a loved one will in turn connect to the next loved one. We hope to create such a wonderful chain reaction.

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Masaaki Nozaki (Nozaki Bussan Co., Ltd.)

Born in Kanazawa in 1981, he joined a general food trading company in Tokyo after graduating from university. In 2012, he joined his family business, Nozaki Bussan Co., Ltd., where he currently serves as executive director. While engaged in promotional and sales activities mainly in the Hokuriku region, he opened the confectionery select shop "je prends ça" in 2019.

In 2020, he launched the cafe "Angolo caffe" and the accommodation facility "Hotel101kanazawa," and began activities under the slogan "Make Kanazawa the City of Chocolate!" He is also the producer of the TV drama "Dull Color Chocolat Ville" and the film "Dull Color Chocolat Ville Biennale."

Tsutomu Yoshizaki (MiKS Co., Ltd.)

Born in Kanazawa. After studying architectural design and urban planning, he has been involved in practical and comprehensive interior design for commercial spaces, including landscape signs and exhibition displays. In 2022, he co-founded MiKS, a creative company with the slogan "Capturing the unique, asking why," with Akihiro Matsushita, expanding his creative horizons. He has handled the art direction and design for the launch of Pertica Coffee in Kodenmacho, Nihonbashi; Rinne, a LIFULL-operated villa in Nasu-Shiobara; and Koza Startup Shopping Street in Koza, Okinawa. In the Ishikawa/Kanazawa area, he has worked on the Kanazawa Coffee Festival 2023, Kaga Yamanaka Onsen Hanami Kyubei, and Jupransa, a select confectionery shop. In May 2025, he joined the professional guild TIDE from Kanazawa.

MiKS Inc.: https://www.miks-inc.com

Fran Doll Co., Ltd. (confectionery development cooperation)

Since our founding in 1907, we have been making sweets in the hope of connecting with family and loved ones and bringing moments of happiness, spanning the eras up to the Reiwa era. It is our invaluable happiness to see Fran Doll's sweets bring peace of mind and happiness to our customers. We use local and natural ingredients, and value freshness in our creations. Our artisans will continue to pour their hearts into making sweets so that Fran Doll's sweets can be delivered to customers in Ishikawa Prefecture and across the country, allowing them to enjoy heartwarming moments in their living rooms.

Official website: http://frandore.jp

<Nozaki Bussan Co., Ltd.>

Company name: Nozaki Bussan Co., Ltd.

Representative: Akio Nozaki, President and CEO

Address: 32-1 Yanagibashicho, Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture

Established: 1920 (Taisho 9)

Business: Wholesale of confectionery and bread ingredients and food machinery and equipment / confectionery retail

Website: https://nozaki-bussan.co.jp

<Juplansa Kanazawa Station Anto Store, a select shop of sweets>

Opening date: Friday, March 19, 2021

Location: JR Kanazawa Station, Kanazawa Hyakubangai Ando

Operator: Nozaki Bussan Co., Ltd.