Ikebukuro Manga Anime Weeks 2026: Stamp Rally and PARCO Pop Culture Park, Both Running Now

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Right now, through August 16, Ikebukuro is running two fan-culture events at once — a free, 18-stop stamp rally across the district, and a parallel pop-up event at Ikebukuro PARCO next door.

The Stamp Rally

Ikebukuro Manga Anime Weeks 2026 runs August 1–16, organized by the "Manga Anime Toshima" Project Executive Committee, a group spanning local government, cultural foundations, and major retailers. It's a free, smartphone-based QR-code stamp rally across 18 locations: 15 in the main Ikebukuro area (including Animate Ikebukuro, Hareza Ikebukuro, Sunshine City, and PARCO) and 5 in the historic Tokiwaso district.

Prizes and How It Works

Visitors scan QR codes at participating venues to collect digital stamps. Reaching 5 stamps earns a limited original sticker (3,000 available, first-come basis). 10 stamps enters a raffle for culture goods (50 winners). Completing all 18 stamps enters a raffle for larger prizes, including an iPad and Apple Pencil, an LED projector, and signed posters (5 winners total).

Tokiwaso: Manga's Historic Roots

The five Tokiwaso-area stops — including the Tokiwaso Manga Museum, Tokiwaso Manga Station, and Showa Retro Hall — center on the real apartment building where Osamu Tezuka and other future-legendary manga artists lived in the 1950s. Including it in the same rally as Ikebukuro's modern anime retail district ties manga's origin story directly to where fans shop for it today.

Running Alongside: PARCO Pop Culture Park

Right next to the main Ikebukuro stamp rally area, Ikebukuro PARCO is running its own "PARCO Pop Culture Park - Pop Capsule Challenge," August 3–16, 2026, across its main building (floors 1, 3, 4, and 8) — an interactive capsule-toy-style challenge event. PARCO is itself one of the 18 stamp rally locations, so visitors can take part in both events in a single visit without much extra travel.

What To Know

This is a rare combination for Tokyo fan events: free admission, an 18-location stamp rally you can genuinely complete over a two-week window, and a second, complementary event (PARCO's Pop Capsule Challenge) running in the very same neighborhood at the very same time — meaning a single Ikebukuro visit right now covers two distinct fan-culture experiences.

The Tokiwaso area included in the stamp rally isn't a themed attraction built for the event — it's the actual historic apartment building where Osamu Tezuka and other pioneering manga artists lived and worked in the 1950s, now preserved as the Tokiwaso Manga Museum and related facilities. Including it alongside modern retail spots like Animate and Sunshine City means the rally physically connects manga's postwar origin point to its present-day commercial center in the same walking route.

What Fans Are Saying

• "Free, 18 stops, and two weeks to complete it — this is a genuinely doable rally, not an impossible collect-em-all."
• "Love that it connects Tokiwaso's history with the modern Ikebukuro shops in one route."
• "Perfect timing to hit both the stamp rally and the PARCO event in one trip."

Original Japanese

• 「無料で18スポット、2週間あれば十分コンプリートできそう」
• 「常盤荘の歴史と今の池袋のお店が同じルートでつながってるの、いいアイデア」
• 「スタンプラリーとPARCOのイベント、同じタイミングで両方回れるのは嬉しい」

Easy Japanese

「池袋マンガ・アニメウィークス2026」が、8月1日から16日まで開催中です。18の場所を巡るスタンプラリーで、参加は無料です。隣の池袋PARCOでも、同じ時期に別のイベントが行われています。