Hoshino Village Terraced Rice Fields and Tea Plantations: A Terraced Rice Field Village with Remaining Original Mountain Village Scenery

Stone-stacked rice terraces rising in tiers up mountain slopes, beautiful tea fields wrapped in mist, and a night sky so full of stars they seem to fall — Hoshino Village in Yame City, Fukuoka Prefecture, is a farming village spread across mountains at roughly 200 to 1,000 meters elevation, where Japan's original landscape survives. Known for painstakingly built terraces and the fragrant premium tea Yame-cha, it invites visitors into a simple, beautiful mountain world. Close to the Saga Prefecture border, it pairs well with a trip through the Saga area.

Stone-Stacked Rice Terraces

The scenery that symbolizes Hoshino Village is its stone-stacked terraces climbing the slopes in tiers. Among them, the terraces of the Hirouchi and Uehara districts, opened by predecessors who stacked stones by hand, form a beautiful landscape selected in 1999 for Japan's Top 100 Rice Terraces. In the fresh-green season, water-filled paddies mirror the sky; in autumn, golden ears of rice color the slopes. Changing with each season, the terraces are a work of art built by people and nature together.

A Famous Home of Yame Tea

Hoshino Village is nationally renowned as a producer of Fukuoka's premium Yame tea, and especially of the finest gyokuro. It is known as one of Japan's leading gyokuro regions, having earned high honors many times in the gyokuro category of national tea competitions. The mountain climate, with its sharp day-night temperature swings and mist, nurtures mellow, deeply flavorful tea. The sweep of beautiful tea fields is exceptional, and at the Hoshino Village Tea Culture Hall you can learn to brew gyokuro and enjoy a tasting.

Clear Night Skies and Starlight

True to the name Hoshino, meaning star field, the village is also known for its beautiful starry skies. In this mountain village with clear air and little artificial light, you can gaze up at a sky brimming with stars. The village observatory, the Star Culture Hall, offers stargazing through a large telescope (confirm opening hours and reservations in advance). Staying overnight to watch the night sky brings a wonder that city life can never offer.

Access & Basic Information

• Location: Hoshino Village, Yame City, Fukuoka Prefecture (formerly Hoshino Village), a mountain area near the Saga Prefecture border
• Access by car is most convenient, climbing mountain roads from central Yame City
• Public transport includes buses from the JR Kurume Station and Hainuzuka Station areas, but services are limited, so check timetables in advance
• The terraces, tea fields, and observatory are scattered across the village, so traveling by car is the practical choice

Practical Travel Notes

• Best season: Spring for new tea, early summer when the terraces fill with water, and autumn when the rice turns golden are especially beautiful; stargazing is also good from autumn to winter when the air is clear
• Time needed: Half a day to a full day to tour the terraces, tea fields, and observatory; for stargazing, staying overnight is recommended
• Getting around: Some mountain roads are narrow, so drive with care; if heading out for night stargazing, watch for dark mountain roads on the way back
• What to bring: At this elevation mornings and evenings are cool, so a layer to put on is reassuring even in summer

One Piece of Advice

Hoshino Village is deep in the mountains, and roads grow dark at night with few streetlights. To enjoy stargazing, stay overnight or check the roads while it is still light. The terraces are also places where people live and farm. Do not enter private land, take care not to damage farm paths and paddy ridges, and enjoy the beautiful scenery quietly.

📚 Sources

This article is edited based on tourism information from Yame City and Hoshino Village, materials on the Hirouchi-Uehara terraced rice fields being selected among Japan's Top 100 Terraced Rice Fields, and publicly available information from the tea culture hall and the Hoshino-mura astronomical facility. The observatory's hours and reservations, and lodging and transport information, may change, so please confirm with the official information of each facility or municipality before visiting. Its reputation as a home of Yame tea and gyokuro is based on regional public materials.

Visitor Checklist

• Estimated time: About half a day to a full day to tour the terraced fields, tea fields, and observatory; for stargazing, an overnight stay is recommended
• What to bring: The elevation is high and mornings and evenings are cool, so a layer helps even in summer; if heading out for night stargazing, prepare for the dark mountain roads back and check the route in daylight
• Suggested route: Tour the stone-built terraces of the Hirouchi-Uehara area and the tea fields, visit the tea culture hall to learn gyokuro brewing, and stargaze at the astronomical facility at night, all realistically by car
• Etiquette: The terraces are where people live and farm, so avoid entering private land and take care not to damage the farm and ridge paths

Practical Information for Your Visit

* The Hoshino-mura covered in this article is Hoshino-mura in Yame City, Fukuoka Prefecture (formerly Hoshino-mura, Yame-gun). It is not in Saga Prefecture.

• Hirouchi and Uwabaru rice terraces: Hoshino-mura, Yame City, Fukuoka Prefecture. They cover about 12.6 hectares, with 425 individual paddies in 137 tiers and an elevation difference of 230 m. They received the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Award at the Beautiful Japanese Village Landscape Contest in 1994, and were selected as one of Japan's 100 Best Rice Terraces in 1999 (Yame City official information). Inquiries: Regional Development Section, Hoshino Branch Office of Yame City, tel. 0943-52-3111
• Tea Culture Museum (Cha no Bunkakan): 10816-5 Hoshino-mura, Yame City / tel. 0943-52-3003
• Open 10:00-17:00, closed on Tuesdays (open on public holidays, throughout May, and during the summer holiday period), admission free of charge, parking for 30 vehicles
• Tea serving reception 10:00-12:00 and 13:00-15:30
• Experience fees (including tax): matcha grinding 800 yen (500 yen for the experience of whisking and drinking your own tea plus a sweet), hojicha making 1,000 yen, blended hojicha making 1,200 yen, hand-rolled green tea making 2,000 yen (twice a day, 8 people each time), tocha tea-tasting contest 1,500 yen (5 or more people, reservations required at least 5 days in advance), tea brewing lesson 900 yen (5 or more people, reservations required at least 5 days in advance), tea ceremony experience 2,800 yen (6 or more people, reservations required at least 2 weeks in advance)
• Star Culture Museum (Hoshi no Bunkakan, observatory and planetarium): 10828-1 Hoshino-mura, Yame City / tel. 0943-52-3000
• Opening hours: Monday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays 10:30-22:00 (last entry 21:30); Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 12:50-22:00 (last entry 21:30)
• Closing days: Tuesdays (open during the New Year period, on public holidays, and during the spring and summer holiday periods)
• Admission (revised on April 1, Reiwa 8 (2026)): adults (junior high school age and above) 500 yen for the planetarium, 700 yen for astronomical observation, or 900 yen for both; elementary school students 300 yen / 500 yen / 600 yen; young children (aged 4 and over) 100 yen / 200 yen / 300 yen. Group discounts are available for 15 or more people
• Telescopes: a 65 cm Newtonian reflector in the first dome, and a 100 cm Ritchey-Chretien telescope in the second dome, one of the largest in Kyushu. There is an adjoining small hotel, so you can also stay overnight
• Hoshi no Furusato Park and Ike no Yamaso: Ike no Yamaso is a wooden lodge with 14 rooms (2 of them with semi-open-air hot spring baths) and 2 private family baths. The adjoining hot spring facility has the Miharashi no Yu bath looking out over the rice terraces and rural scenery, and the Mori no Yu bath surrounded by deciduous woodland. Around Aso Pond is the Ike no Yama campsite, with lodges and bungalows
• Access (by car): About 45 minutes from Hirokawa Interchange or Yame Interchange. From the Oita direction, about 30 minutes from Haki Interchange (Haki Interchange has been ETC-only since March 17, 2025; vehicles without ETC should allow about 50 minutes from Hita Interchange)
• Access (by public transport): From JR Hainuzuka Station, take a Horikawa bus 20 minutes to the Yame (Fukushima) stop, then a Horikawa bus bound for Hoshino 80 minutes from Fukushima to the Ike no Yama-mae stop, for a total of about 90 minutes

* Visitor parking and a viewing route for the Hirouchi and Uwabaru rice terraces are not published in official information. The terraces are private land where farming is carried out, so please be considerate about entering farm roads and the paths between paddies. (Sources: Yame City official website, Hoshi no Furusato general incorporated foundation official website \"Hoshino-mura Kanko Navi\")