Fukuoka Christmas Market 2025: Highlights of Christmas Advent

Fukuoka Christmas Market and Illuminations 2025

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Fukuoka’s main winter event, the Christmas Advent, encompasses the Fukuoka Christmas Market and winter illuminations adorning the city. The event started on November 1 and will be held until December 25, 2025.

Read on to learn some of the event highlights and the main venues.

The Concept of Fukuoka's Christmas Advent

Fukuoka's Christmas Advent is expanding every year, with approximately 150 vendors set to participate in 2025.

Among the Christmas markets held worldwide in 2023, the largest was in Stuttgart, Germany, featuring around 280 vendors (source: PR Times).

The Fukuoka Christmas Advent is a currently thriving event aiming to become the world's largest Christmas market by 2030, with a goal of 300 vendors!

Highlights of Fukuoka's Christmas Advent 2025

The theme for the Christmas Advent in 2025 is "Five Senses Christmas." Visitors can enjoy artistic illuminations featuring light and sound, along with a wealth of attractions including shopping, gourmet food, and music events.

For detailed information on gourmet options, shops, and events at each venue, please check the official website.

1. Illuminations

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During the Christmas Advent, the area from Hakata through Nakasu to Tenjin will be illuminated with festive lights. Along with the illuminations, many huts (wooden cabins) will be set up, enhancing the cheerful Christmas atmosphere.

2. Shopping

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At the stalls along the route, you can purchase European Christmas food items and enjoy shopping for various goods sourced from Europe.

3. Festival Food

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At each venue, there will also be sales of exclusive foods and light snacks. For example, you can find classic sausages that are a staple during Christmas, as well as sweet hot wine, which is also a favorite during the festivities.

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The exclusive mugs available at each venue feature different designs and are hugely popular every year, so be sure to grab one early if you're interested!

4. Music Events

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At the Christmas Advent, Fukuoka will glow with classical music as the city transforms into a vast concert stage, featuring uplifting melodies and choral performances that offer solace and inspiration. The season-long festival will present world-class soloists and ensembles, opening with an orchestral fanfare led by tenor Masashi Akikawa and continuing with appearances from celebrated artists such as pianist Ryuma Takagi and violinist Fumiaki Miura.

List of Performing Artists: https://christmas-advent.jp/artist/

5. Art Festival and Performances

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This year’s art festival will weave contemporary art, circus performance, and traditional crafts into the city’s public spaces, turning street corners and parks into unexpected galleries. Interactive installations and tactile works invite passersby to engage directly with pieces, while large-scale outdoor performances blend light, sound, and movement to create immersive moments beyond ordinary illumination displays or market stalls. 

A centerpiece at Tenjin Central Park’s Forest of Light will be a series of aerial shows — including trapeze, aerial silks, cloud swings, contortion, and illuminated juggling — running twice daily from November 21 to December 18, with a media preview on November 20. 

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The program also features craft collaborations, such as contributions from master artisan Nobutaka Nakamura, and on-site art sales including Ari Yoshinaga’s solo exhibition “Living as a Woman.”

Fukuoka Christmas Advent: Venues and Duration

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Fukuoka's Christmas Advent has different event durations for each venue.

Be sure to check the details in advance so you can enjoy the festivities.

Shibata Sangyo presents CHRISTMAS MARKET in Hikari no Machi HAKATA

Location: JR Hakata Station Plaza
Dates: November 1 – December 25, 2025
Hours: Weekdays 16:45 – 23:00/ Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 12:00 – 23:00 / December daily 12:00 – 23:00 

Alliance presents TENJIN CHRISTMAS MARKET

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Location: Fukuoka City Hall West Side Fureai Plaza
Dates: November 15 – December 25, 2025
Hours: Weekdays 17:00 – 23:00 / Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 12:00 – 23:00
Please note that the venue will be temporarily closed on November 29 and 30 for a separate event.

KBC FESTA de SANTA

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Location: Kihinkan Hall Front Plaza
Dates: November 12 – December 25, 2025
Hours: Weekdays 17:00 – 22:00 / Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 12:00 – 22:00 

QTnet presents Hikari no Forest

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Location: Tenjin Central Park
Dates: November 13 – December 25, 2025 *The illumination event will continue until January 6, 2026.
Hours: Weekdays 17:00 – 22:00, with lights on until midnight / Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 12:00 – 22:00 

LANDIC presents Nakasu Hikari no Advent

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Location: Nakasu Central Street, Nakagawa Street, Meiji Street, and Fuku-Haku Deai Bridge
Dates: November 4, 2025 – January 6, 2026
Illumination Time: 17:00 – 1:00 

CHRISTMAS MARKET in Passage

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Location: Fukuoka Daimaru Elgala Passage Plaza
Dates: November 14 – December 25, 2025
Hours: Weekdays 16:00 – 21:00 / Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 12:00  – 21:00 

Christmas Gate Park in Fukuoka Daimyo Garden City

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Location: Fukuoka Daimyo Garden City Plaza
Dates: November 14, 2024 – December 25, 2025
Hours:  Weekdays 17:00 – 22:00 / Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays 12:00 – 22:00

Kitakyushu: Christmas Market ICE WORLD in Momochihama

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Location: Seaside Momochi Ice Skating Park '24-'25 Momochihama 1st Green Road Plaza (in front of Fukuoka Tower, Sawara Ward)
Dates: November 21 – December 28, 2025
Hours: 11:00 – 21:30 

Kitakyushu: KOKURA Christmas Market & Castle

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Location: Near the Murasaki Riverside Park and Senba Plaza (Kokura, Kitakyushu City)
Dates: November 21 – December 25, 2025
Hours: Weekdays 17:00 – 22:00 / Weekends and holidays 12:00 - 22:00

Official Website

The official website for the entire Christmas Advent is as follows:

Official Website: https://christmas-advent.jp/

Information and photo source: PR TIMES