Left a piece of my heart in Yame

Domestic travel in Japan is so easy and so worthwhile. Within a few hours, you can be transported into a new area with new sights to see, foods to try and things to do. While we are living in Japan I want to explore as many areas of this beautiful country, as much as possible. Every time we take a trip away from the city, I get all dreamy-eyed for Japan again.
We rented a car on Saturday and took the highway to Yame - a city within Fukuoka Prefecture known nationwide for its green tea. It was my first time in Yame, but I fell in love with the city as soon as we hopped out of the car.

The streets of the old town "Fukushima" were quiet when we arrived in the morning, and we wandered around admiring their old-world Japan charm.

We hadn't realised that we were in town on the weekend of a Yame festival. Cute street stalls lined the streets and children dressed in traditional costume were rushed by their mothers towards to the main shrine area.

However it was still too early in the day to catch the festival, so we wandered back down the lovely main street again, stopping for amazing handmade soba lunch.

Next, we drove up to the top of a hill overlooking the big tea plantation 八女市中央大茶園。Neither of us drink coffee - we are tea drinkers through and through - so it was amazing to see how they grow the leaves that make up one of our favourite drinks. The rows of tea bushes are so neatly arranged and the fans that keep frost off the leaves at night time sparkle as they catch the sun.

Another winding drive through the Yame countryside and we arrived at the next destination, a tea museum/cultural center. The building itself was worth the visit, and our entry included a macha tea ceremony. Yes, yes, yes I love macha.

Finally we checked in to our accommodation for the night, a bed and breakfast style ryokan run by an elderly couple in their beautiful old house. We really got lucky finding this place - it was amazing, the old woman who runs it was so welcoming and friendly, the food delightful. The regular guests were away for the weekend so we had the whole place to ourselves, including the outdoor bath. Peace and quiet, exactly what we needed.

And so we came to the end of our short stay in Yame. Highly recommended as a day trip, and just what I needed this weekend.
x