Twice a year Wonder Festival (ワンダーフェスティバル), which started as a garage kit flea market of sorts, takes place in Tokyo. It was started in 1984 by General Products (who later became Gainax) and taken over by Kaiyodo in 1992. Wonder Festival was first created so that garage kit makers could showcase their creations alongside industry booths. The festival organizers take care of all licensing in order to allow this to happen. While the event’s roots are in garage kits, it has expanded a lot and you can find all sorts of art and collectibles for sale at the event!
In the industry area, they have professional displays of recent and upcoming figure releases, and most are set up with full lighting for photographers. Some popular figures even had queues of people waiting to take pictures of them.
Wonder Festival is a one day event that takes place twice a year at Makuhari Messe in Chiba. It’s about a 45 minute train ride from Tokyo Station on the JR Keiyo Line. The entrance fee is 2,500円 per person and tickets can be bought at the door or ahead of time. I’ve heard getting advance tickets can be a little difficult since people will line up to purchase them in person from Kaiyodo locations the day it goes on sale. One interesting thing about Wonder Festival is that the ticket is your guidebook. Be sure to hold onto it since you need it anytime you enter the exhibit hall.
We bought our tickets at the door the day of the event. We arrived a couple hours late and still had to stand in line in order to purchase the book, but luckily the line moved fast. After receiving the book/ticket, you walk right into the alleyway behind the halls and everyone holds the thick guidebook up in the air for the staff to see as you enter.
There was so much to see at the event and lots of items had already fully sold out by 1pm. If there’s something specific you’re after, I’d recommend getting advance tickets and lining up early before the doors open. Even as a casual collector this event is completely worth checking out. Take a look at the gallery below for a sample of some of type of things you’ll see there!
All those figurines are so pretty! It sure looks like an event worth visiting