Yame, Fukuoka

Premium matcha tea and traditional crafts.

Tea field in Yame — Tea fields in Yame. Notice the shaded field on the right. Wikipedia photo.

The rural city of Yame (pop. 57,400 八女市) in southern Fukuoka Prefecture is Japan’s sixth largest tea region famous for growing high-end Yame-cha tea (八女茶). Yame’s climate is highly suited for growing tea on the southern Chikushi Plains since the early 15th century. It’s also blessed with clean water from the mountains, fertile soil, and highly skilled tea farmers.

Yame-cha hon-gyokuro green tea. — **Yame-cha hon-gyokuro** green tea served by **Kojimachi Nadaman Fukuoka Bettei**.

Yame-cha specializes in hon-gyokuro tea. Unlike the more common sencha tea leaves, gyokuro tea leaves (玉露) are grown in the shade to give it a more umami savory sweetness and less bitterness.

More about Yame-cha tea: https://www.crossroadfukuoka.jp/en/articles/yame_tea

Making Yame-washi paper. — Making *Yame-washi* paper. Washi-making lessons are held at *Yame Tesuki Washi Shiryokan* (八女手すき和紙資料館).

Yame is also a center of traditional Japanese crafts including Yame-washi paper (over 400-year history), chochin paper lanterns, stone lanterns, and even Buddhist altars which requires a variety of skilled artisans.

The best place to see these crafts is at the Yame Traditional Crafts Center and Museum (Yame Dento Kogei-kan 八女伝統工芸館).

Japanese crafts made in Yame. Paper lanterns, Buddhist altars, and stone lanterns (usually smaller than this one).

Yame also happens to be the ancestral hometown of the late Hawaii U.S. Senator Daniel K. Inouye from Hawaii. The Daniel Inouye Museum (ダニエルイノウエミュージアム) recently opened in Yame on April 25, 2024. Details here.

Getting to Yame: Yame’s main train station is JR Hainuzuka Station (in neighboring Chikugo) Takes about an hour from JR Hakata Station to Hainuzuka Station via JR Kagoshima Main Line. Taxis are usually available at Hainuzuka Station.

Yame Tourist Info: https://en.yame.travel