Toyohashi Planetarium in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture, is holding its first "Halloween Horror Planetarium." After watching a horror program, which is rare for a planetarium, participants can enjoy a Night Museum.
The horror program's original story and supervision are by haunted house producer Hirofumi Gomi. Viewers can expect a strong sense of immersion and a fear experience that only dome visuals can create.
At the Night Museum at the Underground Resources Museum (地下資源館), participants make their way through the pitch-dark building with just a single flashlight. The adventure in the dark echoes a scene in the film they have just watched, where the way forward is lit only by a flashlight, which makes it all the scarier.
Applications are accepted from 12:00 AM on Saturday, October 10, 2026, to 12:00 PM on Saturday, October 17, 2026. Apply through the Toyohashi Planetarium website (https://www.toyohaku.gr.jp/chika/posts/entry_archive.html).
Horror Planetarium "Furikaeri no Senritsu" (ふり返りの旋律)
The planetarium, usually a place to gaze up at a romantic starry sky, turns into a dome of terror. With darkness that blocks the view, a space with no escape, sounds that stoke fear, and immersive full-dome visuals, this horror program lets viewers experience even more of the realistic presence that is a hallmark of the planetarium.
The original story and supervision are by Hirofumi Gomi, a haunted house producer who has worked on haunted houses across Japan. The program is a collaboration between the planetarium and this "pioneer of fear," who has created a wide range of fear experiences.
For Those Who Want to Enjoy Just the Horror Planetarium
At Toyohashi Planetarium, this program is shown only on October 24. Separate from the evening "Halloween Horror Planetarium," a screening of only "Horror Planetarium Furikaeri no Senritsu" will be held on Saturday, October 24, at 11:30 AM. No advance registration is required, and the first 100 people on the day can watch. Admission is ¥450 for adults and ¥150 for junior high school students and younger.
Production and distribution: Konica Minolta Planetarium Co., Ltd.
Night Museum at the Underground Resources Museum
This is the first time a Night Museum is held at the Underground Resources Museum. Participants make their way through the pitch-dark museum, guided only by the light of a flashlight. They stamp at the checkpoints set up inside the building. Will they reach the goal safely?
Exhibits that look familiar take on a different feel in the dark. The exhibits are unlikely to start moving, but it is worth looking closely at displays that would usually be passed by.
Those who reach the goal safely receive a commemorative gift, a planisphere (star chart).
Science Meets Halloween! Can Ghosts Be Explained Scientifically?
The event takes place at the Toyohashi City Audio-Visual Education Center (豊橋市視聴覚教育センター) and Underground Resources Museum, which calls itself "everyone's science base." Plenty of scientific elements are included, of course.
Before the screening of "Furikaeri no Senritsu," the program introduces the stars visible in the night sky that day, autumn constellations, and stars related to horror. It also offers scientific explanations through the lens of ghosts and yokai, and explains the importance of thinking scientifically. Using "scary and fun" as a starting point, participants can think about familiar phenomena scientifically.
Halloween Horror Planetarium Event Details
- Date: Saturday, October 24, 2026
- Session 1 (for 4th grade elementary school students and older): 4:30 PM – 6:00 PM
- Session 2 (for high school students and older): 7:00 PM – 8:30 PM
- Venue: Toyohashi City Audio-Visual Education Center and Underground Resources Museum
- Eligibility: Session 1 is for 4th grade elementary school students and older (junior high school students and younger must be accompanied by a guardian). Session 2 is for high school students and older.
- Capacity: 50 people per session (all seats reserved). A lottery is held if applications exceed capacity.
- Price: ¥1,500 per person
- Application: From 12:00 AM on Saturday, October 10, to 12:00 PM on Saturday, October 17, via the website: https://www.toyohaku.gr.jp/chika/posts/entry_archive.html
A Variety of Planetarium Programs, Plus Live Star Talks by Curators
Toyohashi Planetarium offers a variety of dome programs and star talks that people of all ages, from children to adults, can enjoy. The programs showing in October 2026 are "Doraemon," "Anpanman," and "Magic Hour."
"Magic Hour" is a healing program that traces the brief time between evening and night through beautiful footage from across Japan and Australia. The version showing at this facility is the "Toyohashi Special Edition," in which the footage is replaced with scenes of Toyohashi and the surrounding Higashi-Mikawa area.
In the star talk "Chotto Hoshizora Mite Mirin" (ちょっと星空見てみりん), curators and other staff cover topics such as the night sky visible that evening and the seasonal constellations, offering discoveries different from those of the dome visuals. Live commentary by curators and other staff is held on the second and fourth Sundays of every month.
For details such as the screening schedule, please check the Toyohashi Planetarium website (https://www.toyohaku.gr.jp/chika/plane.html).
