This guide is a draft, work-in-progress, until this notice is removed. I estimate to remove this notice around the middle of July 2025.
Welcome to my fan-guide to Comic Market, summer edition. I'm planning two versions of this guide, one for summer and one for winter. This guide was written with the perspective of Comic Market 106 coming in 2025, but it should apply to any summer Comic Market held at Tokyo Big Sight.
For starters, I recommend that you read all of the information posted on the official website for overseas attendees. That includes:
Comic Market is a special event to me. I grew up reading works from Comic Market, without knowing where they were from. I'd see things like [C58] on works and not understand what that referred to. Comic Market is the de facto source of most long-form fan works for Japanese media. What this means is that if you've been exposed to doujinshi or doujins, it most likely was distributed at Comic Market or a smaller distribution event in Japan for a single limited time. Some artists have works on consignment, and some artists do not participate, but overwhelmingly, Comic Market is the epicenter of doujinshi culture.
Doujinshi, of course, are fan works based on originals. In English and contemporary culture, you might call this “fan fiction” but this term extends to things like music remixes, derivative art works, comic books, literature, and more. The overwhelming majority of works at Comic Market are derived from other Japanese media or moe media. There are exceptions to this – most people are surprised to venture into Comic Market and find jewelry, train spotting guides, programming guides, manuals, hobbyist electronic projects, and more. There is a diverse set of groups who participate in Comic Market, and depending on which circles apply, you may have all sorts of things and those things change depending on popularity, timing, and more.
Circles are the de-facto way of grouping people who meet at Comic Market. The halls are organized roughly by circle type, genre, and even related circles. For example, if you're interested in music, all of the music circles are generally in the same general area. A circle can be one or many group of people. You can think of the term to refer to “distribution circle” or “sharing circle”.
If we sum it up, Comic Market is a place where circles distribute doujinshi to other participants, as a day of culture. Comic Market for Japanese speakers is as much a chance to meet new friends, catch up with old friends, distribute new works, network, and take a break from normal societal obligations. Comic Market calls itself a “day of hare” – a day away from the tedium of day-to-day life that is celebrated and cherished for culture.
The defining point that many Japanese people are frustrated by at Comic Market is that people lose the concept of “participation”. At Comic Market, all people are participants. You might blow this off because in English, the term isn't quite as well-defined. Think of it more like “everyone is an equal”. The staff volunteers participate because that's their way of participating. Circles participate by distributing works. And visitors in neither category participate by meeting new people, communicating, sharing works, and other things. The staff are no more important than the people who are “general participants”. The circles that participate are no more important than the people who attend and don't distribute things. In other words, when you participate in Comic Market, you become one of the people who is part of the Comic Market, in no greater term than anyone else.
Being a participant leads you to have a few necessary obligations, no matter what role you're in:
Overseas participants – particularly those who are not familiar with doujinshi culture to its full extent – may find themselves surprised by the content shared at Comic Market. You might find circles that distribute goods you find difficult to consume. You might find them difficult to look at. You might personally be offended by some goods. The important thing to remember is that this shared space exists to protect free expression for all. The very thing that gives you the doujinshi culture that you prefer also gives other people the culture they prefer.
If you are an overseas participant, I suggest that you really reflect on what this means. Comic Market is the world's largest fan convention, and it distributes so many different works, connects so many people, and serves a relatively simple set of ideals. It is disrespectful to participate and not uphold these values.
Comic Market is called Comiket by many attendees, and Comike by the preparation committee, which does things like procure the venue and recruit volunteer staff. I hope that you enjoy participating in Comiket with me, and I hope that you find the same warmth I did when I started participating. Meeting some of my favorite artists in the world has brought me immense joy.
The official guidance for overseas guests should be followed at all times. But I want to emphasize some things because they're important and maybe not intuitive if you're not from Japan, or if you don't read Japanese:
This doesn't cover ticketing, the basic rules, things like that, other than what I've already listed. Please check the official resources in English for the general rules, for things like ticketing, etc.
During the event, you should follow the international staff twitter account with notifications on, and potentially the japanese staff twitter account, with the help of translating anything they post religiously. Odds are, you will find useful information posted on these accounts. During emergencies, they may also post things here too. Please keep these accounts handy.
If you do not use twitter, you should create an account, setup the app, etc, for the event.
There is an official beginners guide to Comic Market in Japanese. My guide attempts to provide the same level of information, but in English. Nevertheless, you should consider reading the translated original official guide.
The most important thing to do when you attend Comic Market is to plan ahead. Comic Market is held on multiple days, with different circles each day. Sometimes, albeit rarely, a circle will participate on both days. This is usually rare and with a specific exception or some other reason. It does not happen often.
Comic Market takes place at Tokyo Big Sight, aka the “international convention center”. The best way to access the venue is to take the Rinkai line “Kokusai Tenjijo” station (that means “international convention center” in Japanese). Your favorite navigation app will guide you there effectively. Please note that the Yurikamome (the monorail) is not as preferred but equally viable. The Rinkai line is often run as a “through service” from other train lines in Japan. For example, the Sotetsu Line sometimes runs straight onto the Rinkai Line tracks. This means it's okay to board a train that doesn't say “Rinkai Line”. When you're aiming for the venue, you want to go on a train bound for “Shin-Kiba” to get to “Kokusai Tenjijo”. I recommend that you use an IC card for entry and exit, and do not expect to be able to get into the bathroom at “Kokusai Tenjijo” station, or buy tickets, etc. If you need to go to the bathroom before Comic Market, you should exit at a different station and go to the bathroom there.
Once you arrive at the station, you can usually follow the giant mass of people towards the general participants line. The east and west/south entrances differ significantly. Depending on what you want to look at or get, go to your preferred entrance line. There are signs in English and the international desk staff will be around somewhere, so you can always ask for help. Follow signs and on-site guidance to get to the venue.
Each hall contains multiple genres loosely organized by genre and by circle, and related circles. Generally speaking, circles share tables at Comic Market, and are identified using Japanese and English characters, the day they're there, and a sub-letter. The general information is easy enough: day 1/2 have different content. Go to the correct hall. East halls 1, 2, and 3 and 4, 5, 6 are combined together into one large room. You can freely walk between them. Therefore, you should pay attention to the boundaries in the hall for where the precise area to go is.
Once again, circles usually share tables and are identified by row and number. You should consider learning hiragana and katakana if you have to communicate with your friends on where something is. Otherwise, you can just look at the pictures. For example, ケ32a means a circle is in the ケ row, table number 32, on the a side of the table. If you see “ab”, it means they have both sides of the table. Otherwise, the a and b sides are the opposite sides of the table. On the map, you'll see the table number, but not generally speaking the side of the table. Your desired circles typically are on one or the other side of the table.
Lines typically form on both the left and right side of a table as well. You may find circles with exceptionally long lines. There will be signs that say “do not queue here” and the line is somewhere else. You can ask someone where the end of the line is. If you arrive at one of these overflow lines, usually you will be forced to hold the sign that says “this is the end of the line” until the next person arrives. Then, you hand them the sign that says it's the end of the line.
Circles on the edge of the map are circles that the Comic Market preparation committee expects to need overflow capacity. When a circle is on the edge of the venue, or faces outside instead of inside, you can expect a longer line. Always check your artists and the map and be aware if the line is going to be outside.
In Summer Comic Market, you'll find yourself in the entry line most likely. First of all, the main entry lines are divided into blocks of people in distinct rows. Before the event opens, you will initially stand in this line, then get a chance to sit down. As the opening time opens, your line will be instructed to stand and move. Please be aware of this as it gets closer to the entry time. It isn't a good idea to not be in your spot in line if the line is about to move.
There are bathrooms in the entry line. The bathrooms are Japanese squat-style portable toilets. If you have not used a Japanese toilet before, you should familiarize yourself with this style of toilet. It is not very intuitive and you should be aware that it's rather unpleasant.
In summer, the entry line is significantly taxing. I (and the official beginners guide) recommend that you bring the following in the summer:
Avoid foods and drinks that have diuretic effects like caffeine, green tea, coffee, etc.
The entry line is on hard pavement/blacktop. You don't want to sit directly on it if you can avoid it, and it will get hot.
Wear loose fitting clothes, like sport clothes, such as those from uniqlo in the “airism” brand. Wear loose fitting clothes, such as shorts.