Yame’s matcha boom is attracting overseas visitors while creating difficulties for businesses selling traditional loose-leaf tea. Foreign visitor stays in the city rose to 2.36 times the previous year’s level in 2025, the fastest growth in Kyushu. At Yame’s tea trading center, the volume of tencha used for matcha increased by about 50% in 2026, while loose-leaf varieties such as gyokuro fell by about 10%. Competition for leaves from matcha producers and bottled-tea makers is pushing up procurement costs, according to local sellers. Tokyo Shoko Research recorded 20 tea-business bankruptcies, closures and dissolutions across Kyushu and Okinawa in 2025, the highest total in a decade. Source: TNC News / Teikoku Databank
Photo: Fukuoka Now
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