Fukuoka is famous for its Yame Tea. Its tea plantations cover an area that ranks 6th in size in Japan. Although it is not the largest tea-growing region, Yame is famous in Japan for its
Eisai, who studied Zen Buddhism in China, brought Zen teachings to Japan and built the first Zen temple, Shofuku Temple, in Fukuoka Prefecture in 1195. While in China, he became impressed with the potency of tea, and when he returned to Japan he brought with him tea seeds.
Yame Tea can be traced back to Shuzui, a pupil of Eisai who returned from China with tea seeds of even higher quality. He sowed those seeds when he built Reigan Temple in Yame in 1423, and taught the local farmers how to cultivate and process the tea.