PayPay Dome with Kids 2026: Hawks Games & BOSS E・ZO Guide

If you are travelling Fukuoka with kids and want one destination that works rain or shine, it is hard to beat the waterfront where PayPay Dome and BOSS E・ZO FUKUOKA sit side by side.

One is the home stadium of the SoftBank Hawks baseball team. The other is a tower of indoor attractions glued to its outer wall — from immersive digital art to a slide that runs down the side of the building.

Together they make an easy, all-weather day out. This guide walks through doing PayPay Dome with kids without the usual friction.

The stadium is officially the Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka, though locals still call it the old Fukuoka Dome. BOSS E・ZO FUKUOKA is the entertainment complex bolted onto it.

You can do just the baseball, just the attractions, or both in one day. Because everything is indoor or covered, this is one of the few big Fukuoka outings that does not collapse when the forecast turns.

Where It Is and How to Get There with Kids

The dome sits on the Momochi waterfront in western Fukuoka, at 福岡県福岡市中央区地行浜2-2-2.

The most stroller-friendly route is the city subway to Tojinmachi Station, then a flat 15-minute walk along the seafront. A short bus ride is the backup when little legs are done for the day.

On game days, special shuttle buses run from Hakata and Tenjin. That is the fastest option when you are coming straight from the shinkansen.

If you are doing several outings, the bus network is the backbone for families, and a day pass usually pays for itself.

We break down the options in our guide to the Nishitetsu day pass for getting around Fukuoka.

Watching a SoftBank Hawks Game with Kids

A Hawks game is a genuinely kid-friendly introduction to Japanese baseball. The atmosphere is closer to a festival than a tense sporting event.

Expect organised cheering, balloon launches, mascots working the stands, and food stalls on every concourse. The roof closes in bad weather, so a rained-out plan is rare.

How to buy tickets (the easy way for visitors)

Tickets start at a little over ¥1,500 for outfield seats and climb from there. Children aged 4 and up need their own ticket.

Kids under 4 can sit on a parent’s lap for free, but they need a paid seat if you want one for them.

The simplest path for overseas families is the official Hawks site or an English-language reseller such as Tickets in Japan.

You can also buy at the dome box office on the day. Convenience-store kiosks (7-Eleven, Lawson) sell them too, if you read some Japanese.

Buy ahead for weekend and holiday games, which sell out.

Best seats for families

For a first game with younger kids, infield reserved seats behind the net give you a clear view and a buffer from foul balls.

If you have a baby or a wriggler, aim for seats near a concourse exit. That way you can slip out for a feed or a reset without climbing over a full row.

The field-level premium seats are fun for baseball-mad older kids, but they are overkill for toddlers who will spend half the game watching the mascot.

Inside the dome with kids

Bring earplugs or earmuffs for sound-sensitive children. The cheering sections and the post-home-run fireworks are loud.

There are nursing rooms, plenty of toilets with changing tables, and vending machines everywhere.

You are allowed to bring your own snacks and drinks, within limits — no oversized bottles and no outside alcohol.

Games typically run three hours, so plan an exit point for when your kids fade.

BOSS E・ZO FUKUOKA: The Entertainment Complex Next Door

Even if you skip the baseball entirely, Boss E-Zo Fukuoka is worth a half-day on its own.

It is a multi-floor tower of attractions, shops and restaurants attached to the dome, and it is almost entirely indoors. That makes it a reliable rainy-day anchor.

You buy tickets per attraction rather than one all-in pass, so you can mix and match to suit your kids’ ages.

BOSS E・ZO attractions at a glance

Attraction	Best for	Rough price	Time needed	Rain-OK?
teamLab Forest	All ages (toddlers–tweens)	~¥2,400 adult / ~¥1,000 ages 4–15	60–90 min	Yes
ZEKKEI BROTHERS (thrill rides & slide)	Older kids, tweens, teens (height limits)	Per ride, varies	30–60 min	Mostly (exterior rides weather-dependent)
Oh Sadaharu Baseball Museum	Ages 4+ and baseball fans	Varies	45–60 min	Yes
V-World Area (VR)	Older kids	Per experience	30–45 min	Yes
Unko Museum	Younger kids	Varies	45–60 min	Yes
Sanrio shop & characters	Younger kids	Free to browse	~30 min	Yes

Prices and hours change, so check each attraction before you book — but the table gives you a quick sense of what suits which age.

teamLab Forest (immersive digital art)

The headline attraction for most families is teamLab Forest, an interactive digital-art museum.

Kids climb, chase glowing creatures, and trigger projections by touching the walls and floor.

It splits into a “Catching and Collecting Forest” and an “Athletics Forest,” and it rewards movement — toddlers through tweens all find their level.

Entry is by timed slot, so book a window and arrive on time. Miss it by more than 15 minutes and you may be bumped to a later one.

Current pricing is around ¥2,400 for adults and ¥1,000 for ages 4–15 (under 4 free), a touch higher on weekends and Japanese holidays.

It is one of the most pram-and-kid-friendly digital-art venues in Kyushu, and tickets are easy to pre-book in English — which saves you queuing at the door with restless kids.

Thrill rides and the giant slide (for older kids)

On the upper floors and the outside of the building, the ZEKKEI BROTHERS attractions deliver the adrenaline.

There is a suspended ride that swings you out over the edge, a zip line, and a long slide built down the exterior wall with views over the bay.

These carry height and age restrictions and are aimed at older children, tweens and teens rather than little ones. Check the posted limits before queueing.

If you are travelling with a range of ages, this is the part where one parent takes the big kids up while the other does something gentler below.

Oh Sadaharu Baseball Museum and VR

The Oh Sadaharu Baseball Museum celebrates the legendary home-run king and the Hawks. It has hands-on pitching and batting simulators that even non-fans enjoy.

Nearby, the V-World Area packs in VR experiences geared to older kids. These are good “between innings” options if you are pairing the complex with a game.

Unko Museum and Sanrio (for younger kids)

Younger children gravitate to the colourful, slightly silly Unko Museum — yes, the “poop museum.” It is cheerful, photogenic and very Japanese.

The Sanrio shop and characters are a hit too. Both are low-stress, indoor, and a good reward to dangle after a long stretch of walking.

Food floors

E・ZO has whole floors of restaurants and casual eats, including a rooftop with views, so you do not need to leave to feed the family.

Portions and menus are family-friendly, and there are easier options than a full sit-down meal when you have a tired toddler.

If you would rather a calmer, private meal nearby, see our roundup of private-room (koshitsu) restaurants that suit families.

Rainy-Day and All-Weather Notes

This is the strongest argument for the dome-and-E・ZO combo: it barely cares about the weather. The stadium roof closes, and the complex is indoors.

During tsuyu (the rainy season) or a midsummer heat spike, this is exactly the kind of outing that saves a family day.

For a deeper bench of wet-weather ideas, we keep a running list in our guide to indoor playgrounds and malls for rainy days in Fukuoka.

Where to Stay Nearby

The Momochi waterfront area has several hotels within walking distance of the dome. That is ideal if you have an evening game and tired kids afterwards.

Staying central in Hakata or Tenjin also works, with the shuttle bus or subway handling the last leg.

For a pool to burn off energy on a non-game day, see our picks for family hotels with pools in Fukuoka, and compare waterfront and city-centre rates before you book.

Practical Tips for Families

• Buy timed E・ZO attraction tickets in advance — especially teamLab Forest on weekends and holidays.
• Strollers are fine across the plaza, dome concourses and E・ZO; there are lifts between floors.
• Split by age if you have a wide range — thrill rides for the big kids, Unko Museum or teamLab for the little ones.
• Pack ear protection for the baseball if your child is noise-sensitive.
• Allow a full day to combine a game with two or three attractions; allow a half-day for E・ZO alone.
• Use the lockers so you do not have to lug bags around the attractions.
• Check hours by attraction — BOSS E・ZO generally opens late morning into the evening, and times shift around game schedules, so confirm on the official site before you go.
• Skip the car on game days — paid parking exists at the dome but fills fast; the subway and shuttle buses are more reliable.

Rough day budget for a family of four

Item	Approx. cost (2 adults + kids aged 4 & 8)
Hawks game (infield reserved ×4)	¥8,000–14,000
teamLab Forest (2 adults + 2 kids 4–15)	~¥6,800
Lunch at E・ZO (family)	¥4,000–6,000
Subway round trips	~¥1,500
Rough total (game + teamLab day)	¥20,000–28,000

Treat this as a planning ballpark, not a quote — prices shift with seats, season and what you add on. Doing E・ZO without a game keeps it well under ¥15,000.

Between the game, the digital forest, the slide and the food floors, this stretch of the Momochi waterfront is one of the easiest all-ages, all-weather days in the city.

It is also a reliable fallback when an outdoor plan falls through.

More Fukuoka Family Guides

• Best Playgrounds in Fukuoka by Neighborhood
• Free Kids’ Activities in Fukuoka: A Monthly Events Guide
• The Ritz-Carlton Fukuoka with Kids: A Family Review

Planning more around the city? Browse the full range of family-friendly tickets and tours in Fukuoka: