Saga Prefectural Space and Science Museum (Yumeginga)
A spaceship-shaped science museum covering Saga, the Earth and space, with its own observatory.
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Saga Prefectural Space and Science Museum (Yumeginga)
SaveA spaceship-shaped science museum covering Saga, the Earth and space, with its own observatory.
Children fire an air rocket at the push of a button, and a touch pool downstairs holds starfish and hermit crabs.
MoreWhat kind of place
The museum opened in July 1999 on the green grounds of the Takeo Onsen resort area in Takeo City, in a building shaped like a giant spaceship.
Its catchphrase names the three zones inside: Discover Saga, Discover the Earth, Discover Space.
Those three, plus a planetarium and an observatory, are spread over three floors and a basement, and about a third of the building's floor space is exhibits. The museum passed six million visitors in October 2025.
Sources and evidence (21)
- The building looks like a giant spaceship and stands on the green grounds of the Takeo Onsen resort area.source
- Inside there are three zones, Discover Saga, Discover the Earth and Discover Space, along with a planetarium and an observatory.source
- The museum's catchphrase is Discover Saga, Discover the Earth, Discover Space.source
- The building has three floors above ground and one below, and 2,800 of its 8,292 square meters are exhibit space, about 30,000 square feet out of 89,000.source
- Third floor: the planetarium, the observatory and the Discover Space zone. Second floor: the Science Salon and part of the Discover the Earth zone. First floor: the rest of the Discover the Earth zone, the Discover Saga zone, the children's play area, the library, the special exhibition room, the restaurant and the museum shop.source
- The museum passed six million visitors on October 24, 2025.source
- The Discover Space zone reopened after a renovation on March 23, 2024.source
- The Discover the Earth zone reopened after a renovation on July 11, 2015.source
- As well as the exhibits, the museum keeps live animals tied to Saga Prefecture, and children love them.source
- Science communicators on the staff answer visitors' questions at events and through the daily hands-on programs.source
- The museum describes itself as a suburban science museum that makes active use of its natural surroundings.source
- A nursing and diaper-changing space is at the back of the children's play area on the first floor.source
- There are three places to change a diaper: the children's play area on the first floor, the multipurpose restroom on the first floor, and just outside the women's restroom on the third floor.source
- The diaper-changing table on the third floor is set up near the entrance to the women's restroom.source
- An AED is kept at the information desk on the first floor.source
- There is a restaurant in the building, plus open seating indoors and on an outdoor terrace where you can eat food you brought yourself.source
- You can eat on the indoor terrace or out on the lawn, and packed lunches are allowed.source
- The restaurant in the building is OND RESTAURANT, which looks out over Ikenouchi Lake in front of it, and its phone number is 0954-27-7029.source
- A digital pamphlet is handed out in five languages: Japanese, English, Korean, simplified Chinese and traditional Chinese.source
- Parking is free, with 400 spaces.source
- The Yutoku Bus Yutoku Line runs here: on weekdays the nearest stop is Nagashima and you walk from there, while on weekends and public holidays buses run to the stop at the museum itself (Kenritsu Uchu Kagakukan-mae).source
With kidsThe part that matters
If your kids run out of patience in museums where everything sits behind glass, here they get their hands on the exhibits and meet live animals.
In the space zone on the third floor, they push a button and launch an air-powered rocket themselves.
Down on the first floor, a touch pool holds starfish and hermit crabs, and the play area for children too young for school is free to use.
The nursing and diaper-changing space is at the back of that play area, so you can feed and change the baby while the older ones keep playing.
Work down from the third floor and you finish on the first, where the play area, the restaurant and the shop are.
Sources and evidence (5)
- There is a play area (Kodomo no Hiroba) for families with children too young for school.source
- A day with a four-year-old and a one-year-old: floor two plays with light, and baby space, nursing and changing are one.source
- The 4.5 m high space cycling needs 120 cm to ride from the first floor, 130 cm from the second, and under 80 kg.source
- Kitsune udon ¥700, Saga beef curry ¥950, with high chairs and children's plates; 60 seats indoors plus terraces.source
- Three cars in the parking lot at 9:20, full by 14:00. Building a Galilean telescope costs ¥500 and took about 50 min.source
By age0-1 / 2-3 / 4-6
- Ages 0-1Kodomo no Hiroba on the first floor is a play area for children too young for school, and it is free to use without an admission ticket. The nursing and diaper-changing space is at the back of it, so the pattern is play, feed right there, play again. Children 3 and under pay no admission, so you can step into the exhibits as well and see how it goes. The whole building is designed to be accessible, and the exhibits can be toured with the stroller.The nursing and diaper-changing space is at the back of the children's play area on the first floor. The other two changing places are the first-floor multipurpose restroom and the spot just outside the third-floor women's restroom. The two multipurpose restrooms, one on the first floor and one on the third, have enough room to enter by wheelchair, plus handrails and a changing table. Eight strollers are lent free at the first-floor information desk, first come first served, with no reservations. The museum is closed on Mondays, or the following day when Monday is a public holiday.
- Ages 2-3Besides the exhibits, the museum keeps live animals connected to Saga Prefecture, and children take to them. The library on the first floor has books on astronomy, science and nature to read on the spot. The museum shop, the restaurant, the library and the children's play area are all free, so you can start in the free part, see how your child is doing, and buy the exhibition ticket once it looks like it will work.The rules ask you to walk rather than run in the exhibition halls. Eating happens in the places set aside for it: there is open seating indoors and on an outdoor terrace where you may eat food you brought, and the lawn outside works too. The in-house restaurant is OND RESTAURANT, looking out on Lake Ikenouchi in front of it. Umbrellas, parasols included, cannot be brought inside, to prevent injuries and protect the exhibits. Children 3 and under pay no admission; from age 4 it is 100 yen.
- Ages 4-6The museum is three zones — Discover Saga, Discover the Earth, Discover Space — plus a planetarium and an observatory. The planetarium, the observatory and the Discover Space zone (renewed in March 2024) are on the third floor, the Science Salon and part of Discover the Earth on the second, and the rest of Discover the Earth with Discover Saga on the first, so you can start at the top and work down. Science communicators on the staff answer visitors' questions at events and through the daily hands-on programs, which means a child's 'but why?' can be put to a person right there. Saturdays add a Saturday Night Planetarium show and a stargazing session.There are no advance tickets and individuals cannot reserve a planetarium seat, so you buy at the window on the day; sales close 30 minutes before the museum does. You cannot enter or leave the planetarium during a show, so the bathroom trip goes before it starts. The same-day combination ticket, covering the exhibitions plus one planetarium show, is 180 yen for children aged 4 and up, 360 yen for elementary and junior high school students, and 930 yen for adults. Hours are 9:15-17:15 on weekdays and 9:15-18:00 on weekends and holidays, and an exhibition or combination ticket lets you leave and come back.
By weatherRain, heat, cold
- Rainy dayThe three zones - Saga Discovery, Earth Discovery, and Space Discovery - plus the planetarium and the observatory are all inside one building of three floors above ground and one below. Umbrellas, parasols included, cannot be carried inside, to prevent accidents.
- Hot dayNot checked yet
- Cold dayNot checked yet
Time needed3 h
How was it with your kids?
Not greatGreat
Family checks✓ easy for your family
- ElevatorElevator：with conditionsconditions
- Stroller OKStroller friendly：with conditionsconditions
- RentalStroller rental：not checked
- NursingNursing space：with conditionsconditions
- ChangingDiaper changing table：with conditionsconditions
- Family WCFamily restroom：with conditionsconditions
- Own foodOutside food allowed：with conditionsconditions
- EnglishEnglish support：with conditionsconditions
Tap a mark for details
* Other not checked (2)
Diaper disposal bin, Kids' toilet seat & step stool
Green = we confirmed it. Gray = not checked yet. Gray with a line through = the place does not have it.
Worth a look before you go
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
A day with a four-year-old and a one-year-old: floor two plays with light, and baby space, nursing and changing are one.
We went and played at the Saga Prefectural Space and Science Museum (Yumeginga), Takeo
Japanese · opens translatedGuide
The 4.5 m high space cycling needs 120 cm to ride from the first floor, 130 cm from the second, and under 80 kg.
Full of thrills, and adults enjoy it too: a trip to the Saga Prefectural Space and Science Museum, Yumeginga
Japanese · opens translatedOfficial
Kitsune udon ¥700, Saga beef curry ¥950, with high chairs and children's plates; 60 seats indoors plus terraces.
OND RESTAURANT, supervised by Takeo's Kamakura Udon, opens inside the Saga Prefectural Space and Science Museum
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Three cars in the parking lot at 9:20, full by 14:00. Building a Galilean telescope costs ¥500 and took about 50 min.
What can you try at Yumeginga? Learning together with the children
Saga Prefectural Space and Science Museum (Yumeginga) · Links & reads ▾
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Where it is
Before you go
- There are no advance tickets.source
- With an exhibition ticket or a combination ticket you can leave and come back, but you cannot enter or leave the planetarium during a show.source
- The museum lends out eight wheelchairs and eight strollers free of charge at the first-floor information desk, and they cannot be reserved.source
- Guide dogs, hearing dogs and service dogs can come around the museum with you, but pets cannot come inside.source
- To prevent injuries and protect the exhibits, umbrellas cannot be brought inside, parasols included, and selfie sticks cannot be used.source
Basics
- Fee：Permanent + special exhibitions ¥520 adults / ¥310 high school / ¥200 elementary and junior high / ¥100 children aged 4 and over. The planetarium costs the same again. A same-day set ticket covering both (one planetarium program) is ¥930 / ¥550 / ¥360 / ¥180. Children aged 0-3 are free, as are the museum shop, restaurant, library and children's plaza. Group discount from 20 paying visitors.source
- Hours：9:15-17:15 on weekdays, 9:15-18:00 on weekends and holidays; tickets until 30 minutes before closing. Closed Mondays (the next day if the Monday is a holiday) and 29 Dec-1 Jan, but open every day during spring, Golden Week and summer holidays. Extra closures fall in February and September. Saturdays add a night planetarium and stargazing session.source
- Time to allow：3 h
- Booking：No advance tickets are sold, and individuals cannot reserve planetarium seats (groups can). Tickets are sold at the museum until 30 minutes before closing.source
- Umbrellas, including parasols, and selfie sticks cannot be brought into the building. Guide, hearing and service dogs are welcome; other pets are not.source
Basics in detail (19)
Other
Hours and closures
- Opening hours are 9:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. on weekdays, and 9:15 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on weekends and public holidays.source
- Tickets are sold until 30 minutes before closing.source
- It is closed on Mondays, or the next day when that Monday is a public holiday, and from December 29 to January 1. It stays open every day during the spring school holidays, Golden Week (late April to early May) and the summer holidays, and there are extra closures in February and September.source
- On Saturdays there is a Saturday Night Planetarium show and a stargazing session.source
Fees
- Admission is 520 yen for adults, 310 yen for high school students, 200 yen for elementary and junior high school students, and 100 yen for children aged 4 and up, while children 3 and under are free. That ticket covers the permanent and special exhibitions; the planetarium is a separate ticket.source
- The planetarium costs 520 yen for adults, 310 yen for high school students, 200 yen for elementary and junior high school students, and 100 yen for young children aged 4 and up.source
- A same-day combination ticket covers the permanent and special exhibitions plus one planetarium show, at 930 yen for adults, 550 yen for high school students, 360 yen for elementary and junior high school students, and 180 yen for young children aged 4 and up.source
- Children aged 3 and under get in free.source
- Anyone with a disability, rehabilitation or mental health certificate, or a certificate for designated medical expenses, gets in free along with one companion; show the document at the desk, and the planetarium is limited to one show a day.source
- Groups of 20 or more paying visitors aged 4 and up get a discount, and they have to apply in advance.source
- The museum shop, the restaurant, the library and the children's play area are free to use.source
Getting there
- There are two multipurpose restrooms, one on the first floor and one on the third; both have a diaper-changing table, and the third-floor one also has facilities for ostomy users.source
- The whole building is designed to be accessible, so you can get around the exhibits with a stroller or a wheelchair.source
- The planetarium has tactile paving and a ramp so nobody trips on the steps, and you can watch from a wheelchair or a stretcher. For a wheelchair, say so when you buy your ticket; for a stretcher, contact the museum ahead of time.source
- Six parking spaces near the outdoor elevator are set aside for holders of a parking permit card.source
- A stair lift is fitted to the steps at the observatory entrance on the third floor, for people weighing up to 90 kilograms (about 200 pounds) who can move onto its seat; ask a staff member to use it.source
Contact
- The address is 16351 Nagashima, Takeo-cho, Takeo City, Saga 843-0021, and the phone number is 0954-20-1666.
Once you've decided
evidence & sources (8)
- Official: Stroller friendly, Nursing space, Family restroom
- Official: Diaper changing table, Outside food allowed
- Official: English support
- Official: Indoor / outdoor
- Official: main site
The museum opened in 1999 inside a wooded hot-spring resort area in Takeo. Its 2,800 square meters of exhibits are split into three zones: Saga, the Earth and space. A planetarium and an observatory sit on the third floor. There is also a night planetarium program and a stargazing session. Staff working as science communicators answer questions through hands-on programs, and animals native to Saga live alongside the displays. The first-floor children's plaza is set aside for preschoolers. The restaurant looks out over Lake Ikenouchi.
| Indoor / outdoor | Indoor | A three-story indoor museum. Outside it there is a terrace and a lawn where you can eat. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | yumeginga.jp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stroller friendly | Yes | The whole building is designed as universal design, so exhibitions can be viewed with a stroller. Strollers are lent free (8 of them) at the 1F information desk, first come first served, no reservations. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | yumeginga.jp |
| Diaper changing table | Yes (3) | Three places: the children's plaza on 1F, the 1F multi-purpose toilet, and by the entrance to the women's toilet on 3F. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | yumeginga.jp |
| Nursing space | Yes | At the back of the children's plaza on 1F, shared with the diaper-changing space. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | yumeginga.jp |
| Family restroom | Yes (2) | Two multi-purpose toilets, on 1F and 3F, each with room for a wheelchair and handrails. The 1F one has a changing table inside; on 3F the changing table is by the women's toilet entrance. The 3F one takes ostomates. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | yumeginga.jp |
| Outside food allowed | Yes | Free indoor and outdoor terrace seating is set aside for food you bring in, and there is a lawn outside. Eating is not allowed in the exhibition halls. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | yumeginga.jp |
| English support | English menu & signs | A digital brochure is published in English, Korean, simplified and traditional Chinese as well as Japanese. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | yumeginga.jp |
| Diaper disposal bin | Not checked yet | ||||
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Not checked yet | ||||
| Elevator | Yes | An outdoor elevator serves the building; the accessible parking spaces (6) are set beside it | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | yumeginga.jp |
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