When you arrive in the Yame area after departing from Hakata, first stop by the tourist center located adjacent to the Yame Tourism Products Hall Tokimeki. Here you can pick up walking maps of the area, ask the staff about recommended spots or seasonal information, and put together your own walking course.

The Fukushima district in the center of Yame City once prospered as a castle town in ancient times. Numerous traditional buildings here survive from between the Edo and early Showa periods (1603 - 1945), and the area is designated as a National Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings.
The white plaster walls and massive tiled roofs come together to offer a calming atmosphere that echoes of those times. Numerous cafes and shops styled in a traditional Japanese esthetic have been opened in recent years after renovating the old homes here, making the area popular as a stylish place where you can travel back and forth between the past and present.
Make sure to grab lunch here while enjoying the views of the white-walled townscape juxtaposed against the blue sky.

This shrine located in the Fukushima district boasts a history of over 360 years. The shrine is popular for its Goshuin seals and protective amulets designed to make you exclaim, “Oh cute!”, when you see them.  There are always more than 10 different Goshuin seal designs available, including colorful versions available only during certain seasons, and paper cutout versions with impressive delicate patterns. The protective amulets that feature a design of a mythical looking Pterosaur, the symbol of the shrine, offer blessings for success and victory and seem likely to bring good luck when they reflect rainbow colors when held towards the light.
So stop by here for a moment to pray while you take a walk through the town.

This gorge, stretching roughly six kilometers in length, is accompanied by a legend that states that Hyugami (the gods of Hyuga) were drawn there by its beauty. The gorge is filled throughout with impressively massive stones and strangely shaped rocks, and you can enjoy driving through it as you enjoy the beauty of the gorge.
We particularly recommend the view from the Kehogi Bridge, a red arch bridge, located on the route. The massive heart-shaped rock that can be seen here is gaining popularity as a power spot for achieving fulfillment in love. You may be able to significantly improve your luck in love if you ring the Bell of Happiness, or “Shiawase-no-Kane”.

This museum, located in Hoshino Village where high-grade tea is grown, allows you to experience the appeals of Yame tea to the fullest. The museum features a chance to try the finest quality Shizuku tea and a Matcha tea hall, as well as a cafeteria where you can enjoy not only drinks made with Yame tea, but also sweets and meals using the tea as well.
They also offer workshops including making Matcha tea, blending Hojicha tea, and hand kneading your own green tea.
*Some workshops require prior reservations, so please inquire in advance.

This inn is located on the grounds of Isonosawa, the only brewery in Ukiha City. The inn was opened in a renovated traditional home built 130 years ago.
The inn features a shower and cold-water bath made using a brewing tank and a barrel-shaped sauna where you can enjoy the unique experience of feeling what it would be like to be steamed like rice for use in the sake brewing process. So enjoy a sauna experience only available here.
For dinner, the full time chef shows off his prowess with a menu of dishes featuring an ample supply of local ingredients. This meal will fill you up and is perfect for sake lovers because you can enjoy a free unlimited supply of the sake that is the pride of this brewery.
* Make reservations as early as possible because accommodations are limited to one group per day.

The House of Igura is a mansion located in the Ukiha City Yoshiimachi National Traditional Important Cultural Properties District that once belonged to a merchant who made their fortune in the wax business. It is open to the general public as a leading example of the many earthen storehouses in the district, featuring a high level of perfection.
There is much to see here. The house with its beautiful white walls, said to have been constructed at the end of the Meiji period (1868 - 1912), features an atrium style tatami room and a bath changing room designed in the Sukiya-zukuri architectural style, while the grounds feature a spacious Japanese garden.
If you have the time, be sure to also check out the townscape of Chikugo Yoshii, an area that prospered as the Bungo Kaido  inn town at the end of the Meiji period (1868 - 1912).

Sake brewing has long prospered in Kurume City thanks to the abundant underground water resources flowing from the Mino mountains and the high quality rice from the region. Numerous types of alcoholic beverages are still brewed and fermented here today, including Japanese sake, shochu, and wine.
The Beniotome Brewery is the first in the world to develop a shochu called Beniotome made with sesame seeds. The adjacent Mino Distillery can also be toured if you make a reservation. The storehouse with its distillation vessels imported from France and stained glass windows is definitely worth a look.
The brewery’s shop offers special items with limited availability, and many recommended options for gifts. Sadly you cannot taste the offerings if you drove to get here, so read the labels and imagine the taste before making a purchase.

Why not have lunch at a cafe complete with a traditional sunken hearth located in the mountains of Ukiha City in the Himeharu district?
Diners can sit around the sunken hearth, called an Irori in Japanese, and enjoy rural cuisine such as freshly grilled Dengaku, the local Dagojiru soup, and wild game. Diners familiar with Japan may feel a sense of nostalgia for the dishes made with local vegetables and fruits and the bounty of the surrounding mountains.
Enjoy a relaxing afternoon in the cafe’s comfortable interior. (The cafe can be busy on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, so please make a reservation in advance on those days.)

This shrine located in Jogahana Park enshrines the god of business prosperity, abundant harvests, sake brewing, health and longevity, and academics. Visitors can travel up the mountain through a procession of over 90 bright red Torii gates to reach a viewing spot offering a panoramic view of the Chikugo Plain. The contrast between the red of the Torii gates and the wide open blue sky is beautiful. When the weather is good you can see the Harazuru Hot Spring and even as far as Amagi in the distance. The shrine has attracted attention recently as a particularly photogenic spot and is now visited by numerous worshippers.

The fruitpicking season in Ukiha City, a known as the kingdom of  fruit, lasts year round and starts with strawberries in January, followed by peaches, blueberries, grapes and pairs from July, and persimmons in October.
The Ukiha Kaju-no-mura (fruit village) Yamandon is a fruit orchard geared towards tourists, covering approximately 25,000 square meters, where you can pick your own fruit. The fruit you can pick here is exceptional and quite juicy.
After picking fruit, enjoy a relaxing moment at the attached cafe and take in a view of the whole orchard. The cafe serves freshly brewed coffee and homemade sweets made with ample portions of seasonal fruit.

To get here, look for the quaint wooden building based on a motif of the Kudo-zukuri architectural style of traditional Japanese homes, considered a national important cultural treasure. The shelves of the shop overflow with fresh local fruits and vegetables, homemade ready-made meals, and processed foods, while the observation deck offers a panoramic view of the wide open Chikugo Plain. At one point, this roadside station achieved first place in a travel magazine on the Kyushu region for favored roadside stations. It is the perfect place to grab souvenirs, perhaps the goal of any trip.