A Lucky New Year Treat: Asakusa’s Gold Leaf Soft-Serve Ice Cream

After your first shrine visit of the New Year, why not continue the good-luck ritual with a popular sweet in Asakusa? One spot especially worth visiting is Kinpakuya Uhee, a well-known shop in the area.

Kinpakuya Uhee opened in Asakusa in 2019 as a flagship-style antenna shop operated by Murata Gold Leaf, a company dedicated to sharing the beauty and appeal of gold and metal leaf. Inside the shop, you’ll find a variety of sweets made generously with edible gold leaf, as well as lucky souvenirs such as gold maneki-neko figurines. Among them, the most eye-catching item is the Gold Leaf Soft-Serve Ice Cream, topped boldly with a full sheet of both gold and silver leaf.

Gold has long been cherished as a symbol of good fortune and prosperity. Created with the hope of making that golden brilliance feel more accessible, this soft-serve is not only visually striking but also rich in flavor. Though compact in size, the soft-serve has a deep, creamy milk richness, delicately layered with shimmering gold leaf, making it a truly special treat.

The shop also offers a range of other sweets and drinks perfect for a break while exploring Asakusa, including canelés and shiratama topped with gold leaf, as well as “Kaminari Gold,” a refreshing carbonated drink finished with coarse gold leaf. After wishing for happiness in the year ahead at the shrine, why not add a little extra sparkle to the New Year with these radiant gold-leaf sweets?