Comiket weekend takes August 15 and 16, and the week after it is quieter but still full: COMITIA157 lands the following Sunday, Ultra Heroes EXPO plays its final stretch in Ikebukuro, Sunshine Aquarium runs moonlit nights until the end of August, and Sazae-san’s anime exhibition holds into September. Here is what I am slotting into the back half of the month.

ウルトラヒーローズEXPO 2026 サマーフェスティバル (Ultra Heroes EXPO Summer Festival)

The tokusatsu (live-action special effects) crowd’s big summer event runs in two stages at Sunshine City. Stage 1 ended August 3, and Stage 2 runs August 5 to 24, with August 4 as a changeover rest day. It is a timed-entry show in Exhibition Hall B on the 4th floor of the Culture Building: about 30 minutes of live stage action with ウルトラマンテオ (Ultraman Teo) from the new TV series and his cast, plus heroes from across the franchise’s 60 years, a photo corner called ウルトラショット (Ultra Shot), and the Ultraman Department goods area.

Tickets run from a single-seat adult pass at 3,500 yen on weekdays and 4,000 yen on busy days, with kids at 2,800 and 3,300 yen. Pricier bench seats and a 60th anniversary special seat with meet-and-greet rights exist, but the standard seat is enough. There are no same-day sales at the venue, so book ahead through Lawson Ticket (L code 37574) or asoview!. 公式サイト チケット情報

ツクヨミアクアリウム (Tsukuyomi Aquarium) at Sunshine Aquarium

This is my pick for a low-key night out. Through August 30, Sunshine Aquarium opens after dark from 17:00 to 20:00 and turns itself into ツクヨミ (Tsukuyomi), the virtual world from the anime film 超かぐや姫！ (Cho Kaguya-hime). The jellyfish hall runs a light-and-music show every 15 minutes, the film’s soundtrack plays around the tanks, and on Fridays and Saturdays a free mermaid show performs at the outdoor sky penguin tank at 19:15 and 19:45 (skipped August 14, with an extra show on August 16). An audio guide narrated by Kaguya’s voice actress costs 800 yen.

Normal aquarium admission gets you in. If you want the collab goods, you need the ticket bundle with a goods-shopping pass (adult 2,600 to 3,200 yen depending on the day), sold on asoview! in weekly waves. Note that the dumbo octopus plush lottery has closed its entry counter at 19:00 since August 4, so arrive early if that is on your list. サンシャイン水族館

COMITIA157

If Comiket is the loud cousin, COMITIA is the quieter one: an original-only doujinshi (self-published) fair, meaning no fan works, just creator-owned manga and zines. The 157th edition is Sunday, August 23, at Tokyo Big Sight in the West 1 to 4 halls plus South 3, from 11:00 to 16:00, with about 4,000 circles. The catalog ティアズマガジン (Tia’s Magazine, about 1,500 yen) is your entry ticket, and entry is free after 15:00. Inside, the 出張マンガ編集部 (visiting manga editorial desk) lets you show your manuscript to editors from real publishers, and the manga duo belne has a 50th anniversary exhibition in the venue. There is an English page for visitors on the official site. COMITIA157 開催情報

アニメサザエさん展 (Anime Sazae-san Exhibition)

For something calmer, the Hasegawa Machiko Art Museum in Sakura-Shinmachi is running its first anime Sazae-san exhibition in two years: サザエさん家の七転び八笑い (“The Sazae-san Family’s Seven Falls, Eight Laughs”), through September 6. Sazae-san is the family sitcom anime that has aired every Sunday night since 1969, and the show leans on animation materials, cel reproductions, and nostalgia for the Isono household. The museum is open 10:00 to 17:30 with last entry at 16:30, normally closed Mondays, except it runs daily August 4 to 16, including the usually closed Monday August 10. Admission is 900 yen for adults, 500 for college and high school students, and 400 for younger students, and it covers the memorial hall next door, where the concurrent 80th-anniversary show 町子の余暇 (Machiko’s Leisure) runs to November 8. Sakura-Shinmachi Station on the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line is a seven-minute walk. The parking lot becomes a photo spot during the run, so come by train. 長谷川町子美術館

How to plan the back half

August 23 is the day to circle: COMITIA157 in the morning at Big Sight, then Ultra Heroes EXPO’s final weekend show in Ikebukuro, since the event closes August 24. The aquarium nights and the Sazae-san exhibition run into late August and early September, which makes them the natural weeknight and rain-day options. Book the EXPO and the aquarium goods ticket in advance; COMITIA and the museum need no reservation at all.