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[Kobe City] Experience the pearl city “Kobe” with Pearl Connection’s accessory making experience!
This service includes sponsored advertisements.
In fact, approximately 70% of the pearls distributed around the world are sorted and processed in Kobe. Pearl processing, a local industry in Kobe City, is said to be highly trusted and acclaimed worldwide. This time, I went to experience making pearl accessories easily in Kobe!
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What are good things and good experiences? There are many characteristics such as having a story to tell, overflowing with the thoughts of the creator, having a history, and being loved by the locals. Have you ever come across a special thing or experience that made you want to tell someone about it? And as a result of telling, someone new leads to something. We think that's what "good" is all about. In order to deliver such encounters to our customers, we discover Hyogo's good things based on the concept of "talk, communicate, and connect", and provide information that will shorten the emotional distance between customers and the region of Hyogo Prefecture.
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Table of Contents
- About Pearl Connection
- Access is by articulated bus "Port Loop"!
- Experience making pearl accessories!
- After the experience
- basic information
About Pearl Connection
Pearl Connection LLC is a facility where you can experience making pearl accessories. Their philosophy is "Connecting people and communities with pearls - connecting us as unique people and making us shine like a pearl necklace" and they are an organization that works to popularize "Kobe, the city of pearls" and pearls.
Specific activities include selling pearls, offering experiences, holding seminars on SDGs related to pearls, and guiding customers to places that have stories related to pearls.
The top of the logo is pearl white, and the surrounding area is the 17 colors of the SDGs, which represents the company's determination to contribute to the SDGs. The company has a unique structure with six women as representative directors, each of whom is active in a wide variety of specialized fields, such as a national guide-interpreter, a writer, and an idol.
In addition, Pearl Connection's "Experience the Charm of Hyogo and Kobe's Pearl Industry and Culture" has been certified by the Hyogo Field Pavilion as an SDGs experiential regional program.
*What is Hyogo Field Pavilion?
Pearl Connection is such a fascinating company that in June 2023, they opened a facility near Higashi Yuenchi Park where you can experience pearls.
Access is by articulated bus "Port Loop"!
It is about a 10-minute walk from Sannomiya Station to get there, but on hot summer days we also recommend taking the 18m articulated bus "Port Loop."
Great value tickets
Kobe 1-day bus ticket
This ticket is a great deal for sightseeing in Kobe! It is a mobile bus ticket that allows unlimited rides on sightseeing buses (City Loop/Port Loop) that cover all the tourist spots in Kobe city for 800 yen per day.
Hyogo Amazing Pass
If you are considering touring Himeji and Hyogo prefecture in addition to Kobe, we recommend this ticket! This mobile ticket includes the contents of the Kobe 1-day bus ticket and allows unlimited rides on Shinki Bus route buses for 2,500 yen a day.
Experience making pearl accessories!
Pearl Connection is on the second floor of the building just a few steps from the bus stop in front of City Hall and Higashi Yuenchi Park. Turn right after exiting the elevator and you will find it at the end of the street.
Once inside, you'll see cute miniature houses here and there.
The roof is made of pearls, and the walls and windows are made of mother-of-pearl shells. In fact, the roof alone of this house is worth enough to buy a real house... It's exhausting just to look at it...
Now, let’s talk about the experience you’ve been waiting for.
① Pearl processing experience: Using a machine to make holes in pearls and create pin badges and brooches / 3,300 yen The pearls used are Akoya pearls (Japan's most famous pearls, mainly found in western Japan)
2. Experience the traditional Japanese craft of applying gold and silver leaf to pearls to make earrings and necklaces / 5,500 yen Two types of pearls are used: black-lipped pearls and white-lipped pearls (also known as Tahitian pearls, large pearls from overseas). By the way, if you were to buy black-lipped and white-lipped pearls of this size at a department store or jewelry store, it would cost nearly 20,000 yen. To be able to make them for just 5,500 yen makes this a great bargain!
After hearing such valuable information, I have no choice but to get earrings! lol
(They can also be made into earrings) First, choose the color. I was torn between black pearls and white pearls, but since these were my first pearls, I chose the classic white color. They're smooth and cute.
Once the color has been decided, the next step is to choose the pearls. Pearls born from living creatures are said to be full of individuality when you look closely, and no two are exactly alike. Even pairs that are slightly different are a part of the beauty of the real thing, so I'm still undecided here.
Hmm, I choose you☆
Next, choose whether to attach gold or silver leaf to the pearl, and use a toothpick to carve it into the size you desire.
The most important thing to be careful of here is breathing!
They're so light that if you laugh they'll fly away immediately (lol). I chose silver foil, but it's more likely to fly away than gold foil so you have to be even more careful!
Next, mix the adhesive.
It's a two-part adhesive that is also used by professional processors. Once you've mixed the adhesive, you apply it to the area where you want to stick the silver leaf. It really tests your sense...
Finally, the silver foil is attached using toothpicks and tweezers.
He was so focused on the detailed work that I didn't say a word, but it was worth it as he managed to prevent his breathing problem perfectly!
I tried a design that goes all the way around the pearls. What do you think? While drying, I attended a mini seminar on pearls.
In addition to learning about pearls, you will also learn about the reasons why pearls developed in Kobe, their history, and the SDGs.
As mentioned at the beginning, the reason why Kobe is known as the city of pearls is
① Because it was close to the pearl producing area and had the largest port in the Kansai region, Kobe Port.
2) Kobe has a proven track record as a trading city.
3) Because processors came together in search of processing technology and improved their skills.
4) The light from the north reflected by Mount Rokko was suitable for the pearl processing process.
That's how pearls, which are desired all over the world, were able to be distributed in large quantities in Kobe!
This seminar truly conveyed the desire of everyone at Pearl Connection to have more people learn about and fall in love with the charm of pearls.
After the experience
I had the precious experience of making a one-of-a-kind original accessory using real pearls. I spent a lot of time and effort making it, so I grew attached to it and I think I could look at it for hours.
It's nice to wear pearls casually on a daily basis and enjoy fashion, not just for special occasions like weddings. Pearls are something women long for, but you may feel like you can't just buy them casually. In fact, I was interested in pearls myself, but I think I unconsciously avoided them because I thought they were expensive and that it was too early to buy real ones.
For such people, we recommend the pearl accessory making experience at Pearl Connection, which is a place where you can experience real high-quality pearls and a place where you can make your debut with pearls.
If you're interested, please go and check it out!
(Editorial Department/KANADE)
*This article is current as of September 2023. Prices include tax. Product contents and prices may be subject to change.
basic information
Pearl Connection LLC
Address: Room 1, 3rd floor, Tajima Building, 4-2-8, Isobe-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture
Access: 20 minutes on foot from Sannomiya Station on all lines, approx. 5 minutes from the Port Loop "Higashi-Yuenchi/Shiyakusho-mae" stop
Parking: None
HP: https://pearlconnection2025.com/
Social Media: Instagram
Other: Currently, experiences are not held regularly, so if you would like to experience one, please contact us via our website or social media.
What are good things and good experiences? There are many characteristics such as having a story to tell, overflowing with the thoughts of the creator, having a history, and being loved by the locals. Have you ever come across a special thing or experience that made you want to tell someone about it? And as a result of telling, someone new leads to something. We think that's what "good" is all about. In order to deliver such encounters to our customers, we discover Hyogo's good things based on the concept of "talk, communicate, and connect", and provide information that will shorten the emotional distance between customers and the region of Hyogo Prefecture.
The contents on this page may partially contain automatic translation.
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