Megane Museum
A museum of eyewear from the Edo period on, facing a shop of 3,000 frames.
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Megane Museum
SaveA museum of eyewear from the Edo period on, facing a shop of 3,000 frames.
The workshop combines acetate pieces, the material eyeglass frames are made of, into a face-shaped keyring.
MoreWhat kind of place
The Megane Museum is in Sabae, Fukui, inside the Megane Kaikan building.
Its cases hold eyeglasses from the Edo period, before 1868, up through the twentieth century, along with frame-making tools from the 1910s and 1920s, and one case is Kon Omura's collection of glasses worn by famous people.
The shop opposite sells over 3,000 current models from roughly 50 companies in Fukui, so the oldest frames and the newest ones stand a few steps apart.
It is run by the prefecture's optical association rather than by the city or the prefectural government, so questions go to the association.
Sources and evidence (8)
- There is one nursing room.source
- Megane de Collage is for first graders and up; the solvent glue is difficult to handle, so preschool children cannot take part and cannot enter the workshop either.source
- The eyeglass-making class is for ages 13 and up, anyone 18 or under needs a guardian present, and the museum asks that you not bring babies or toddlers along.source
- The museum is on the first floor across from the eyewear shop, where it moved in 2016, so it can be seen without climbing stairs.source
- The eyewear shop is a showcase for the local industry, displaying and selling more than 3,000 of the newest models from about 50 companies in Fukui Prefecture.source
- The museum cafe is on the second floor, up the stairs to the right as you come in the main entrance, and it has free Wi-Fi.source
- Eight kinds of cards are accepted - VISA, JCB, Mastercard, Diners, Amex, DC, UnionPay and debit - along with the QR code payments PayPay and LINE Pay.source
- It is operated by the Fukui Prefecture Optical Association, so questions go to 0778-42-8311 rather than to the city or the prefectural government.source
With kidsThe part that matters
Admission is free, and across from the museum a shop sells more than 3,000 of the newest frames made in the prefecture.
The old eyeglasses and the shop are both on the first floor, so you reach them without stairs, and there is a nursing room in the building.
The workshop upstairs, where you fit pieces of frame material into a face-shaped keyring, starts at first grade: the glue is acetone, so a younger child cannot go into the room at all.
You sign up for it the same day at the shop counter and pay before going up, and being 15 minutes late for your slot counts as a cancellation, so take the ticket first and look at the exhibits while you wait.
Everything but the shop closes at 5:00 and the cafe at 4:00, and the museum takes about half an hour against the workshop's hour, so this fits beside another plan rather than filling the afternoon.
Sources and evidence (4)
- An hour-by-hour record of 10:00 to 17:00. No meals in the building, so you go out at lunch. Arms ache for days after.source
- A fridge in the nursing room, a bin by the changing bed, parking for maybe 100 cars. The whole visit took an hour.source
- Sabae Sweets downstairs sells more than sweets. The upstairs cafe pours Tachibana-ya coffee, cakes change weekly.source
- Hapi-Line Fukui from Fukui to Sabae, then 10 minutes on foot. Megane Street signs start in the station underpass.source
By age0-1 / 2-3 / 4-6
- Ages 0-1Admission is free. The Megane Museum sits on the first floor across from the Megane Shop, so you see the eyewear from the Edo through the Showa era and the Taisho-era frame-making tools without using stairs. Across the way, the Megane Shop displays over 3,000 current models from about 50 Fukui makers.There is one nursing room. The only way up to the second floor is the stairs - there is no elevator - and both the workshop and the Museum Cafe are up there. Eating and drinking are not allowed except in the lobby and the cafe, and the whole building is non-smoking. The building holds about 30 people, so if another group has the slot they may limit entry: free admission does not guarantee you get in. It closes Wednesdays and over New Year, but opens when a Wednesday is a public holiday and through Obon, August 13-16.
- Ages 2-3The Megane Shop has over 3,000 current models from about 50 Fukui makers, and you can try them on - one family with an eight-year-old spent about an hour on the museum, trying frames in the shop, and the cafe. Photography is allowed in the Megane Museum, so you can take a picture in front of the pair you like.Touching the exhibits is forbidden, though photography is fine. Eating and drinking are allowed only in the lobby and the Museum Cafe, which is on the second floor up the stairs and closes at 16:00. Closing times differ across the building: the Megane Shop at 19:00, the workshop, the Megane Museum and Sabae Sweets at 17:00, the Museum Cafe at 16:00. Pets are not admitted.
- Ages 4-6The Megane Museum lines up old eyewear from the Edo through the Showa era, Taisho-era frame-making tools, and Kon Omura's collection of celebrities' glasses. Reserve in advance and a staff member will walk you through the exhibits. In the Megane Shop they can try on frames from a stock of more than 3,000.The Megane de Collage workshop (2,000 yen, about an hour) is for first-graders and up: the solvent adhesive is hard to handle, so preschool children cannot join and the workshop room itself admits from first grade. A six-year-old already in first grade can take part, and in grades 1-3 a parent must come along and the two of you make one piece together. Sessions run at 10:00, 13:00 and 15:00, four people per hour. Pay and collect the ticket at the Megane Shop on the day before going upstairs; arriving 15 minutes late counts as a cancellation. The adhesive is mostly acetone, the same as nail polish remover, and the notice asks anyone bothered by skin irritation or the smell to sit it out.
By weatherRain, heat, cold
- Rainy dayThe Megane Museum, the Megane Shop, the workshop, and the MUSEUM CAFE are all inside the Megane Kaikan building. The museum is on the first floor across from the shop and needs no stairs, while the second-floor workshop can only be reached by stairs — there is no elevator.
- Hot dayNot checked yet
- Cold dayNot checked yet
Time needed30 min–1 h
How was it with your kids?
Not greatGreat
- ElevatorElevator：none
- Stroller OKStroller friendly：not checked
- RentalStroller rental：not checked
- NursingNursing space：with conditionsconditions
- ChangingDiaper changing table：not checked
- Family WCFamily restroom：not checked
- Own foodOutside food allowed：none
- EnglishEnglish support：not checked
* Other not checked (10)
Diaper disposal bin, Kids' toilet seat & step stool, Indoor / outdoor, Steps & slope caution, Child switch (rider swap), Official family-friendly certification, Best-fit ages (guide), Crowding (guide), Quietness (guide), Lost-child support
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
An hour-by-hour record of 10:00 to 17:00. No meals in the building, so you go out at lunch. Arms ache for days after.
Seven hours at the bench: making one-of-a-kind glasses in Sabae
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
A fridge in the nursing room, a bin by the changing bed, parking for maybe 100 cars. The whole visit took an hour.
Fukui: taking the kids to the wonderfully niche Megane Museum
Japanese · opens translatedGuide
Sabae Sweets downstairs sells more than sweets. The upstairs cafe pours Tachibana-ya coffee, cakes change weekly.
What is actually inside Sabae's Megane Museum (part two)
Japanese · opens translatedFirst-hand
Hapi-Line Fukui from Fukui to Sabae, then 10 minutes on foot. Megane Street signs start in the station underpass.
Megane Museum and Seiren Planet (day four)
Megane Museum · Links & reads ▾
Where it is
Megane Kaikan, 2-3-4 Shinyokoe, Sabae-shi, Fukui 916-0042source
Before you go
- A party of 10 or more has to reserve by phone or email at least 10 days ahead.source
- The building holds about 30 people, and entry can be limited when another group has already booked the same time, so free admission is not a guarantee of getting in.source
- Smoking is banned throughout the building.source
- The main ingredient of the glue is acetone, the solvent also used in nail polish remover, and the museum asks anyone concerned about skin irritation or the smell to sit the workshop out.source
- The museum shows old eyeglasses from the Edo period, before 1868, up through the twentieth century, frame-making tools from the 1910s and 1920s, and Kon Omura's collection of glasses worn by famous people; photography is allowed, but touching the exhibits is not.source
More notes (9)
- The guided group course takes groups of roughly 10 to 30 by reservation only, applied for through a dedicated form at least 10 days ahead; admission is free and it runs about 30 minutes.source
- Eating and drinking are not allowed indoors except in the lobby and the cafe, and pets cannot come in.source
- Megane de Collage runs three times a day, at 10:00, 13:00 and 15:00, with room for up to four people per hour.source
- You sign up the same day at the eyewear shop, pay and collect your ticket there, then go up to the second floor; being 15 minutes late for your slot counts as a cancellation.source
- Megane de Collage does not accept group reservations, so even a party of 10 or more cannot sign up together.source
- The eyeglass-making class starts at 28,000 yen including tax, takes 5 to 7 hours, is reservation-only, and must be booked through the reservation calendar at least 6 days ahead.source
- The eyeglass-making class is taught only in Japanese, and the museum states plainly that people who speak only a foreign language cannot join.source
- The eyeglass-making class is held on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays with six places per session, and you cannot take the glasses home: a craftsman spends about two months finishing them before they are shipped to you.source
- Staff will walk you through the exhibits if you want that, but it has to be arranged in advance.source
Basics
- Fee：Admission is free. Megane de Collage, the keyring workshop, is 2,000 yen including tax - and for children in school years one to three that buys one keyring made by parent and child together, not one each. The full glasses-making class starts at 28,000 yen including tax (a shortened course is 3,300 yen more), lenses sold separately, and takes about two months before the finished frame is posted to you. Cards (VISA, JCB, Mastercard, Diners, Amex, DC, UnionPay, debit) and PayPay and LINE Pay are all accepted.source234
- Hours：Everything opens at 10:00, but the building closes in four stages: the Megane Shop at 19:00, the workshop, the Megane Museum and Sabae Sweets at 17:00, and the Museum Cafe at 16:00. Come for the museum and you have until 17:00, not 19:00. Closed Wednesdays and over the New Year, but open when a Wednesday falls on a public holiday and through Obon, 13-16 August.source23
- Time to allow：30 min–1 hsource2
- Booking：Walking in is free and needs no booking. The two making sessions are different things and both need arranging. Megane de Collage, the keyring one, costs 2,000 yen for about an hour and is booking-preferred: the workshop page says book through the website by the day before, while the FAQ says the web form closes three days ahead and the last three days are by phone only, so treat three days ahead as the safe line. Four places per hour, at 10:00, 13:00 and 15:00. It is open to children from school year one only: the glue is a solvent, so preschool children can neither join nor enter the workshop, and children in years one to three make one keyring together with a parent. The full glasses-making class is booking-only, six days ahead, for ages 13 and over, and runs Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday and public holidays. Groups of ten or more must book ten days ahead for the museum itself.source234
Basics in detail (10)
- Admission to the museum is free.source
- The Megane de Collage workshop costs 2,000 yen including tax and takes about an hour, fitting together pieces of acetate, the material eyeglass frames are made from, into a face-shaped keyring.source
- Children in grades 1 through 3 must have a parent with them, and the two of them make one keyring together rather than one each.source
- Everything opens at 10:00 but closes at four different times: the eyewear shop at 19:00, the workshop, the museum and Sabae Sweets at 17:00, and the museum cafe at 16:00.source
- The group visit page lists the building's hours as 10:00 to 17:00 and puts the shop's 19:00 in parentheses as the exception, so treat 17:00 as the closing time.source
- It closes every Wednesday and over the New Year period, but opens when a Wednesday falls on a national holiday and stays open through Obon, August 13 to 16.source
- It is about 2 minutes by car from the Sabae interchange on the Hokuriku Expressway, and some car navigation systems have it registered as Megane Kaikan.source
- The Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum is about an hour away by car, which is too far to pair with this in one day.source
- Hapi-Line Fukui trains, which leave from inside JR Fukui Station, reach Sabae Station in about 15 minutes; from Tsuruga Station it takes about 35 minutes.source
- The address is Megane Kaikan, 2-3-4 Shinyokoe, Sabae, Fukui 916-0042, and the phone number is 0778-42-8311.source
Once you've decided
evidence & sources (4)
- Official: Nursing space, Outside food allowed, Stroller access notes
- Official: Nursing space, Outside food allowed
- Official: Elevator, Stroller access notes
- Official: Stroller access notes
- Official: Elevator
- Official: main site
The museum is on the entrance floor, opposite the shop, so no stairs are needed to reach it. Its cases hold spectacles from the Edo period through the Showa era, frame-making tools from the Taisho era, and a collection of celebrities' glasses. Photographs are fine; touching the exhibits is not. The making sessions happen in the upstairs workshop, and stairs are the only way up. Sign in and pay at the shop downstairs first. The workshop admits children from school year one, since the glue is a solvent.
| Stroller friendly | Not checked yet | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Diaper changing table | Not checked yet | ||||
| Nursing space | Yes (1) | One nursing room. Nothing is stated about hot water or a changing table in it. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | megane.gr.jpmegane.gr.jp |
| Family restroom | Not checked yet | ||||
| Diaper disposal bin | Not checked yet | ||||
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Not checked yet | ||||
| Elevator | No | No elevator. The shop, the museum and Sabae Sweets are all on the first floor, but the workshop and the Museum Cafe are on the second floor and the stairs are the only way up. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | megane.gr.jpmegane.gr.jp |
| Indoor / outdoor | Not checked yet | ||||
| Outside food allowed | No | Eating and drinking are not allowed inside except in the lobby and the cafe. The whole building is non-smoking, and pets are not admitted. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | megane.gr.jpmegane.gr.jp |
| English support | Not checked yet | ||||
| Steps & slope caution | Not checked yet | ||||
| Child switch (rider swap) | Not checked yet | ||||
| Official family-friendly certificationExtra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Best-fit ages (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Crowding (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Quietness (guide)Extra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Lost-child supportExtra info — guide only | Not checked yet | ||||
| Stroller access notesExtra info — guide only | Yes | About ten minutes on foot from Sabae station on the Hapi-Line Fukui railway (the same line the official pages sometimes still call JR - it passed from JR to Hapi-Line Fukui in March 2024); the walk goes through an underpass by the station and then straight along Megane Street, crossing Route 8. From Fukui station it is about fifteen minutes by train, from Tsuruga about thirty-five. By car it is roughly two minutes from the Sabae interchange, and some car navigation systems list the place as Megane Kaikan rather than by its museum name. Nothing is stated about parking. Inside, the shop, museum and sweets counter are all on the first floor; the workshop and cafe on the second floor are reached only by stairs. | Web-checked | checked Aug ’26 | megane.gr.jpmegane.gr.jpmegane.gr.jp |