Okazaki Park, Kyoto: "KIDS Expo 2026" to be held from May 1 to 6! A wide variety of children's content will be gathered! ～Free outdoor movie screenings and Kyoto Gyoza Daisakusen will be held at the same time!

Culture, Arts & Sports Promotion Organization (Location: Kyoto Prefecture) will hold the hands-on event for children "KIDS Expo 2026 - Passing the Baton to the Next Generation of Children" at Okazaki Park (in front of Heian Shrine) in Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City for six days from May 1 (Friday) to May 6 (Wednesday), 2026 (holiday). Please visit our website for more information.

Event URL

https://kids-banpaku.hp.peraichi.com

KIDS Expo poster

Event Summary

Event Name ： KIDS Expo 2026 - Passing the Baton to the Next Generation of Children

Date and Time ： May 1 (Friday) - May 6 (Wednesday, national holiday), 2026

　　　　　　 10:00 - 20:00 (*Begins at 12:00 on May 1 and ends at 18:00 on the final day)

Venue: Okazaki Park (in front of Heian Shrine)

　　　　　　 (Okazaki Saikyoji-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, 606-8342, Japan)

Access: 10 min. walk from Higashiyama Stn. on the Tozai Subway Line / a short walk from Okazaki Koen bus stop on the city bus.

Admission: Free (some contents are charged)

Sponsor ： Japan Arts Council for the Promotion of Culture, Arts and Sports

Supported by: Japan Sports Agency / Agency for Cultural Affairs / Kyoto Prefecture / Kyoto City Transportation Bureau / KBS Kyoto / etc.

Official Website: https://kids-banpaku.hp.peraichi.com

This event is a large-scale event that integrates a variety of hands-on content, including physical activities, the latest technology, and animal encounters, with the theme of "learning while playing" for children. Held during the Golden Week holidays, the event is designed to be enjoyed throughout the day from daytime to nighttime, especially by families. Stamp rally prizes include an original medal and an original trophy.

KIDS Expo Stamp Rally

The venue will offer "Wakuwaku Kids Land," a free kids' space where children as young as 0 can safely enjoy themselves.

This project aims to create an environment where families with young children can enjoy the event in peace, and two areas will be developed according to age groups.

Korokoro Space" for 0 to 2 year olds

This is an area where children can play comfortably with picture books and building blocks in a safe space with play mats. In addition, there is a diaper changing and nursing area, so visitors with infants can use this area with peace of mind.

Wakuwaku Space" for ages 3 and up

A variety of contents are available to nurture creativity and playfulness, including building blocks, origami, coloring, card games, and more. This is a hands-on space that children can enjoy freely.

All of these spaces, which can also be used for breaks and refreshments within the venue, are available free of charge. We provide a comfortable and safe time for all families visiting the event.

Free Kids' Space

At the venue, approximately 200 carp streamers will be hoisted as a project to experience traditional Japanese culture. With the hope of passing on the carp streamers to the next generation, which in recent years have been displayed less and less, we will create a landscape of carp streamers swimming in the sky with the cooperation of businesses and carp streamers donated by ordinary households.

Carp streamers

Another highlight of the event will be free outdoor movie screenings at night. This will be a nighttime event where the whole family can enjoy a movie together in an open outdoor space, and together with the daytime experience events, will enhance the value of the stay. The films will be screened for the enjoyment of both children and adults, creating an environment where visitors can relax and enjoy movies in a picnic-like atmosphere.

Outdoor Movie Screenings

As for experience-based contents, "TREASURE QUEST," in which visitors can enjoy solving riddles and exploring while touring the venue, and "Excavation Adventure," in which treasures are dug out of the ground, will be held. In the "Drone Operation Experience," visitors will learn how to operate a drone in the practice area, and then challenge a time attack on an obstacle course.

Drone operation experience

In addition, the Kyoto Pony Zoo will provide a mobile animal petting area where visitors can interact with ponies, rabbits, sheep, and other animals. Through the experience of feeding the animals, visitors will have an opportunity to learn the value of life and nurture a spirit of compassion. In addition, a variety of content will be provided, including a children-only reverse bungee jump, an air dome, trampolines, a fair, and a run-bike experience, creating a playground that caters to a wide age range.

In addition, the food festival "Kyoto Gyoza Daisakusen 2026" will be held simultaneously as a cooperative event. This event, which attracted a total of more than 100,000 visitors last year, will bring together gyoza specialty restaurants and meat restaurants from all over Japan. In addition to stores in Kyoto Prefecture, stores from Ibaraki, Aichi, Saitama, Shiga, Nagano, Fukuoka, Miyazaki, Osaka, and other prefectures are scheduled to participate. The venue will have an extensive eat-in space, and in the evening a BAR counter will be set up to provide a dining space that can be enjoyed throughout the day and night.

Kyoto Gyoza Daisakusen

Royal Road Meat Juice Gyoza

Hamamatsu Gyoza

In addition, as an environmentally friendly initiative, a food drive to collect surplus food from households, thorough separation of trash at the venue, and a reuse project will be implemented at the event. The event will provide an opportunity for visitors to think about environmental issues while having fun, and will contribute to raising awareness toward the realization of a sustainable society.

This event will be held under the auspices of the Sports Agency, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City Transportation Bureau, KBS Kyoto, Sports Cho-Kaigi, and Kyoto Bikan Preservation Society. In addition to providing children with a variety of hands-on opportunities, the event will serve as a venue for local revitalization and cultural transmission to people of all ages.