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- Show off with a grand festival: "Tokosai Festival 2025." a festival that connects with the local community.

--What is the appeal of Tokosai Festival?

Fujikura-san

Fujikura: The Tokosai Festival, held on the lush Toko-can, is smaller in scale than Waseda Festival, but its greatest appeal is that it allows visitors to experience the connection with the local community. In addition to students, we have a wide range of visitors every year, from local residents to children and the elderly.

The slogan for Tokosai Festival, which will celebrate its 22nd year in 2025, is "Show us your biggest festival yet." It expresses the desire to make the most of the connections with the local community that have been built by our predecessors, and to more strongly communicate the appeal of Tokorozawa and the Tokosai Festival. The Tokosai Festival is also unique in that it is planned and run from scratch by the Tokosai  Festival Management Committee, which is made up of students. The members are united in their efforts to make the most of the results of their year of preparations.

Yoshikawa-san

Yoshikawa: The large campus is lined with stages and food stalls, creating a truly festival-like atmosphere. As the event is usually held in October, close to Halloween, we committee members dress up in costumes and join in the excitement with the visitors.

The event will take place in three locations: on the stage, at food stalls, and in classrooms, and features many hands-on exhibits and presentations that take advantage of the specialties of School of Human Sciences and School of Sport Sciences. We hope you will take your time to enjoy the event while touring the campus.

The food stalls (left) and costumes (right) at the 2024 Tokosai Festival. They plan to interact with customers in a variety of costumes so that they will say, "When you think of Halloween, you think of the Tokosai  Festival."

What are the highlights of the Tokosai Festival?

--Please tell us about some of the notable projects for 2025.

Fujikura: The highlight of the event will be the "Celebrity Project." This year, we've invited voice actor Yuki Kaji , famous for his role as Eren Yeager, the protagonist of the anime "Attack on Titan," Nako Yabuki , a former member of IZ*ONE and HKT48 who is now an actress, and Sayaka Okada , a professional mahjong player and talent, to each hold a talk show. Because our campus is located far from the city center, we've invited these three people who are not only very popular with students, but also have many devoted fans who make the effort to come and visit us. We hope that this project will help people discover the charm of Tokosai Festival.

The talk show will be held in Building No. 100.

Also, as a first for Tokosai Festival, we will be holding an experiential sports event in collaboration with the local Tomonkai((alumni association). This is a project unique to Toko-can, and we are collaborating with various athletic clubs, including the rowing club, lacrosse club, and track and field club. We will also be holding a comedy live performance for the first time, featuring Waseda University's comedy student club and volunteers from the organizing committee. Both events are enjoyable for both adults and children, so we hope to attract a wide range of people.

The Tokorozawa Tomonkai and Athletic Center will be co-hosting a sports festival (left) and a comedy live show (top right). Many Waseda University performance student clubs will be appearing on the stage (bottom right).

Tanaka-san

Tanaka: This is not well known among general visitors, but once the food stalls and stage performances have finished, we will be holding our annual Ending Festival in Building No. 100 from 5pm. We will be having a great time with a variety of programs, including games with prizes, announcing the most popular food stalls, and screening videos filmed and edited on the day of the festival, so we hope you will enjoy it until the very end!

--What kind of collaboration with the local community is possible only at the Tokosai Festival?

Fujikura: The Tokosai Festival Management  Committee has established an "External Affairs Bureau" and values connections with external organizations such as other universities and companies. For example, on September 7th, about one month before the festival, we held the "One Month To Go Festival" at a facility in front of Tokorozawa Station with the aim of raising awareness of the festival among local residents. With the cooperation of Seibu Railway, Tokorozawa City's Cultural and Arts Promotion Division, and surrounding businesses, we interacted with local residents through stage planning and other activities.

Group photo taken at the One Month To Go Festival. At three locations: Emiterrace Tokorozawa, Gran Emio Tokorozawa, and City Tower Tokorozawa Classy Plaza. With the cooperation of Tokorozawa City Hall and Seibu Railway.

Tokomidori is participating in the 11th School Festival Character General Election!

In 2025, Tokomidori, the official mascot of the Tokosai Festival, which was born last year, will appear. The character's green color scheme evokes the abundant nature that characterizes the campus. Tokomidori costume also appeared at the recent One Month To Go Festival, where it was a big hit with children! A photo session with Tokomidori will also be held at the Tokosai Festival, so please come with your family.

--It seems that the Tokosai Festival Management Committee is in charge of everything from planning and management to budget management.

Fujikura: That's right. It's actually the largest student club on Toko-can, with over 400 students split into seven departments: External Affairs, Planning and Development, Public Relations, Participating Organizations, Public Relations, General Affairs, and Editing. The students spend a year preparing for the Tokosai Festival with one big goal in mind: making it a success. I hope you'll come and experience that passion for yourself.

Yoshikawa: We have a diverse group of members with unique personalities, so I feel like I'm stimulated every day and that helps me grow. There's active interaction between seniors and juniors, and relationships are built and continue through the preparations for the festival, which is also appealing. Because it's a festival for the student community, I hope that the committee members and visitors will come together and have as much fun as they can on the day.

Tanaka: There are many challenges in each position, such as coordinating and sharing information with various departments and external parties, and in my role as accountant, allocating budgets to each project and avoiding deficits, but I feel a great sense of accomplishment in being able to reunite with the best friends and make memories from my university life. I hope that Waseda students who have never been to Toko-can will use the Tokosai Festival as an opportunity to come and visit.

Editorial committee members working on preparations. Work can go on until late at night... They are building the entrance gate (right).

-Are there any points to keep in mind when visiting?

Fujikura: On the day of the event, we ask that you come by bus rather than by car. This year, in addition to the free school bus from Kotesashi Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line, there will also be a free bus from Tokorozawa Station, so we hope you will make use of these. Also, payments on the premises will generally be made in cash, so please bring some coins with you.

Bus timetable for Sunday, October 19th (the day of the festival)

◆School bus timetable from Kotesashi

During times when many visitors are expected, trains run approximately every five minutes. (Click to enlarge)

◆Special school bus from Tokorozawa Station

Departing from Tokorozawa Station: 11:00, 11:30, 12:00, 12:30

*The bus departs from the rotary at the west exit of Tokorozawa Station.
*Please note that there are no buses from Waseda University to Tokorozawa Station.

Overview of Tokorozawa Campus Festival 2025

The Tokosai Festival logo is printed on the back of the happi coat.

Date and time: October 19, 2025 (Sunday) 10:00-16:00
Location: Waseda University Tokorozawa Campus

◆Website: https://tokosai.net/
◆X：@tokosai_waseda
◆Instagram: @waseda.tokosai

[Stage event admission tickets]
If you would like to purchase, please apply through the respective links. Please also check the links for information on how to visit the venue.

◆ Yuki Kaji Talk Show (Doors open 11:00, show starts 11:40)
◆ Nako Yabuki Talk Show (Doors open at 14:00, show starts at 14:40)
◆ Sayaka Okada Talk Show (Doors open 12:40, show starts 13:00)

Let's walk around Toko-can

5 amazing things about Toko-can!

We asked three members of the Tokosai Festival Management Committee to show us around the best parts of Toko-can, the highlights, and other interesting spots.

--What is the appeal of Toko-can?

Yoshikawa, Fujikura, Tanaka: "A place with lots of nature!"

Yoshikawa

The area is rich in nature, and the stars look beautiful at the end of winter classes.

1. A campus surrounded by trees and lush greenery

The bridge that connects the bus stop to the school entrance is also surrounded by trees.

2. Distinctive buildings and their scenery

Tanaka

One of the highlights is Building No. 100, which has a unique structure built on the slope of a hill. When I first enrolled, I often got lost. Another feature is that you can see the nation's top athletes in action up close. Many students in the School of Sport Sciences wear tracksuits, while the baseball team wears their formal school uniform, and the softball team, which practices on campus, wears their training clothes. You can sort of tell what faculty or club a student belongs to by their clothing (laughs). Local people often take walks around the stadium, so it's also open to the community.

Building No. 100 was designed by the late Professor Yoshiro Ikehara (graduated from the Graduate School of Engineering in 1953), an architect who also designed the Belluna Dome (formerly Seibu Lions Stadium and Seibu Dome) and Seibuen Amusement Park.

The building's distinctive features include the overlapping squares inside (left) and the exterior walls made of multiple thin, stacked plates (right) (both Building No. 100).

3. Extensive sports facilities

Yoshikawa

Another attraction is the well-equipped sports facilities. Toko-can' Track and Field Arena is surrounded by nature, so you can run comfortably even during class. Also, Waseda students can register to use the training room, so I sometimes use it to refresh myself between classes!

Oda Mikio Memorial Track and Field Arena (left), Multipurpose Ground (baseball field) (right). In addition, there are plenty of indoor facilities, including a training room, a sports hall (gymnasium), and Aqua Arena (indoor swimming pool for competitions). These are used not only for classes but also for regular practice by the various sports clubs.

4. Free school bus and car parking

Photo on the left: There are a total of 18 school buses, which run every three minutes between Kotesashi Station and Tokorozawa Campus on weekday mornings when classes are held.
Photo on the right: Parking is a special privilege for Toko-can students! If you apply, you can commute to school by car for a yearly fee of 5,000 yen. For more information, Here

5. BBQ facilities and bamboo forest

A BBQ area near the sports hall. It can be used for classes and club activities. For more information, click here

Fujikura

The charm of the campus is the homey atmosphere, surrounded by greenery and where students naturally get to know each other. An unexpected attraction is that you can dig for bamboo shoots in the bamboo forest on campus (lol). In the spring, ICC hosts a bamboo shoot digging event, where you can have the rare experience of digging up some and taking them home to eat. Another favorite place is Tokorozawa Library expanse of greenery outside the windows. There are relaxing individual study spaces and comfortable sofa seats, and there are also learning assistants (LAs) on-site, so you can concentrate on your studies.

Left: Bamboo shoot digging, an annual event organized by the Intercultural Communication Center (ICC). Waseda students can participate for free! (Photo provided by ICC)
Photo on the right: Tokorozawa Library. The spacious sofas make it comfortable to sit and relax.

▼Click here for the Tokorozawa Campus map

Interview and text: Mikiko Watanabe
Photography: Kota Nunokawa

[Next Focus Preview] "Founding Anniversary Special" to be released on Monday, October 20th