Acosta!: Cosplaying in Japan

Cosplay–a portmanteau of costume and play–is one possibly one of the highest tiers of nerd culture. As the name suggests, cosplay is when one dresses up and embodies a character (most likely fictional). Usually, cosplay happens at conventions with film, comics, anime or gaming at the forefront.   

Comic Cons are commonplace and happen all around the world. Cosplay during these conventions is just one facet and the atmosphere is more focused on the panels, the merchandise and interactions with the convention guests and other attendees. There are conventions dedicated to the art of cosplaying itself, like the World Cosplay Summit which is a competition for cosplayers around the globe.

But not all cosplay-focused conventions are competitive. Some are just done in the spirit of fun.

Japan, where arguably 80 percent of the characters that are cosplayed originate from, has quite a lot of conventions of their own. You have the World Cosplay Summit, AnimeJapan and Comiket which are the equivalents of Comic Cons that take place all over the world. But Japan also has Acosta! — a convention dedicated to cosplaying for the fun of it with no competitions involved.

Acosta! is a monthly convention that takes place in various locations throughout Japan. It’s a convention where you can cosplay your heart out, get photographed (or take photographs) and enjoy what the sights and sounds the convention area has to offer. Sunshine City Ikebukuro is where Acosta! started way back in 2014. Ten years later, things have changed considerably for this cosplay festival.

Normally you can get changed into your cosplay at your place of stay if the character’s outfit isn’t particularly cumbersome. If one doesn’t suffer too heavily from public anxiety, getting to any convention zone via public transportation is the easiest route.

Cosplaying in Japan, however, is unlike cosplaying anywhere else in the world.

In a society where causing meiwaku (roughly translating into disturbance or annoyance), cosplaying in public is no doubt a social taboo. Lolita fashion and Harajuku fashion are more or less given a green signal, but cosplay is a big no.

That means heading to the convention site in full cosplay is not allowed. Even taking a taxi in cosplay is not allowed because taxis are technically public transportation. So, unless you have your own private car, one has no choice but to get changed at the convention zone.

Getting off at the Ikebukuro Station and following the signs for the Sunshine City Exit, you still won’t encounter any cosplayers in the wild. Unlike, say, when you head to MCM London and two stops to ExCeL Centre feels like stepping into the multiverse.

What you do see at the station is people lugging rather large suitcases, which is commonplace in Tokyo, and heading straight to Sunshine City.

When you think of Japanese pop culture like anime and manga the first place, what comes to mind would probably be Akihabara. Ikebukuro happens to be a lot like Akihabara, an anime/gaming haven in a more relaxed and trendier atmosphere. It boasts the largest Animate store, where you can pick up some merchandise. The Anime Tokyo Station is also located in Ikebukuro. There are even a couple of cosplay stores where you can pick up readymade cosplays and props and a studio replete with multiple sets that will transport your character straight into the world they inhabit.

Sunshine City itself is a large complex that has an aquarium, a museum, a planetarium and a shopping center with multiple restaurants all in one place. The 60th floor aka Sunshine 60 gives you a bird’s eye view of Tokyo. Rumor has it that you can even see the elusive Mount Fuji if the weather is clear.

So, there’s quite a lot to actually do in Sunshine City itself. Acosta! awards you an opportunity to do so in full cosplay.

But before we get to the event, a slight interjection on acquiring tickets to the event. Tickets to anything in Japan are a completely different ball game compared to getting tickets anywhere. Events also have a tendency to be completely sold out, therefore it’s always a good idea to make sure you get in beforehand. In this case, since you’re expected to change at the venue, securing the cosplay ticket is absolutely imperative.

To get an Acosta! ticket you need to be a registered member/have a staca card. The staca card is basically a cosplay ID. Sounds simple?

It isn’t.

To get hold of a staca card for advance tickets (which if you’re a girl get sold out really fast, faster than Sonic, most likely a month in advance) you need to not only have a Japanese address but also a Japanese phone number. If you don’t have either of those, then you have to just hope that you can get the same-day tickets. The reason for the ticket scramble is due to the number of cosplayers that can access the changing room. Note that it doesn’t matter if you’re cosplaying a character that’s very low-key — like L from Death Note in jeans and a t-shirt — you still need the ticket.

Advanced Tickets give you priority entry from 9 am whereas same-day tickets allow you entry from 1 pm. Aside from the timings, the tickets are virtually the same. Photographers and male cosplayers have it relatively easier considering the early bird tickets will more or less be available even the day before the convention.

And while Acosta! has taken steps to incorporate more English on both their website and signboards at the venue, it’s highly recommended that you have rudimentary Japanese knowledge at the very least. Majority of the signs are still in Japanese, along with the fact that one would have to navigate the site and buy tickets relying on translation apps. It also makes purchasing tickets at the venue and interacting with fellow cosplayers far easier.  

Two streets away from Sunshine City you’ll start noticing the cosplayers popping up in the area, like splashes of color in a monochrome world. Follow them like the yellow brick road (or Google Maps) and you’ll find yourself at the base of Sunshine City.

Japan has been known for its python-like queues that take ages and ages to get to the venue. Acosta! is not an exception if you go in the morning. Despite taking a priority pass, you might find yourself standing in line for well over an hour. Going in the afternoon, however, has its perks because most of the line’s already over.

After getting in and getting your ticket it’s simply a matter of heading to the changing room to complete your transformation.

Here’s a pro tip: if you are averse to changing in semi-public view or are going in winter/early spring when it’s slightly chilly; pick a character that has a relatively easy-to-wear or a ‘normal’ looking costume.

Changing rooms in Acosta! are unlike changing rooms in MCM where you get a curtained booth to change.

Picture a liminal space, like the backrooms. Now picture fluorescent tape all over the ground marking rectangular boxes. Proceed to fill the boxes with cosplayers getting ready.

That’s it. Changing rooms isn’t what you get, it is a changing room. One can only imagine the chaos earlier in the day but by early afternoon the crowd does thin so securing a spot isn’t too hard. The volunteer will point out a free rectangle and that’s your changing booth.

There is a single full-length mirror near the entrance (and a line to get to use it) but aside from that, you are on your own.

It is only then you realize why exactly cosplayers bring a suitcase along. The cosplay suitcase is akin to the TARDIS. Everything from mirrors with LED lights, photography equipment, multiple make up tools, portable clothes hanger, crimpers, steamers, wig styling tools, wig heads and whatever else one could possibly require to shapeshift. It’s like the Adam West Batman’s utility belt, they carry everything one could need.

The word of the day happened to be “めちゃ寒い! <mecha samui/ freezing>” as the cosplayers changed. The majority of course prefer the cold to the sweltering heat of the summer events. There’s excited chatter all around, and a lot of cosplayers just slowly take their time in getting ready. The ones with heavy character makeup and elaborate costumes have been there since the morning, with no rain on the horizon, there’s no need to hurry.

“I’m not too worried about missing out on a backdrop because the crowd in the photo hall should be thin by now,” says a girl dressing up as Mina Ashido from My Hero Academia, face painted, contacts in, wigless.

A note for non-cosplayers — the sheer blood, sweat and tears some cosplayers go through to look like a 2D character is not funny. You can spend well over 10 years in this hobby and still learn something new every day.

If you don’t have the TARDIS-like cosplay suitcase with a built-in vanity, you’re pretty much on your own with only your phone as a mirror. If your character requires minimal makeup then you’re lucky. If your character requires a complete facelift, you’re doomed.  After the convention you aren’t allowed on public transportation looking like an otherworldly extra-terrestrial; you need to take off all your makeup so that’s another thing to keep in mind.

Now you must be wondering, where exactly will these suitcases end up while you prance about the convention zone?

Fear not, there’s an area right next to the indoor photo zone where you can just keep your suitcase along with the others. They’re all sort of arranged in a big pile but near a wall so they don’t show up in photos.

The indoor photo zone features a lot of backdrops that you can queue up to take pictures with. There are a lot of blank spaces where one can find many a cosplayer filming videos.

Outside, you can take pictures anywhere in Sunshine City.

Here you find a throng of people, photographers and cosplayers securing spots and doing photoshoots. Those who aren’t being photographed mostly stick to their groups and take pictures of themselves.

A lot of cosplayers just use this convention to roam around publicly in cosplay, which is an extremely rare event. The highlight for the majority seemed to be heading to the Sunshine City Starbucks and posing with their drinks.

It then strikes you that cosplaying in public is something you take for granted anywhere else. After all, paying 2000 yen for a liminal space changing room just to hang around a mall is something one could technically do for free. Not in Japan though — the sheer act of cosplaying with friends in public is cherished here.

There’s lots of cosplay etiquette in Japan. It’s a hobby more than a profession for Japanese cosplayers but they take their hobbies very seriously. Most of the cosplays are bought rather than made. You can get secondhand cosplays and props quite easily at the cosplay shops opposite Sunshine City, just bear in mind that niche characters are kind of hard to get a hold of. Even if the cosplays aren’t exactly elaborate, make sure they look as perfect and as close to the character as possible. That includes crossplays, so those crossplaying need to take care that you can pass off for the opposite sex fairly well. ‘Sexy’ cosplays in public are also frowned upon, if your costume is too revealing then you’re out. It’s also best not to stray too far from the convention area, think of it like a barrier you aren’t allowed to cross.

There are further unwritten rules but it isn’t so restrictive as one might think.  

Nowadays cosplay is more or less celebrated in most parts around the world. A lot of professional cosplayers have managed to make it their job, be it working on commissioned cosplays for other cosplayers or commissions from companies that want their characters portrayed in real life.

With the advent of social media and easy access to costumes, cosplay is much more accessible than it was when it started out. Nerd culture is no longer seen as a hobby to be boycotted, rather embraced. And because cosplay is much more prevalent, it is also way more competitive than what it used to be.

When it was niche, cosplay was done as a sort of homage to a character that you liked. Now it’s become a cutthroat industry, there’s cyberbullying, harassment, tearing down other cosplayers, a very dark ugly underside to an otherwise harmless and lighthearted hobby.

More and more it seems like cosplay is a competition even when it’s not. At the end of the day, you’re just playing dress-up on a more intense scale. 

Events like Acosta! serve as a reminder of what cosplay actually was at one point, having fun.