GM, COT❣️ Yuzunoko here.
How about traveling a little farther afield for your autumn cosplay photoshoot?
On October 24 (Saturday), the cosplay event "acosta!" will be held for the first time in Daigo (a town in Ibaraki Prefecture). Daigo is a town in the Okukuji area served by the Suigun Line (a local railway line), and it has photo spots all over: retro shopping streets, wooden schoolhouses, apple orchards and more. A chartered train exclusively for event attendees will also run, and you can ride it in cosplay.
acosta! Is Held Nationwide
acosta! is a cosplay event held across Japan by Hacosta (an event company). According to the organizers, annual attendance exceeds 300,000, women make up 70% of participants, and people in their teens and twenties account for 80%.
This is the first time the event comes to Daigo. It is part of Ibaraki Prefecture's "Northern Ibaraki Satoyama Discovery Project" (a regional revitalization program), aiming to revitalize mountainous areas in the northern part of the prefecture, where population decline is severe.
The venue is the Daigo Town Cultural and Welfare Center "Main" (a community hall) and its surroundings. The event runs from 11:00 to 19:00, and photos can be taken until 18:00. Registration times vary by ticket type.
The Whole Town Is a Photo Spot
The event page lists five places where you can take photos.
- Daigo Ekimae Shopping Street (the street in front of the station): A streetscape that keeps the retro atmosphere of the Showa era (mid-20th-century Japan). Cafes and bakeries too.
- Junisho Shrine and Konnyaku Shrine (two local shrines): Known for their 100-step staircase and a tree-lined approach.
- Daigo Oyaki School (a schoolhouse preserved from a closed school): A school-themed photo location. Oyaki (a local stuffed-bun specialty) and school-lunch meals are also served.
- Fujita Kanko Apple Orchard (a tourist apple farm): Rows of apple trees. Attendees pay 500 yen for entry and get one apple.
- Okukuji Tea Village Park (a tea-themed park): Tea fields and traditional Japanese scenery. The dining hall is open from 11:00 to 14:00.
Photo hours differ by location: until 18:00 in the shopping street, until 17:00 at Oyaki School and Tea Village Park, and until 16:00 at the apple orchard.
Free shuttle buses run from the "Main" hub to the apple orchard, Oyaki School and Tea Village Park. Shooting among the apple trees is just right for autumn, and cute, too❣️ (the apple that comes with it is a nice touch)
Four Ticket Types
With four ticket types, it can feel a little confusing at first.
- Early (from 11:00): 2,480 yen in advance, 3,000 yen on the day
- Regular (from 12:30): 2,180 yen in advance, 2,700 yen on the day
- Cosplay by Car (from 11:30): 2,180 yen in advance, 2,700 yen on the day
- Middle and High School Students (from 12:30): 1,180 yen in advance, 1,500 yen on the day (no cosplay; for photographers and general visitors)
Early and Regular tickets include cosplay participation and use of the changing rooms. Photographers and general visitors enter on the same tickets.
"Cosplay by Car" is for people who change at home and drive to the venue already in costume. The changing rooms are not included. Drivers park at the "Main" or the Ibaraki Daigo Joint Government Building (a local government office) parking lot.
Same-day tickets are not sold for tiers that sell out in advance. Tickets cannot be changed or refunded after purchase, so keep that in mind.
Riding the Suigun Line Chartered Train in Cosplay
On this day, an acosta! chartered train runs on the Suigun Line. It is the only service of the day: it leaves Mito Station (in the city of Mito) around 9:40 and arrives at Hitachi-Daigo Station around 11:12.
You can change at a hotel in front of Mito Station from 7:00 and board the train in cosplay. Large luggage can be left at the hotel and will arrive at the venue's luggage area around 14:00. Having both a place to change and luggage delivery taken care of is a nice touch (it feels like the event has already started once you are on the train).
Boarding requires an advance application, and sign-ups closed on October 9. You cannot simply hop on this train on the day.
There is also a direct round-trip bus from Tokyo (11,500 yen). The acosta! ticket is separate.
You cannot ride regular trains or buses in cosplay; you change at the venue instead. The shuttle buses that loop around the event area are fine to ride in cosplay.
Photo Rules to Keep in Mind
The venue is a town where people live their everyday lives. Here are a few of the photo rules from the event's guidelines.
- Take photos only with mutual consent, and check each other's event passes.
- No shooting while walking, and no shooting that bothers the people around you.
- Daigo Ekimae Shopping Street does not allow tripods or stands (handheld only). These are ordinary streets used by residents, so safety comes first.
- At the shrines, worshippers come first. Do not block the center of the approach or the front of the main hall.
- Do not pull, touch or shake the apples at the orchard. At Oyaki School, no photos near the workshop or in the parking lot; at Tea Village Park, do not enter or shoot in the plaza while ground golf (a lawn game) is being played.
Also planned: "acosta! Dance Time" in the culture hall of "Main" from 15:45, and a stamp rally from 11:00 to 16:00 (prize drawings until 17:00) (collecting stamps is half the fun, isn't it?).
All the details are in the participation guidelines. Reading them once before you go will put your mind at ease.
About This Article
This article was put together from Hacosta's press release, the event's official site, the participation rules and the Suigun Line's special site.
Ticket availability and day-of operations can change. Before you head out, check the latest information on the official sites.
At the end of October, another big cosplay event takes place in Ikebukuro (a district in Tokyo). For details, see Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Fes 2026 runs three days from October 30: Ikehalo Night, tickets, parade applications and the rules.
Quotes from Japanese sources are our own translations.
Translated from the Japanese original.
See you next time on COT❣️