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Tokyo train station and convenience store roll out otaku welcome for Comiket attendees 【Photos】

Casey Baseel Aug 14, 2015
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Just how big is Comiket, the dojinshi (independently produced comics) event held twice a year in Tokyo? Over the three days of the event, some 35,000 creative groups and roughly 600,000 fans are expected to attend. In terms of size, Comiket isn’t so much an anime convention as it is a temporary city that roles through the Big Sight conference center.

Comiket is such a large-scale gathering that it changes the whole atmosphere of the neighborhood on the weekend it’s held, and with this summer’s iteration right around the corner, the local train station and convenience store are looking a lot more otaku-centric, as these photos show.

The 88th Comic Market (as Comiket is officially called) starts on Friday, and since most visitors will be arriving by train, the Rinkai Line’s Kokusai Tenjijo Station, the closest rail stop to Big Site, is getting in the mood, thanks to advertisers grabbing every bit of available ad space to promote their anime series. Even before you make it up the escalator from the platform to the ticket gates, the cast of Non Non Biyori is there to greet you.

今週金曜日からはコミックマーケットなんな・・・！国際展示場駅では、うちらのポスターが貼られてるのん！これを見て「のんのん」してほしいんな～#なのん pic.twitter.com/SLRGKgCV6R

— 「のんのんびより」公式🌸10周年なのん (@nonnontv) August 10, 2015

The producers of currently airing otaku hit Charlotte, meanwhile, chose to keep their ad horizontal.

りんかい線国際展示場駅にて、本日より「Charlotte(シャーロット)」大型ボード広告の掲出が始まっています！コミケなどで国際展示場をご利用の際は探してみてくださいね♪ #シャーロット pic.twitter.com/InOx2t3IeW

— 神様になった日&Charlotte&AB!公式アカウント (@kamisama_Ch_AB) August 10, 2015

駅がコミケ使用(*・∀・)
テンション上がるwww #c88 pic.twitter.com/FkZuojLIDp

— U1♡みさちん_バレーボール垢 (@ViciousMISA) August 9, 2015

Are you the type that often forgets what number locker you used? Maybe you’ll have an easier time with the mnemonic device of remembering which Fantasia Bunko light novel heroine you stashed your stuff in, and whether it’s inside her head, hips, or legs.

お知らせです！本日10日から16日まで、国際展示場のコインロッカーをファンタジア文庫がジャックしちゃいます！夏コミに来た際は、ぜひチェックして下さいね！ ♯ファンタジア文庫 pic.twitter.com/3MuGWQGJpF

— 富士見ファンタジア文庫公式/4月19日新刊発売 (@fantasia_bunko) August 10, 2015

Meanwhile, rival light novel outfit Dengeki Bunko holds the line at the very edge of the station building.

https://twitter.com/nanoexpTS2/status/631125159366123522

While screenings of new shows, autograph sessions, and interviews with famous creators are all big draws at overseas anime conventions, Comiket is all about the shopping, as many of the items on sale are available in extremely limited quantities, and sometimes only for the duration of the event. As such, attendees aren’t exactly keen to spend the time and money to dine in a sit-down or even fast food restaurant. Many subsist on nothing but supplies procured from the convenience stores surrounding Big Site, and with a heat wave currently sweeping across Japan, the shops are seriously stocked up on drinks.

国際展示場前のローソンが既に臨戦態勢(コミケ仕様)だった…
生茶がモバマス仕様。
紅茶花伝が進撃の巨人。 pic.twitter.com/FRz171ZdYx

— gigi (@anegasaki) August 12, 2015

The Kokusai Tenjijo Station branch of convenience store Lawson even has handwritten signs posted explaining which drinks are on each of the shelves, so that customers can tell exactly which direction to point themselves in as they wade through the crowd of other shoppers to get the beverage of their choice.

国際展示場駅前のローソン。ほぼ準備万端 #c88 pic.twitter.com/dK5jLT9ugZ

— fujishu (@Fuji_shu) August 12, 2015

And if you know your store is going to be packed with anime fans, why not give them what they want in the form of drinks with special packaging featuring their favorite characters?

And of course, Comiket survival guide producer in Jelly’s brand of drinkable nutritional supplements is standing by in bulk.

@anmitsu_resa 【続報】国際展示場駅のローソンが本日パワーアップ　なお生茶はアイマスの模様 pic.twitter.com/9Zx4eka9eQ

— れさち (@anmitsu_resa) August 11, 2015

https://twitter.com/nanoexpTS2/status/631112073536147456

All of those fluids will come in handy to help stave off dehydration during Comiket, when the daytime highs in Tokyo are expected to hover around 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit). Still, couple that heat with Japan’s notorious summertime humidity, and there’s going to be a lot of sweating going on as people roam the halls of Big Sight. The considerate thing to do is to periodically dry yourself off with a towel…

コミケ付近のコンビニが戦闘体制に入った pic.twitter.com/qjc20npxjb

— ぴンコ (@Pinko_k) August 11, 2015

…or a deodorizing wipe. In the case of the latter, you don’t even have to interrupt your state of anime-induced bliss if you pull one out of these packs decorated with Love Live! idols.

https://twitter.com/kiyuSkrg/status/627114314063675392

As a matter of fact, Lawson is so ready to satisfy your otaku shopping needs that it’s got a whole array of anime trinkets for sale.

▼ Lawson-exclusive posters and cloth prints of volleyball series Haikyu!!

先日のローソン国際展示場駅前店限定Free!グッズ。
友からの情報によると、今日から現物見本が展示されたそうです。
ここ最近下げられていたタペストリーの見本と在庫も復活したとのこと～ pic.twitter.com/B5wvAAP2ne

— ｺｼﾞﾏ🪦.｡oO(🏊‍♂️🐬🧜‍♂️🐫🥇) (@kojimaatri) August 11, 2015

▼ Can Colle and Free! posters decorate the store, and show how they could do the same for your room.