Making and enjoying cosplay: costumes, makeup, photography, events and more.
For related culture, see Subculture
All ten division Grand Prix winners have now been named in Cosplayer of the Year 2026, an online cosplay contest. Nine divisions were announced on October 9 and the Passion division on September 10. On October 31 the awards ceremony and the overall Grand Prix final take place on stage at the Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Festival.
Kumamoto Halloween 2026 takes over the Sunroad Shinshigai arcade in Kumamoto City on October 31, 2026, for one day only. The eighth edition is a recovery support festival after the July 28 earthquake, with free entry, a costume contest and parade, and disaster-preparedness programs for families. Donations collected at the venue go in full to the affected areas.
The cosplay event "acosta!" comes to Daigo, Ibaraki Prefecture, for the first time on October 24. Retro streets, a wooden schoolhouse and an apple orchard become photo spots, and a chartered cosplay train runs on the Suigun Line. Here is what to know about the tickets and the rules for the day.
Shibuya Ward's slogan for this Halloween is 'Goodbye Bad Halloween.' A year-round ban on drinking in the street, a 2,000-yen fine for littering, and road closures from October 30: the rules to know before you head out in costume, from the ward and police announcements.
A cosplay day at Comiket starts at the registration desk and the changing room, and the organizer's official cosplay support page lays it out from there. I followed it as a first-timer would: the 500-yen-a-day registration, the changing rooms in the Conference Tower and TFT, the cosplay areas, the rules on costumes and photos, and what the cloakroom costs.
Before you post a cosplay photo, the copyright question tends to surface — what about the costume itself? The Cabinet Office's press conference summaries and the Agency for Cultural Affairs' explainer show what the government actually says, with examples of rights holder guidelines that mention cosplay, and the order to check things in before shooting or posting.
Five events, five different answers to 'what does the cosplay registration fee actually cover?' Side by side, the official guides for acosta!, Ikeharo, Stofes, Tokyo Game Show and Comiket show how far your fee or pass gets you for changing rooms and bag storage — and which events also need a separate entry ticket.
Shooting cosplay at an event, posting it online — each step has its own consent question. The official rules of Comiket, Ikeharo and acosta!, plus guidance from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and Japan's Ministry of Justice, cover whose consent you need, how crowding shots and low angles are treated, and where to turn if your photo is posted without permission.
Can you bring a prop sword or gun to an event — and how do you carry it there? Comiket's and Ikeharo's official rules, with explanations from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police and Nagano Prefectural Police, cover Japan's Swords and Firearms Control Law and Minor Offenses Act, and who to ask when in doubt.
Cut, heat-bend, prime, paint — before making armor from EVA foam, it pays to know how the material behaves. Official materials from a foam maker, a craft supply shop and glue and tool manufacturers cover heat-bending, priming and painting, and the safety points for contact cement and heat guns.
