A Journey to Discover Yame, a Town of Crafts (2 days 1 night)
Recommended Season: Yearound
Maximum 2days 
Walk the beautiful traditional townscape of Yame and enjoy an indigo-dyeing experience through this two-day one-night tour.
This course is recommended for first-time visitors to Yame.
After strolling the streets of Yame Fukushima on a guided walking tour, stay amongst the town’s traditional buildings at Craft Inn 手 [té], a lodge where you can experience the crafts of Kyushu.
The next morning, experience indigo dyeing with Kensuke Yamamura, the fifth-generation owner of Aizome Kasuri Kobo. The workshop preserves traditional indigo-dyed, hand-woven Kurume Kasuri production techniques into the modern day.
Sample
Itinerary
Learn about Yame’s History and Culture, Stay at an Inn and Experience Crafts
Upon arrival in Yame, first join the guided tour “Yame Fukushima: Meet the Craftspeople Keeping Traditions Alive.” You will learn about the history of Yame, how this former castle town became a town of craft. Along the way, you will also get to visit workshops of artisans crafting Buddhist altars and paper lanterns — places not easily accessible on one’s own
Check in at Craft Inn 手 [té], an inn renovated from a traditional Japanese house. During your stay, use original furniture and furnishings made by craftspeople from all over Kyushu, as well as tableware from Unagi no Nedoko. For loungewear, we offer MONPE made of Kurume Kasuri fabric. Relax with a bath in a wooden tub made of Yame cedar.
Craft Inn 手 [té] does not provide dinner, encouraging guests to enjoy the restaurants in Yame. We especially recommend the jidori chicken grilled over charcoal, and can help reserve a course according to your budget and number of people. Be sure to try the local specialities, dagojiru (dumpling soup) and torimeshi (chicken rice), to finish off your meal. In addition to the jidori restaurant, we can recommend other restaurants in the neighborhood according to your budget and other requests.
Create Art at a Kurume Kasuri Indigo Dyeing Workshop
Breakfast is served in your room. The meal is made using a variety of local ingredients and is served in Matsunobu Kogei’s original wooden buckets made of only wood and bamboo.
Visit the Kurume Kasuri maker Aizome Kasuri Kobo. Among craft makers in the Chikugo region, the workshop continues to dye indigo in the most traditional way. After seeing the workshop, dye cloth with indigo to make a piece of art. You can take your finished creation home with you that same day.
After the experience, why not branch out to the nature-rich Okuyame and have lunch at Chiyono-en Tea Farm? The farm has been growing tea in Yabe Village, the mountainous region of Yame, for three generations. Since 2019, it has also operated a teahouse as a place to enjoy expertly-prepared tea, and as a way to pass on the slowly disappearing food culture of Okuyame’s local grandmothers.
At the end of the trip, shop at Unagi no Nedoko, a shop that features handicrafts from Kyushu and across Japan. A variety of products are available for sale, such as MONPE pants made of Kurume Kasuri, pottery, Japanese paper, glass, bamboo crafts, and local toys.
Services Included
・Accomodation costs at Craft Inn 手 [té]
・Hands-on experience program (Make Your Very Own Indigo Art at Aizome Kasuri Kobo, 2hrs)
・1 breakfast, 0 lunches, 0 dinners
Remarks
・The minimum number of participants is 2
・Please apply at least 1 month prior to your stay
・The tour may also be available on other days of the week. Please contact us for details.
Price
Price 0 yen (tax included)
*Please inquire if you wish to book the tour with only one participant.
Travel Planning: Implementation
3-12-22-302 Yakuin, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka Prefecture 810-0022
TEL: 092-982-7956
E-MAIL: tour@unalabs.jp
Domestic Certified Travel Supervisors: Aya Tamura, Noriko Yahata, Rei Watanabe
Business Hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday (Closed Saturdays, Sundays, and Holidays)
*Requests received outside of business hours will be processed the following business day.
*Domestic Certified Travel Supervisors are responsible for transactions held at the sales office that processes customers’ travel. Please do not hesitate to contact the aforementioned Domestic Certified Travel Supervisors with any questions or concerns regarding the travel contract.