Comiket Winter 2026: 3 Days, 80,000–90,000 People a Day
Comiket is short for Comic Market, the self-published manga and fan-work fair run by the Comic Market Committee. Fans call each event by its number, so this winter’s edition is C109. The committee confirmed the dates in March 2026, earlier than usual, and chose three days instead of two. The last three-day Comiket was C97.
The ticket details for C109 come out in early November. Until then, the rules and prices from the summer event (C108) are the best guide. The committee says the winter entry system carries over from recent events. This guide uses the C108 prices and marks them as such.
C109 dates, hours and halls
The Comic Market Committee C109 schedule announcement sets the event for 29 to 31 December 2026 in Ariake. Circles set up their tables on Monday 28 December. The committee expects about 22,000 circles and 80,000 to 90,000 visitors a day, and it lists both figures as plans.
The East 4 to 6 halls are closed for a large renovation, so the event uses the rest of the building. In summer, C108 placed circles in East 1 to 3 and East 7, West 1 and 2, and South 1 and 2. Corporate booths filled West 3 and 4 and South 3 and 4. The winter map will follow once the committee publishes it.
The photo shows Tokyo Big Sight’s conference tower with its upside-down pyramids. At C108, the on-site PM Entry wristband sale ran in the Entrance Plaza below that pyramid.
Hours differ by area. The Comic Market Committee C109 information page gives these times:
- Circle stalls: 10:30 to 16:00 on all three days.
- Corporate booths: 10:30 to 17:00 on days 1 and 2, and to 16:00 on day 3.
- Changing rooms: 10:30 to 17:30 on days 1 and 2, and to 17:00 on day 3.
- Cosplay areas: until 16:30 on days 1 and 2, and until 16:00 on day 3.
- Paid rest area: 11:00 to 16:00.
Plan your shopping around these times. On the first two days, corporate booths stay open an hour after the circles close. Visit the circles first and the company stands later. On 31 December everything closes at 16:00.
Three more dates matter before you fly. The online Comike WebCatalog for C109 opens on 6 November. The printed catalog goes on sale in early December, and the list of corporate booths appears in early December too. Each day of Comiket has completely different genres and circles, so check the catalog before you pick a day.
Searches for Comiket climb fast before the winter event. In the 12 months to August 2026, searches for “comiket” peaked in December 2025 at 33,100. That was 2.7 times the October 2025 figure of 12,100.
| Month | Searches |
|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 14,800 |
| Oct 2025 | 12,100 |
| Nov 2025 | 18,100 |
| Dec 2025 | 33,100 |
| Jan 2026 | 18,100 |
| Feb 2026 | 12,100 |
| Mar 2026 | 14,800 |
| Apr 2026 | 14,800 |
| May 2026 | 14,800 |
| Jun 2026 | 14,800 |
| Jul 2026 | 18,100 |
| Aug 2026 | 33,100 |
The chart shows a second peak of 33,100 in August 2026, the month of Summer Comiket. Interest rises in November, so most visitors start looking for tickets about a month before the event.
Comiket tickets and wristbands
Every visitor needs a ticket or a wristband, and each one works for one day only. The Comic Market Committee information for international participants says there is no way to enter free of charge. Children are the one exception: one child aged 15 or younger enters free with each adult who holds a ticket or wristband.
There are four types. The table shows the C108 prices from the Comic Market Committee tickets page in English. For the afternoon wristband, the C109 information page already confirms the same prices: 440 yen in advance and 1,000 yen at the venue.
| Type | Entry time | How to buy | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Entry ticket | From 10:30 | TicketPay lottery, printed at FamilyMart | 5,000 yen + 385 yen fee |
| Cosplay Changing Room Early Entry | Changing room 8:00 or 9:30, halls 11:00 | TicketPay lottery, printed at FamilyMart | 3,000 yen + 385 yen fee |
| AM Entry wristband | From 11:00 | Animate, Toranoana, Melonbooks; eplus e-ticket | 1,210 yen (eplus 1,331 yen) |
| PM Entry wristband | After 12:30 | Anime shops, or on site | 440 yen in shops, 1,000 yen on site |
| Child aged 15 or under | With one adult | No ticket needed | Free |
The two Early Entry tickets are sold by lottery on the TicketPay website. You register first, and TicketPay checks your account through a phone call from your registered number. Each account can buy one ticket per day. The ticket shows your real name, and staff check it against your original passport at the gate. Copies, photos of IDs and foreign driving licences are not accepted.
After you win the lottery, you print the paper ticket at a FamilyMart convenience store in Japan. You must do this by the day before the event. Stores near Tokyo Big Sight can run out of ticket paper, so print it near your hotel a few days early. The fee for printing is 385 yen on top of the ticket price.
The AM Entry wristband sells at three anime and manga chains: Animate, Toranoana and Melonbooks. Animate shops in Korea, Taiwan and Thailand also carry it, and the Toranoana shop in Taipei did too for C108. If you cannot reach a shop, buy the eplus e-ticket online with a credit card for 1,331 yen. You exchange the QR code for a wristband on the day.
The PM Entry wristband costs 440 yen in shops. On the day, the venue sells it after 12:30 for 1,000 yen, and the queue is long. At a shop counter, you can show staff this line: 午後入場リストバンドをください (gogo nyūjō risutobando o kudasai), “A PM Entry wristband, please.”
The committee bans resale. A resold ticket is invalid, and the buyer loses the money and cannot enter. Refunds are not possible once a ticket or wristband is issued, even if the event is cancelled.
The checklist above covers the four things to do before you leave your hotel. Buy the right day, print any Early Entry ticket at FamilyMart, pack your original passport and load your IC card.
Which entry time to choose
Pick your entry type by the time you want to walk in. Early Entry starts at 10:30, AM Entry at 11:00 and PM Entry after 12:30. All three let you stay until closing.
The flowchart asks two questions. If you want to change into cosplay before the halls open, choose the Cosplay Changing Room Early Entry ticket. If you want to be inside at 10:30, choose Early Entry. Everyone else picks AM or PM.
At C108, Early Entry holders arrived at their gate between 8:00 and 10:00. Staff swapped the ticket for a wristband, and holders then joined the queue that enters at 10:30. Each Early Entry ticket is tied to one side, East or South/West, because the queue space is limited. Once inside, you can walk between all halls.
Cosplay Early Entry has two slots, 8:00 and 9:30, at the TFT Building West Wing on floor 2. After changing, cosplayers wait in the Garden Cosplay Area outside Tokyo Big Sight until 11:00. Slot A holders wait about one hour outside.
AM Entry wristband holders put the band on before they arrive and join the East or West waiting line. The eplus e-ticket works differently. Staff exchange it near the Rinkai Line station only after 8:00, so you cannot reach the front of the AM queue with it. If you arrive after 12:30, take the e-ticket straight to the Entrance Plaza.
The crowd in this photo shows why the queues matter. Do not wait near the venue overnight or arrive the day before. The committee forbids it, neighbours complain, and you gain nothing over people who come in the morning.
Choose your day before you choose your ticket. The genres and circles change completely each day, and at C108 day 1 and day 2 covered different series in every hall. Check the C109 genre plan and the WebCatalog from 6 November, then buy the wristband for that day.
Getting to Tokyo Big Sight
Come by train, monorail, bus or water bus. The committee asks every visitor to use public transport, and the venue has no parking for you. Two train lines stop close to the halls: the Rinkai Line at Kokusai-tenjijo Station and the Yurikamome at Tokyo Big Sight Station, formerly Kokusai-tenjijo-seimon.
The photo shows a Yurikamome train on its elevated track over the waterfront. The Yurikamome runs from Shimbashi to Tokyo Big Sight Station in about 22 minutes, and from Toyosu in about 8 minutes.
The C109 information page lists the main routes and times:
- Rinkai Line: about 5 minutes from Shin-Kiba, 14 from Osaki, 11 from Oimachi and 6 from Tennozu Isle.
- Yurikamome: about 22 minutes from Shimbashi and 8 from Toyosu.
- Tokyo BRT: about 21 minutes from Shimbashi to Kokusai-tenjijo.
- Toei bus: about 30 minutes from Tokyo Station on the temporary direct bus from the Marunouchi South Exit.
- JR Bus Kanto: about 30 minutes from the Yaesu side of Tokyo Station.
- Water bus: about 20 minutes from Hinode Pier.
| Item | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Rinkai Line from Shin-Kiba | 5 min | |
| Yurikamome from Toyosu | 8 min | |
| Rinkai Line from Osaki | 14 min | |
| Water bus from Hinode Pier | 20 min | |
| Tokyo BRT from Shimbashi | 21 min | |
| Yurikamome from Shimbashi | 22 min | |
| Toei bus from Tokyo Station | 30 min | Temporary direct bus |
The chart puts the routes side by side. The Rinkai Line from Shin-Kiba is the shortest ride, and the temporary bus from Tokyo Station is the longest.
The Rinkai Line runs through to the JR Saikyo Line, so some trains start at Shibuya, Shinjuku, Ikebukuro, Omiya or Kawagoe. Use an IC card if you can. Without one, buy a connecting ticket, or a JR ticket to Osaki where the two lines meet.
Every rail and bus route on the list takes IC cards, while the water bus does not. A Suica card or PASMO works on all of them. Load money onto the card before you set out. The guide to IC cards on Tokyo trains and buses lists which other cards work.
| Place | Tokyo Big Sight (Comiket venue) |
|---|---|
| Price | Ticket or wristband needed; C108 PM Entry 440 yen in shops, 1,000 yen on site |
| Hours | 29-31 Dec 2026: circle stalls 10:30-16:00; corporate booths to 17:00 on days 1-2 |
| Access | Rinkai Line to Kokusai-tenjijo, 5 min from Shin-Kiba; Yurikamome to Tokyo Big Sight, 22 min from Shimbashi |
| Official site | Comic Market Committee C109 information page |
From Haneda Airport, the Airport Limousine bus runs direct to Tokyo Big Sight in about 35 minutes for 1,000 yen. It runs only by day, from 08:35 to 17:25, so check our Haneda Airport to Odaiba route page for stops. The Haneda Airport train and monorail access page confirms the airport links straight to the Tokyo Monorail, which reaches Tennozu Isle for the Rinkai Line.
From Narita, the Narita International Airport rail access page lists the Skyliner, Narita Express and Keisei lines into Tokyo. Our Narita Airport to Odaiba route page compares the ways to reach the bay area.
Cosplay rules and changing rooms
Anyone with a valid ticket or wristband can cosplay at Comiket. The Comic Market Committee information for cosplayers sets the main rules. Change only in the official changing rooms, and pay a 500 yen registration fee at your first entry each day.
The picture lists four things that get people turned away or into trouble. Do not travel to or from the venue in costume, from your home or your hotel. Staff may refuse entry if you arrive in cosplay. Do not change or do makeup in the toilets.
At the changing room, you get a Cosplay Registration leaflet in the colour for that day. It also works as your pass to come back in later. The last entry for changing into costume is 15:30. For C109, the changing rooms open from 10:30 to 17:30 on days 1 and 2 and close at 17:00 on day 3.
Large props need care. Wands, canes and signs taller than 2m or wider than 1m must come apart while you move around. Costumes of that size can stay only in the cosplay areas unless you can take them apart. Toy guns must be unloaded and carried in a bag between areas.
Photographers need permission from each cosplayer before every shot, as in the cosplay area shown here. Wait your turn and ask politely. Cosplayers can say no, and staff may stop a shoot when it gets too crowded.
Inside the changing room you cannot take photos or selfies, eat, rest or leave bags alone. At C108, a paid cloakroom ran in the Conference Tower on floor 7 and in the TFT Building from 8:30 to 16:30. It cost 500 yen per item and 800 yen for items over 120cm.
Year-end crowds and planning your stay
Comiket Winter falls in the year-end break. Government offices close from Tuesday 29 December 2026 to Sunday 3 January 2027, and banks close from 31 December to 3 January. New Year’s Day, Friday 1 January 2027, is the only national holiday. Our New Year 2026–27 holiday page shows what stays open.
On the Shinkansen, JR Central makes every Nozomi on the Tokaido Shinkansen reserved-seat only from 25 December 2026 to 5 January 2027. If you travel to Tokyo from Kyoto or Osaka for the event, book a seat before you buy your wristband for the day.
Book your room near a Rinkai Line or Yurikamome station. Early Entry holders arrive between 8:00 and 10:00, and Cosplay Early Entry starts at 8:00. A hotel on those lines shortens the ride before the first queue opens.
Bring as little as you can. The halls are crowded, and the committee’s cosplay page lists a paid cloakroom as its bag storage. Our guide to coin lockers in Japan explains sizes and time limits at stations, so you can leave a suitcase on the way. For weather and other events that month, see Tokyo in December.
If the winter dates do not work, plan for summer. The C109 information page lists C110 for Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 August 2027 at Tokyo Big Sight. With the renovation finished, the committee plans to use all 16 halls again from 2027.
FAQ
When is Comiket 109 in 2026?
Comiket 109 runs from Tuesday 29 to Thursday 31 December 2026 at Tokyo Big Sight. The circle stalls open from 10:30 to 16:00 each day. The committee may still change the hours.
Can you enter Comiket without a ticket or wristband?
No. Every adult needs a ticket or wristband for the day they attend, and there is no free entry. One child aged 15 or younger can enter free with each adult who holds one.
Can foreigners buy Comiket tickets from overseas?
Yes. At C108, international visitors bought the AM Entry e-ticket on eplus for 1,331 yen and exchanged it on site. Animate shops in Korea, Taiwan and Thailand also sold wristbands. Early Entry tickets need a TicketPay account and printing at a FamilyMart in Japan.
Can you arrive at Comiket already in cosplay?
No. You may not travel to or from the venue in costume, and staff may refuse entry if you do. Change in the official changing rooms after you enter, for a 500 yen fee each day.
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