J.GARDEN57 Report!
Tokyo Big Sight
Last edited: 2025.08.03 If you saw my thread, I planned a considerable amount! This was my first time attending a doujinshi event so I wanted to make sure I was prepared since I knew it would be intense…
But to recap: ⁃ The Garden Guide pamphlet is necessary to get in!! Inside there's a ticket to exchange for a entry wristband. They sell it about a month in advance. If you can't order beforehand, they do sell it onsite the day of ⁃ I prepared a tote bag with cases and folders to hold my goodies and other items for the event ⁃ I checked the hashtag regularly to see what artists were offering and if they accept gifts/sashiire or not ⁃ I made a spreadsheet and then the web catalog (access code is in the pamphlet) to list and prioritize who I wanted to check out. Also made a list of artists I was interested in to follow their posts more easily ⁃ Have an ID at the ready to show your age when buying R18
The items I brought with me to J.GARDEN: Two tote bags, an A4 box, an A4 case w pamphlet, clear file, and my one fan letter, coin purse, name badge with ID in back, and sashiire
So the night before I got some cool news. I was very fortunate to get into the event earlier than the general participants because Duckie, Carp's friend, was tabling and had extra circle tickets! That means I didn't get to experience the whole wristband lottery. I still got wristband from the circle ticket, which was a bright pink rather than a white one with colored stripes.
Circle wristbands!!
Carp and I arrived around Big Sight before 10, waiting for Duckie at the entrance to the event. The area was already teeming full of people waiting for the event to start. When Duckie arrived, I also got to meet Breeze! Not long after, I also got to see the staff from Renta! again. I ran into them at the OmaKiss animega x Sofmap pop up and Stellamap drinkstand in Akiba two days earlier.
Renta! staff was sweet and gave me a little bag of goodies!!
We all walked up to the hall area only to have to go aaaall the way back out to the front because we hadn't gotten our wristbands yet. Whoops. We accidentally went around it when we passed by.
When we finally got into the hall, we stopped by Duckie's and Breeze's table, which were next to each other. They were actually all in a little group of international artists and friends, which was really cool! Their spaces were all next to each other too. I highly recommend checking their works out!!
Here are their Twitter accounts: Duckie: canardette Breeze: breeze_bl Lina: duriandrink Rito: 00_RITO Bread: breadnomimi Salt: saltcheee
After chatting with people for a bit, I lined up for my first book. Ogeretsu Tanaka's new Happy of the End doujin! Even though there was 15 minutes until the event started, there was already a line from others who had circle wristbands. But I was able to get the new set fairly quickly after 11! It was crazy to see everyone else get in line after the doors opened. While I waited, Carp got books from Marukido Maki and Hirune Cyan for me. (Found out later on that Carp was first in line at Marukido Maki's table haha)
We met up by Azuma Kaya's table afterwards since they were all super close! Carp then got in the line for Arima Arashi for me while I continued on. During that whole time I was able to visit Jyanome, Uno Yukiaki, Luma, Baseu, and Akota... Basically this all happened in the first hour lolol… It really was a crazy dash! I relied on the web catalog the entire time over my handmade spreadsheet bc the functions made it a lot easier. I also had the map pulled up in another tab because wow it was truly a huge space.
J.GARDEN57 web catalog checklist and map
Despite the craziness of the first hour rush, it was seriously organized well. When there were super long lines, there was a little sign that the person at the end would hold. Once someone else joined, they would pass that sign to them. There was also a lot of tape and staff to help direct crowds.
Since the Arima Arashi line was super long, I was able to visit even more tables while Carp waited… Including Michiru Sonoo's!!! I got three manga books and a novel from Kubo Naomi. I was able to get the Koh-Boku comic signed too hehe. (Tbh this is the only book I got signed…! I forgot to see who was allowing them or not whoops!) I hit up a few more tables afterwards.
My signed Koh-Boku On Board comic~
When Carp finally got the Arima Arashi book (KimiSumi standee sold out), we took a break to get some food and cash because I clearly did not calculate how much I needed lol. Afterwards we headed back to see Breeze and Duckie and get their books!! I was luckily able to get Breeze's book before they sold out.
Carp and I checked out more tables and she also helped me do aisatsu since my brain was so fried and had difficulty trying to form word. I'm grateful she could help me out!! We also took a bit of a break because I was getting a bit frazzled haha. But after enjoying the cool air outside, we started up walking around again. I passed out mini Albanese gummy bear packs to the artists and uriko, and it seemed to be a hit. A lot of them commented that the gummies were cute, probably because of the size.
I actually didn't get a chance to write any letters, except for Luma's! I'm glad I got to write at least one but def regret not writing more. In the end, I was able to do aisatsu for nearly all the artists I wanted to greet, except for Hirune Cyan, who seemed to have left the table when we passed by. Everyone was surprised to hear I had come from the US for J.GARDEN! If the artist has a book with an English version, I made sure to mention it hehe. I think the only one who didn't realize their work even had an English version was Akota! So I mentioned it was on English Renta. (Btw the last chap just came out a few days ago!!!)
We hung around by Duckie's table until the end of the event after finishing up aisatsu and taking a last round at the tables. And of course at the end I thought about missed tables! (Somehow I completely missed Kawaii Jiro's table...) But it's okay! I was already going home w so much!!
Once J.GARDEN closed up, Carp and I got dinner before heading to Cafe 801 in Ikebukuro, where Yancha was hosting a post-J.GARDEN snack bar event! It was a nice way to wind down for the day and trip. The space itself was a really comfy area to read books and hang out. Sensei poured drinks for all the participants and gave us all a cute coaster and keychain she designed. She talked about wanting to relax at an onsen and drink alcohol, but she doesn't have time… She's already planning a fanwork doujinshi for this summer! I hope she gets time to have a break eventually! (Yancha doesn't have any works in Eng atm, but I read 初心者Domはハメられたい, which is Dom/Sub verse but has a Sub top/Dom bottom. It's fun!!)
Snack Sanzoku at Cafe 801!
After the snack bar event, it was time for me to head back and pack up for the following day's flights back home. Overall this was a ridiculously successful first J.GARDEN. I hit all the tables I really wanted to buy from and got to say hi to artists I'm a fan of... Honestly I only think it was possible because I was able to get into the halls early and had a friend who was willing to wait in some lines for me, which was truly a privilege. Huge thanks again to Carp and Duckie!!
So that was my first experience at J.GARDEN. I do apologize again I'm not able to provide more info on the process of getting into the event and wristband process!! But Renta's blog posts cover it well already, so there's that. I will say go with a friend if you can, especially if you know there are books you want. Some artists allow buying more than one copy at a time, if both of you want something from an artist sometimes one of you can grab a both copies at once… It really helps to get more ground covered!! Also make sure to take restroom and food/drink breaks!!! They do announcements for it too. After the initial first hour rush, going to the Lawson in the building was a godsend. At the end though, both Carp and I were super hungry...!
Things I will do differently next time: ⁃ Write fan letters earlier (I wish I could have given something else besides the gummies…) ⁃ Write down prices of the items to gauge of how much cash is needed! (in general make a better spreadsheet haha) ⁃ Bring a sturdier and bigger canvas tote lolol ⁃ Actually get a B5 case in addition to A4… (I wasn't able to get one in time oops) ⁃ Bring more food like a nutrition bar that's easy to keep in a bag in case it gets squished ⁃ Ask more artists who are willing if they could sign my books! I was too shy to ask since I didn't check who was accepting it or not prior to event
Some advice and notes: ⁃ Follow the J.GARDEN staff twitter account for info on dates ⁃ I found making a list of artists' twitter accounts helpful to check up on any info related to the event such as if they accept sashiire or not, if they'll sign books or not, how many copies a person can buy, etc...
If you ever have the chance and love BL manga, definitely recommend going to J.GARDEN! Def check out Renta's blog posts (J57 pre-event post, J55 report) for more information. They were super helpful to me when planning, and prob the only source of Eng info I could find before I went!
To officially end my report, here are all the books I got!! I'll make another post (and a twit thread) going over each~
If you read all of this, thanks for reading! Hope to attend J.GARDEN again~ (Hopefully next year hehe)