The live Ike-Haro site and the 5 September dwango release both lock the 2026 dates at Friday 30 October through Sunday 1 November. Older listings that still say 23-25 October are wrong. If you already booked a hotel for that earlier weekend, move it or eat it. The park does not open a week early because a guide page lagged.
Friday is a different building
Ike-Haro Night is Sunshine City, 16:30-22:30, 18 and over, high-school students out even if they are 18. Plaza, exhibition hall, underground parking. Karaoke and arm-wrestling on the hall stage. Free bounce boards and phone ring lights. This is the shoot that looks like a warehouse, not a park lawn. A Saturday general ticket does not let you in on Friday. Buy the night ticket (advance ¥3,480, door ¥3,980) or the Premium 3DAYS pass (advance ¥10,000) which bundles the night plus both park days, overnight luggage, and a skip of the desk after day one.
Premium on Saturday or Sunday alone is ¥3,980 advance, ¥4,480 at the door, and it is the pass I would buy if I were in costume. Changing rooms open 8:45, not 11:00. You get Amilia Ikebukuro and Hamster 2nd as free partner studios, a hospitality corner for wig and makeup fixes, a charge and streaming desk, priority at the cosplay dock, and the Ike-Haro IKEBUS. General (¥2,980 / ¥3,480) is fine if you arrive after lunch and do not need a studio. Camera users buy a camera registration, not a costume pass, unless they are shooting in costume.
The parade is Saturday. Enako is the stage.
About 400 people walk Sunshine 60-dori to Animate-dori to Brillia HALL on 31 October. Toshima High School''s wind band plays them down the carpet. You can watch that from the pavement without a participant ticket. You cannot join the carpet without one. Naka-Ikebukuro Park''s main stage, Saturday and Sunday 10:00-18:00, is where Enako is billed, plus Nico Nico Cosplayction, the family block, and the arm-wrestling that always draws a louder crowd than the runway. Hareza''s Park Plaza has the new oversized poster wall both weekend days. That is a good meet-up if the park fence is a crush.
Kids in costume, elementary only, pay ¥500 cash on the day. Toshima elementary pupils are free with something that proves they live in the ward. Under school age is free. Junior-high and high-school camera tickets are ¥1,480 advance, ¥1,980 at the door. There is no kids camera ticket. Coset Ikebukuro locker bundles and Sunshine Prince Hotel room-plus-ticket plans exist if you want to change somewhere that is not a park tent. Those sell on their own sites, not on the main eplus grid.
Buy before the type dies
eplus opened 4 September at 17:00. The committee says some types sell out every year and those types get no door stock. Do not plan a walk-up Premium 3DAYS on 30 October. English copy lives at ikebukurocosplay.jp/en/. Rules, including photo consent in the zones, sit on the guide pages. Ask before you put a long lens in someone''s face outside the marked lanes. Canon is the silver sponsor. That will show up as branded photo support, not as free cameras.
Ikebukuro Station east exit is the Sunshine walk. The west exit is the wrong direction unless you are coming from Otome Road and looping east. For hours, prices, and the official map, use the event page. This piece is the ticket split the old 23-25 October listings never had.
Practical Details
- Dates: 30 October (night) to 1 November 2026
- Time: Fri 16:30-22:30 at Sunshine City. Sat-Sun 10:00-18:00 at the park. Premium desk 8:45
- Venue: Sunshine City (Friday), Naka-Ikebukuro Park and Sunshine 60-dori (weekend)
- Nearest station: Ikebukuro Station east exit. Higashi-Ikebukuro on the Yurakucho Line
- Price: Kids ¥500. General from ¥2,980. Night ¥3,480. Premium from ¥3,980. 3DAYS ¥10,000
- Website: Ike-Haro ticket page
- Facts hub: Event page
