Comiket 109 guide for foreigners: dates, tickets, and what's still unannounced
Comiket is the biggest doujinshi (fan-made manga, games and merch) market on earth: hundreds of thousands of people, one convention centre, three days. The winter edition lands in the dead week between Christmas and New Year, when a lot of overseas fans are already in Tokyo. Here is what we actually know about Comiket 109 so far, what changed at the last one, and how to plan around the parts that aren't announced yet.
Comiket 109 runs Tuesday Dec 29 – Thursday Dec 31, 2026 at Tokyo Big Sight in Ariake. Circle (fan-creator) tables are open 10:30–16:00 daily. General admission details are not out yet — the organizers say they'll publish them around early November, and the web catalog opens Nov 6. At Comiket 108 last August, entry was by paid, day-specific ticket or wristband (no free entry, no multi-day pass), including an e-ticket route for people without a Japanese convenience-store system. Expect the same general shape in December, but confirm on the official Comic Market site before you buy anything.
Dates, hours and venue
| Comiket 109 | |
|---|---|
| Dates | Tue Dec 29 – Thu Dec 31, 2026 (three days) |
| Venue | Tokyo Big Sight, Ariake. East Halls 4–6 are unavailable because of renovation, so the layout differs from earlier editions; hall assignments are announced later |
| Hours | Circle exhibits 10:30–16:00 daily. Corporate booths close 17:00 on days 1–2 and 16:00 on day 3 |
| Getting there | Rinkai Line to Kokusai-tenjijo Station or Yurikamome to Tokyo Big Sight Station. The organizers ask visitors not to come by car, motorbike or bicycle, and to avoid taxis |
Tickets: what we know, and what we don't
For Comiket 109, the organizers have said detailed general-admission information will be released around early November. Until then, nobody can honestly tell you the price or where to buy. What the last edition (Comiket 108, Aug 15–16, 2026) looked like is a useful guide to the likely shape:
| How it worked at Comiket 108 | |
|---|---|
| Free entry? | No. Every attendee needed a valid ticket or wristband, sold per day (no multi-day product) |
| Early Entry | Lottery-based; sold out |
| AM Entry | ¥1,210 at participating stores, or ¥1,331 through the eplus e-ticket route (includes a system fee). Sold out well before the day |
| PM Entry | ¥440 in advance at participating stores, plus a planned on-site sale from 12:30 at ¥1,000, with a long queue expected |
| Resale | Prohibited; resold tickets or wristbands are invalid |
| Refunds | None after issue; lost wristbands aren't replaced |
The part that matters if you don't live here: the organizers provided an international participant page and an international web catalog, and visitors who couldn't use a Japanese store could go through eplus instead. If the December system follows the same pattern, the eplus route is the one to watch for. Treat all of the prices above as last summer's, not December's.
Comiket explicitly bans resale, and a wristband bought from a stranger can simply be invalid at the gate. If the official sale sells out, the PM entry on the day (if offered) is the legitimate fallback. It is cheaper but gets you in the afternoon, when much of the good stock may already be gone.
Plan your day (the practical bits)
Use the web catalog first. The Comiket web catalog opens Nov 6; the international version lets you bookmark circles and see which day each is on. With three days and a different set of circles each day, your genre decides which day to go. Decide this before you decide anything else.
Don't queue the night before. Waiting near the venue from the previous day, including overnight, is prohibited. Plan a morning arrival by public transport once the entry schedule is published.
Dress for late December, not August. Last summer's problem was heat illness; in December the problem is the long, partly outdoor queue and the walk between halls. Layers, comfortable shoes, water, a charged phone and a power bank are the sensible kit.
Cosplay. At Comiket 108, cosplayers were asked to arrive and leave in ordinary clothes and change only in designated changing rooms (a ¥500 registration fee on first entry each day); changing in toilets is prohibited. Check whether the same applies in December.
If the whole thing sounds like too much for a first time, Tokyo has gentler ways into the same culture. An afternoon on Otome Road in Ikebukuro costs nothing and needs no ticket, and the anime events earlier in the season are easier to enter than Comiket.
Where to stay
Ariake is a waterfront area, not a neighbourhood with much of a nightlife. Most people stay elsewhere and ride in. Since the venue is reached by the Rinkai Line and the Yurikamome, anywhere on those lines, or with an easy connection to Osaki or Shin-Kiba, will work. Book something with free cancellation: dates are fixed, but your ticket outcome may not be.
Common questions
When is Comiket 109?
Tuesday December 29 to Thursday December 31, 2026, at Tokyo Big Sight in Ariake. Circle tables are open 10:30 to 16:00 each day.
How do I buy Comiket 109 tickets as a foreigner?
The December admission details haven't been published yet; the organizers say they will release them around early November. At Comiket 108 in August, tickets were sold per day through participating Japanese stores and through an eplus e-ticket route, and the organizers provided an international participant page and web catalog. Check the official Comic Market site in early November.
Is Comiket free?
No. At Comiket 108 there was no free-entry option. Every attendee needed a ticket or wristband, sold separately for each day. Confirm Comiket 109's system when it is announced.
Can I line up the night before?
No. The organizers prohibit waiting near the venue from the previous day, including overnight. Plan to arrive by public transport on the morning, after the entry schedule is published.
What is the difference between Comiket and Jump Festa?
Comiket is a three-day fan-made market (doujinshi, games, merchandise sold by the creators themselves). Jump Festa is a two-day publisher showcase for Weekly Shonen Jump with a lottery ticket system. See our Jump Festa guide for that one.