December 2026 Kids’ Events in Fukuoka: 11 Family Events with Prices and Booking, by Date

December events to attend with children

The Eric Carle exhibition at Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art runs until December 20; other exhibitions and teamLab run until January 11.

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This page lists 11 events in and around Fukuoka that you can attend with children in December 2026, with dates, prices and whether you need to book. Four events run on fixed days: the Munakata Christmas Market on Sat, Dec 5; the Fukuoka Art Museum parent-and-child Christmas concert on Sat, Dec 12; picture-book readings at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum on Dec 8, 13 and 22; and the Uminonakamichi Candle Night, which starts Dec 12. Seven more can be visited any day during their run: exhibitions and a light event, most of them until Jan 11. More winter-holiday events are usually announced from November on, and will be added here.

In short

Free: Munakata Christmas Market (Dec 5) and the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum readings (Dec 8, 13, 22).
Evening out for the park entry fee only: Uminonakamichi Candle Night (from 17:30). After 17:00 the fee is ¥290 for adults; junior high school students and younger are free.
Booking needed: the Fukuoka Art Museum Christmas concert (¥500, lottery, apply by Mon, Nov 16).
Exhibition prices for children: Eric Carle exhibition ¥600 (age 4 to elementary school); teamLab Fukuoka Castle Ruins ¥700 for elementary school students on weekdays (preschoolers free); “1999” exhibition ¥1,000 for elementary school students.
Free for older students: Kyushu National Museum “Himiko’s Mirror” and Kurume City Art Museum are free up to high school; the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum exhibition is free up to junior high school.

Checked with official pages on Oct 25, 2026 (Japan time).

1. How to choose: free, paid and booking

Free: the Munakata Christmas Market (Dec 5) and the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum readings (Dec 8, 13, 22). The Christmas Advent venues across Fukuoka are also free to enter.
Evening visit for the entry fee: Candle Night uses the evening park fee from 17:00 (adults ¥290, junior high school students and younger free).
Elementary-school prices: Eric Carle exhibition ¥600 (age 4 to elementary school), teamLab ¥700 on weekdays (preschoolers free), “1999” exhibition ¥1,000.
Free by age: “Himiko’s Mirror” (Kyushu National Museum) and Kurume City Art Museum for high school students and younger; “Beyond Conflict” (Fukuoka Asian Art Museum) for junior high school students and younger.
Booking: the Fukuoka Art Museum Christmas concert must be applied for by Mon, Nov 16 (lottery).

2. Events on fixed days in December (4 events)

Pick a day and go. Listed by date. On Sat, Dec 12 the Fukuoka Art Museum concert and the first night of Candle Night fall on the same day.

Date	Event	Venue	Price	Booking	Notes
Sat, Dec 5	Munakata Christmas Market	Sunlive Create, Munakata	Free	None	Santa appears. 14:00–20:00; if it rains, held Sun, Dec 6
Dec 8, 13, 22	Asian picture-book and kamishibai readings	Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, 7th floor	Free	About 10 groups per session	Children with an adult; two 30-minute sessions a day (11:30 and 13:00)
Sat, Dec 12	Parent-and-child Christmas concert	Fukuoka Art Museum, Museum Hall	¥500	Application required, lottery (deadline Nov 16)	Children under 3 not admitted
Dec 12, 13, 19, 20, 24, 25	Uminonakamichi Candle Night 2026	Uminonakamichi Seaside Park, Fukuoka	Evening park fee: adults ¥290, age 65+ ¥210, junior high school students and younger free	None	17:30–20:45; cancelled in severe weather

If you go by car, check the venue’s official parking information; you can also look for nearby car parks. Find parking with Tokupi (ad)

What each fixed-day event involves

Munakata Christmas Market. It is held at Sunlive Create in Munakata (about a 5-minute walk from the north exit of JR Akama Station) on Sat, Dec 5, from 14:00 to 20:00. Local restaurants and food trucks line up, and a Fukuoka Prefecture tourism site says Santa may appear and hand out presents to children. If it rains, it moves to the next day, Sun, Dec 6.

Fukuoka Art Museum Christmas concert. It runs from 14:00 to 15:00 (doors 13:30) on Sat, Dec 12 in the Museum Hall on the first floor. The performers are the piano, soprano and painter unit “Art Musica”; they present Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” with music, narration and live painting, plus Christmas pieces for flute and piano. There are 170 seats. The ¥500 fee is paid in cash at the venue on the day. Applications run from Thu, Oct 15 to Mon, Nov 16, with up to 4 people per application; if there are too many applicants, seats are drawn by lottery.

Uminonakamichi Candle Night. This is the 20th year. About 10,000 candles draw a ground picture around the open-air theater. It runs on six days (Dec 12, 13, 19, 20, 24, 25), 17:30–20:45 (last entry 20:15). There is parking, and the event is cancelled in severe weather.

Fukuoka Asian Art Museum readings. Museum volunteers read picture books and kamishibai (paper-theater) stories from Asian countries and regions in the 7th-floor kids’ corner. Adults can join without a child.

3. Exhibitions and light events open any day in December (7 events)

These have long runs, listed by closing date. Child pricing differs: some venues are free by age, others have an elementary-school rate. Detailed pages below are in Japanese.

Dates	Event	Venue	Child price	Booking / conditions
Until Dec 20	Eric Carle exhibition: Where It All Began, The Very Hungry Caterpillar (Japanese)	Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art	Age 4 to elementary school ¥600; junior/senior high school ¥1,000 (general ¥2,000)	Closed Mondays. No museum parking
Until Dec 25	Fukuoka Christmas Advent (Hakata Station, Tenjin and others) (Japanese)	Fukuoka City and Kitakyushu City	Free entry	Dates and hours differ by venue
Until Jan 11	Special exhibition “Himiko’s Mirror” (Japanese)	Kyushu National Museum	Free up to high school (general ¥2,000)	Tickets sold at the venue only
Until Jan 11	“Beyond Conflict” (Japanese)	Fukuoka Asian Art Museum	Free up to junior high school (general ¥1,000)	No booking. Closed Wednesdays
Until Jan 11	10th anniversary “Collection-ing” (Japanese)	Kurume City Art Museum	Free up to high school (general ¥800)	Closed Mondays
Until Jan 11	Special exhibition “1999” (Japanese)	Fukuoka City Museum	Elementary school ¥1,000; junior high to university ¥2,000 (general ¥2,500)	Same-day tickets only. Closed Mondays
Until Jan 11	teamLab Fukuoka Castle Ruins: Festival of Light (Japanese)	Fukuoka Castle Ruins (Maizuru Park)	Elementary school ¥700; junior/senior high school ¥1,300; preschoolers free (weekdays)	Date and time reservation needed on weekends, holidays and Dec 29–31

Parking at Candle Night, teamLab’s evening hours (18:15 to 22:00 in December), and each museum’s closing days and late openings are covered in the Japanese pages linked above. The “1999” exhibition and Fukuoka Tower offer a discount on one with the ticket stub of the other (Fukuoka Tower and “1999” mutual discount, Japanese). All December events are in the December events page (Japanese).

4. Where to stay if you go overnight

December venues are in Fukuoka City, and also in Kitakyushu and Kurume. If you stay overnight near Fukuoka City venues, you can compare hotels in Tenjin, Nakasu and Yakuin on Rakuten Travel. Find hotels in Tenjin, Nakasu and Yakuin on Rakuten Travel (ad)

FAQ

Which December events need booking?

Of the events listed here, the Fukuoka Art Museum concert needs an application (deadline Mon, Nov 16, lottery). Most others need no booking; teamLab needs a date-and-time reservation on weekends, holidays and Dec 29–31.

Which events are free?

The Munakata Christmas Market, the picture-book readings and the Christmas Advent venues are free. Some exhibitions are free for children by age (see section 3).

Does this page say whether English is supported?

This page does not say whether the organizers offer English support.

Sources

6 pages we checked

Checked with official pages on October 25, 2026 (Japan time).