[Winter Holidays 2026] Guide to Exhibitions and Art Experiences to Enjoy with Children: teamLab, Shinsuke Yoshitake and More

We introduce 12 exhibitions and art experiences from across Japan that are easy to visit with children during the winter holidays. At the Hachinohe Art Museum in Aomori, “Yoshitake Shinsuke Exhibition, Maybe” runs from Saturday, November 21 to Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday), and the Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum’s “Hello Kitty Exhibition” also continues until the same January 11. teamLab Planets TOKYO in Toyosu, Tokyo, stays open until 20:00 on December 31.

Watch out for closures over the New Year holidays. The Hachinohe Art Museum is closed from December 29 to January 1, the Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum from December 28 to January 1, the Gifu City Museum of History from December 28 to January 4, and the Kyushu National Museum from December 24 to 31. On the other hand, some facilities are open every day of the year, and some outdoor events are also open at the end of the year. Children’s prices and the conditions for accompanying guardians vary by facility, so we have noted the main ones in each entry and in the FAQ.

Exhibitions and digital art in Tokyo and Yokohama

The Little Prince: A Journey Through the Sky in Search of What Matters (Tokyo City View)

Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the publication of The Little Prince in France, the exhibition presents the world of the story together with the views of Tokyo’s sky and city from the observation deck. The exhibition has five chapters, with about 40 drawings and the covers of about 70 editions published around the world. Tickets are required from age 4, and it is open until 22:00 (last entry 21:30).

Dates: Friday, November 13, 2026 – Sunday, February 14, 2027
Venue: Tokyo City View (Roppongi Hills Mori Tower, 52F)
Details in our article on The Little Prince exhibition

teamLab Planets TOKYO DMM (Toyosu)

A “museum where you walk through water,” with works in which you walk barefoot through water. In October 2026 it announced a new soft sculpture into which your feet sink as you walk, “Massive Waves.” In some places the water comes up to an adult’s knees, so it recommends that small children wear clothes that can get wet or bring a change of clothes. Tickets must be purchased in advance and are not sold on site.

Dates: Open until the end of 2027
Venue: 6-1-16 Toyosu, Koto-ku, Tokyo
Details in our article on teamLab Planets

teamLab Borderless (Azabudai Hills)

A permanent digital art museum showing more than 70 groups of works under the banner of a “museum without a map,” in which works leave rooms, move about and interact with other works. At the adjoining teamLab Sketch Factory, pictures of sea creatures drawn in the museum can be made into badges or T-shirts. Strollers cannot be taken in; use the large luggage storage area.

Dates: Permanent
Venue: Azabudai Hills Garden Plaza B, B1 (Toranomon, Tokyo)
Details in our article on teamLab Borderless

Impressionist Monet and Ukiyo-e: The Japanese Beauty That Captivated Monet (THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA)

Taking Claude Monet’s relationship with Japanese art as a starting point, the program depicts the resonance between ukiyo-e and Impressionism in five chapters of about 45 minutes of video and sound. Katsushika Hokusai’s “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” from Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji and Utagawa Hiroshige’s “Nihonbashi” from The Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido also appear. Admission is free for junior high school students and younger.

Dates: Saturday, October 24, 2026 – Wednesday, March 31, 2027
Venue: THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA by TOYOTA GROUP (Yamashita Pier, Yokohama)
Details in our article on Impressionist Monet and Ukiyo-e

LIGHTBEATS (Takeshiba, Takanawa and Oimachi)

The first light and sound installation held by JR East, in which sensors capture people’s movements and three districts send signals to one another. Announced content includes fountains and lights that start moving in sync when you wave your arms in front of a fountain, and effects that appear when you touch a Suica card. Hours are 17:30 to 23:05 (planned), and admission is free.

Dates: Thursday, November 19, 2026 – Sunday, January 31, 2027
Venues: WATERS takeshiba, TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY, OIMACHI TRACKS
Details in our article on LIGHTBEATS

Digital art experiences in Tokai and Kansai

Arte Museum Nagoya (Chita City, Aichi)

An immersive art space operated and produced by the Seoul-based d’strict, opening on November 18. Its theme is “ETERNAL NATURE,” with 18 works in 17 spaces inside a building of about 5,000 m². Tickets are sold online for specific dates, and children aged 3 and under are free.

Dates: Opens Wednesday, November 18, 2026
Venue: Chita City, Aichi (3-minute walk from Shin-Maiko Station on the Meitetsu Tokoname Line)
Details in our article on Arte Museum Nagoya

teamLab Botanical Garden Osaka (Nagai Botanical Garden)

A permanent exhibition that turns the roughly 240,000 m² Nagai Botanical Garden into an artwork only at night, with works using trees, ponds and meadows that change in response to people, wind and rain. From November 9 to January 31, 2027, it is open from 18:00 to 21:30 (last entry 20:30), and closed on December 14 and January 18. Preschool children are free.

Dates: Permanent (nighttime only)
Venue: Nagai Botanical Garden (Higashisumiyoshi-ku, Osaka)
Details in our article on teamLab Botanical Garden Osaka

Exhibitions and light events in Aomori, Nagasaki and Fukuoka

Yoshitake Shinsuke Exhibition, Maybe (Hachinohe Art Museum)

According to the museum, this is picture book author Shinsuke Yoshitake’s first large-scale exhibition. About 2,500 of his more than 10,000 sketches are shown as reproductions, and together with original drawings from about 30 picture books, more than 400 items are on display. There are also experiential displays that let visitors step into the world of his works, and a free pass, the “Kao Pass,” allows unlimited entry during the exhibition.

Dates: Saturday, November 21, 2026 – Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday)
Venue: Hachinohe Art Museum (Hachinohe City, Aomori)
Details in our article on the Shinsuke Yoshitake exhibition

Hello Kitty Exhibition: When I Change, Kitty Changes Too (Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum)

The exhibition explores why Hello Kitty, now half a century old, has become loved around the world, through her relationship with each individual fan. The main displays cited by the museum are the largest-ever display of merchandise in the exhibition’s history, collaborations with artists and original video content. Preschool children are free (guardians need tickets).

Dates: Saturday, October 17, 2026 – Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday)
Venue: Nagasaki Prefectural Art Museum (Nagasaki City)
Details in our article on the Hello Kitty exhibition

Special Exhibition “Himiko’s Mirrors: How Triangular-Rimmed Deity-and-Beast Mirrors Built the Yamato Kingship” (Kyushu National Museum)

An exhibition exploring the birth of the Yamato kingship through the triangular-rimmed deity-and-beast mirrors excavated from burial mounds around Japan. At the venue, characters from the mirrors, such as Himemiko-chan, serve as guides, and photography is permitted except in some areas. Admission is free for high school students and younger and those under 18.

Dates: Saturday, October 31, 2026 – Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday)
Venue: Kyushu National Museum (Dazaifu City, Fukuoka)
Details in our article on the Himiko’s Mirrors exhibition

teamLab: Digitized Fukuoka Castle Ruins 2026-2027 (Maizuru Park)

The third edition at the Fukuoka Castle ruins and the first in seven years, with eight works in the heart of the ruins, where stone walls and steps remain. Works include “Autonomous, Resonating Life,” which, when pushed by people or knocked over by wind and rain, rights itself while intensifying its light and sound. Timed reservations are required on weekends, holidays and December 29 to 31, and preschool children are free.

Dates: Friday, October 30, 2026 – Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday)
Venue: Fukuoka Castle Ruins, Maizuru Park (Chuo-ku, Fukuoka)
Details in our article on the teamLab Fukuoka Castle Ruins Light Festival

Frequently asked questions

Which facilities are open over the New Year holidays?

Arte Museum Nagoya is open every day of the year until 20:00. teamLab Planets TOKYO is open until 20:00 on December 31. The teamLab Fukuoka Castle Ruins Light Festival is open on December 29 to 31, and from January 1, 2027 opens at 18:30.

Can children enter on their own?

teamLab Planets TOKYO requires children under 13, and teamLab Botanical Garden Osaka junior high school students and younger, to be accompanied by a guardian aged 18 or over, with up to three children per guardian at both. teamLab Borderless also requires elementary school students and younger to be accompanied by a guardian aged 18 or over. At THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA, elementary school students and younger cannot enter on their own.

Where are children admitted free?

At the Kyushu National Museum’s Himiko’s Mirrors exhibition, high school students and younger and those under 18 are free, and at THE MOVEUM YOKOHAMA, junior high school students and younger. At teamLab Planets TOKYO, children aged 3 and under are free, while The Little Prince exhibition requires tickets from age 4.

Summary

During the winter holidays, museums’ New Year closures and each facility’s rules for accompanying guardians overlap, so once you have decided where to go, check the dates and conditions in each article and on the official websites.

*Information as of October 20, 2026. Please check each article and the official websites for dates, prices and reservations.

*Top image: Katsushika Hokusai, “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” from Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji, The Metropolitan Museum of Art (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

*This article was compiled by the TOKYO ART SPHERE editorial team based on TOKYO ART SPHERE’s individual articles and official information from the organizers.

Text: TOKYO ART SPHERE Editorial Team

A note from the publisher

*Disclosure: Among the events introduced in this article, “Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition GIFU” is planned and produced by HITOHATA, INC., an affiliate of HITOHATA ASSOCIATION, the general incorporated association that operates TOKYO ART SPHERE, together with TV Aichi, with HITOHATA, INC. taking part in the organizing executive committee (About us).

Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition GIFU (Gifu City Museum of History)

An exhibition that turns more than 300 ukiyo-e prints by Katsushika Hokusai, Utagawa Hiroshige and others into experiential digital art using 3DCG animation and projection mapping. Exclusive to the Gifu venue are scenes in which ukiyo-e of Nobunaga and cormorant fishing come to life. Some sections offer simple explanations for children in the second grade of elementary school and above, and preschool children are free.

Dates: Friday, November 6, 2026 – Monday, January 11, 2027 (national holiday)
Venue: Gifu City Museum of History (in Gifu Park)
Details in our article on Ukiyo-e Immersive Art Exhibition GIFU