su cosplaying as Zanni from the game “Naruto”.

About 160,000 people gathered for the cosplay event!

For three days from October 24 to 26, “Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Fest 2025 Powered by dwango” (Ikehalo 2025), one of the largest cosplay events in Japan, was held for the 12th year at various locations in the east side of Ikebukuro Station, Tokyo. The weather on Saturday and Sunday, the 25th and 26th, was unfortunately rainy, and the high temperature on the 25th was 13 degrees Celsius, as cold as the beginning of December, making the conditions unusually bad in recent years.

The weather may be rainy, but I feel fine!

The person who answered our interview, shivering in the cold, was zekt, who was dressed as Godzilla (the “Godzilla vs. Kong” version). He is a veteran cosplayer who has participated in Ikehara many times, and this time he will parade around Ikebukuro from the morning of the 25th to the night of the 26th in his “one-of-a-kind” costume, which took 10 months to make and cost 200,000 yen to produce.

Like Mr. zekt, cosplayers gathered in droves, defying both the rain and the cold, and the number of visitors reached a record high of 161,000, tying the previous record.

At the “Ike Hallow Cosplay Parade 2025,” a specialty event of Ike Hallow held on Sunshine 60 Street on the 25th, Toshiya Miyata (37) of the male idol group Kis-My-Ft2 made a surprise appearance. Wearing a costume of the original character that graced the cover of the cosplay information magazine “COSPLAY MODE,” he drew cheers from the many galleries gathered.

Miyata of “Kis-My-Ft2” participated in the cosplay parade. His coolness drew yellow cheers.

Miyata said, “Next time, I want to try characters from “Final Fantasy” and Kurapika from “HUNTER x HUNTER. I am especially interested in Kurapika because he is the same height and weight as me.

It seems that his “desire to cosplay” has been aroused as well. Many participants have developed a desire to cosplay after attending Ikehara 2025, including Hertz, who witnessed the “ending” (the event’s closing ceremony) on the 26th, dressed as Hyanshi from the game “Collapse: Star Rail.

‘This was my first time at a cosplay event. It was the first time in my life I’ve been approached by someone saying, ‘May I take your picture? It was the first time in my life that someone asked me, ‘Can I take your picture? It satisfies my need for approval (laughs). I might just get into cosplay.”

The unseasonably cold weather and rain did not seem to dampen the enthusiasm of the cosplayers. Please take a look at the photos of the brave cosplayers who took part in this year’s event.

Kis-My-Ft2″ Miyata was also there… Many popular cosplayers participated in the Ikebukuro Halloween, which was too much!

Access Ranking