Toranomon is set to host the second edition of the Toranomon Advertising Festival, an advertising creative festival, for nine days from October 9 (Friday) to October 17 (Saturday), 2026, at TOKYO NODE, the information hub inside Toranomon Hills operated by Mori Building Co., Ltd. The festival is organized by the Toranomon Advertising Festival Executive Committee, made up of CyberAgent, Inc., Society of Idea People, Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc., and Mori Building Co., Ltd.
The festival debuted last year, drawing a combined 17,044 visitors over eight days and featuring 403 creators who appeared as speakers or took part in the program.
52.6% of last year's visitors were in their 20s, and together with attendees in their 30s, roughly three-quarters of the audience came from the younger generation shaping the future of the advertising industry — a crowd that gathered across age groups and affiliations.
For this second edition, nine creators have been confirmed as the first wave of speakers: Naoki Ito, Masashi Kawamura, Kashiwa Sato, Tomoe Shinohara, Makoto Shinohara, Kyoko Hasegawa, Yugo Nakamura, MIKIKO, and Mirai Moriyama. Spanning art direction, creative direction, web and interface design, choreography, and physical expression through dance and acting, they will bring perspectives on advertising creativity from across the industry, generations, careers, and affiliations. Further speaker announcements, along with sessions and experiential exhibits, are planned.
Tickets for the festival go on sale from 10:00 AM on Tuesday, September 1, 2026.
What Is the Toranomon Advertising Festival
The Toranomon Advertising Festival is an advertising creative festival held under the theme "creativity that connects business, design, technology, and entertainment," and is described by the organizing committee's own survey as Japan's largest-scale event of its kind. Centered on talk sessions, it also features film screenings, exhibitions, participatory programs, and networking events, bringing together creators across generations and affiliations.
At its first edition in October 2025, the festival drew 17,000 visitors over eight days despite being a first-time event, with more than 400 creators appearing across 120 sessions and programs to share their perspectives on the possibilities and future of advertising creativity. For this second edition, the festival period has been expanded to nine days, with an even larger-scale program aimed at creating a space for discovery and dialogue among a diverse range of attendees from inside and outside the industry.
A recap video from the 2025 festival is available on YouTube:
First Wave of Speakers Confirmed From Inside and Outside the Advertising Industry
For the 2026 Toranomon Advertising Festival, the following nine creators — all appearing at the festival for the first time — have been announced as the first wave of speakers. Alongside creators active in the advertising industry, a diverse range of creators from outside the industry will also take the stage.
Toranomon Advertising Festival 2026 First-Wave Speaker Lineup (in Japanese syllabary order)
- Naoki Ito (Creative Director / Representative, PARTY)
- Masashi Kawamura (Creative Director / Co-Founder, Whatever Co.)
- Kashiwa Sato (Creative Director / Representative, SAMURAI)
- Tomoe Shinohara (Designer / Artist)
- Makoto Shinohara (Creative Director)
- Kyoko Hasegawa (Actor)
- Yugo Nakamura (Interface Designer / Video Director)
- MIKIKO (Choreographer / Representative and Director, ELEVENPLAY)
- Mirai Moriyama (Actor / Dancer)
Further speakers and programs will continue to be announced from a range of fields, including advertising as well as business, design, technology, and entertainment.
Message From the Executive Committee
Kaoru Sugano, Creative Director, Toranomon Advertising Festival Executive Committee
"Last year, we began planning and building the Toranomon Advertising Festival completely from zero. As I wrote in last year's message, we were facing a moment of major change in the times, and as approaches to the industry grew more complex and diverse, the advertising industry could look, depending on one's perspective, as though it were losing momentum. Out of that came a strong feeling that precisely because of times like these, we needed a place where everyone could gather. With the support and cooperation of a great many people who shared that feeling, and through sheer passion and determination for planning and carrying things out, we somehow managed to bring the "Toranomon Advertising Festival" to life.
Before the event, just as I had written that the industry "looked as though it were losing momentum," many people around us were quite worried about "daring to hold an advertising festival" in times like these, and even we as organizers pressed on while almost hopelessly worried that no one would come. As it turned out, we welcomed a total of 17,000 visitors, far exceeding our expectations, and the energy the festival brought encouraged organizers, speakers, and visitors alike.
Having experienced that place full of energy, we reconfirmed that we need a "festival." A "festival" is a moment outside of everyday life — a moment when everyone comes together and feels a sense of exhilaration, sharing the same place, the same time, and the same emotions. The protagonists of a "festival" are all of its "participants," including speakers and visitors, as well as the "place" itself: a shared experience involving physicality that can only happen in a real, physical space. At its center is respect for history, figures worthy of respect, and a will oriented toward the future. The sense of celebration that these bring to life is what energizes the remaining 360-some ordinary days of the year. At the Toranomon Advertising Festival, we were able to strongly feel the power of that celebration.
As a result — something we ourselves never expected as of last year — we have decided, however recklessly, to hold the Toranomon Advertising Festival for a second time this year.
Right now, the world is overflowing with information. AI is advancing at an accelerating pace, and any information you need can be found at home in any quantity. But we believe that the experience of many people with similar concerns gathering in person, seeing each other's faces, and talking together while sharing a place will have a good influence on the future work of the festival's protagonists. We, too, are preparing with a strong wish that this festival can leave a positive influence on as many people as possible, however small. We sincerely look forward to having many people join us as protagonists of this festival."
Kaoru Sugano — Creative Technologist / Creative Director
Joined Dentsu Inc. in 2002. After working in R&D for data analysis technology and as a senior researcher at Dentsu Institute, he moved to the creative department in 2013. Drawing on his expertise in digital technology and expression, he has worked broadly on product and service development and advertising planning and production for clients in Japan and abroad. In January 2022, he left Dentsu to found a creative director collective named tsuzuku (つづく). His work centers on creative direction spanning management and business strategy, advertising production, product and service development, design, and entertainment.
Toranomon Advertising Festival 2026 Design and Copy
As in the previous year, this year's design is again by Kenjiro Sano and Yumi Katori, with copywriting by Emi Ota.
About the Toranomon Advertising Festival 2026 Key Visual
"This long-awaited second edition is finally here, and we're grateful for the support of so many people and companies. It might look as though nothing has changed from last year's design, but we've actually refined it in small ways. Designing this is fun. We wanted it to have a stronger, clearer presence — a place where humor and stimulation come together. Being involved with a festival where talent ranging from veterans to students all comes together is the best. We look forward to seeing you there."
— Art Directors, MR_DESIGN, Kenjiro Sano and Yumi Katori
About the Toranomon Advertising Festival 2026 Copy
"This autumn too, shall we dare to gather around advertising? No — rather, we simply have to gather.
For the first edition in 2025, we dared to call it, of all things, an "advertising festival." In an era like this, would advertising — of all things — really go and hold an advertising festival, acting all high and mighty about it? Anticipating that kind of reaction, we got ahead of it ourselves by saying, "Even so, we dare to."
And so, having dared to set up this "place" called a festival and gather people there, it turned out to become a place where people put humanity and the world into words. It was fun to reconfirm, once again, that advertising doesn't fit into a "business context" alone, and that expression has many different yardsticks. It turns out advertising can keep talking about important things and big ideas. Yes — it's precisely advertising that can.
And so, "Dare to, Advertising Festival" evolved into "Rather, Advertising Festival," leading to an unexpected second edition. The gate of advertising that is Toranomon will open again this autumn.
My own personal intention, put simply, might be this: what is the "happiness" that advertising gets to be part of?"
— Copywriter, Emi Ota
Kenjiro Sano — Art Director / Creative Director
Born in Tokyo in 1972. Graduated from the Graphic Design Department of Tama Art University, worked at Hakuhodo, then founded MR_DESIGN. Professor in the Department of Integrated Design at Tama Art University. Major work includes Suntory Tennensui (natural mineral water) / draft beer / GREEN DAKARA, Mizkan's Torottomame and Ajipon, Häagen-Dazs, Yamagata's new-crop rice brand "Tsuyahime," the films "Exit 8," "碁盤斬り," "STAND BY ME Doraemon," "PERFECT DAYS," and "あぶない刑事," Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens, the Tokyo International Film Festival, the Toranomon Advertising Festival, YUZU, 新しい地図, Hikaru Utada, NODA·MAP, the Japan Marrow Donor Program, KOKUYO, the University of Tokyo, and Kamakura City, among others. Recipient of the Kamekura Yusaku Award (for "Katsushika Hokusai"), the Miura Jun Award (for "Nyanmage"), the Tokyo ADC Members' Award, the Asahi Advertising Award Grand Prix and ACC Award (for 新しい地図), the Asahi Advertising Award runner-up (for Mercari and Yuzu "心音"), the PRIX LUCIOLE Grand Prix (for a Cannes Film Festival poster and "Exit 8"), Cannes Gold, NY ADC Gold, and ONE SHOW Gold (for Tama Art University), and the Mainichi Design Award.
Yumi Katori — Art Director / Graphic Designer
Born in Tokyo in 1990. Graduated from the Graphic Design Department of Tama Art University in 2014, and joined MR_DESIGN the same year. Work includes Suntory Tennensui, the Suntory corporate ad "#素晴らしい過去になろう," "PERFECT DAYS BOX," 新しい地図, "Morinaga Ryokan (Oga City, Akita Prefecture)," and "East Asia Cultural City 2025 Kamakura (Kamakura City)." Recipient of the ADC Award, the ADC Production Award, ONE SHOW Gold, and the D&AD Graphite Pencil.
Emi Ota — Copywriter
Born in Kyoto in 1951. After starting at an advertising production company and later working as a contracted copywriter at an advertising agency, she went independent. Among the work she remembers most is JR Central's "そうだ 京都、行こう。" ("Let's go to Kyoto.") campaign, which began in 1993 and continues today; the many commercial scripts she wrote for Sapporo Beer's "繁盛店の生"; JT's "ホープの男," for which she was, for some reason, also credited as creative director; and, after the Great East Japan Earthquake, Suntory Zeitaku Bito's "あなたは贅沢していい人だ." Other work includes Honda's "Go, Vantage Point," despite not holding a driver's license herself; the long-running Suntory Tennensui tagline "ずっとずっと水と生きる"; and the Suntory corporate ad "#素晴らしい過去になろう."
Executive Committee Expands With New Members for a Scaled-Up Second Edition
Starting this year, CyberAgent, Hakuhodo DY Holdings, and Society of Idea People have joined the Toranomon Advertising Festival Executive Committee, aiming for an even larger-scale event under the new structure.
Toranomon Advertising Festival Executive Committee (in Japanese syllabary order)
CyberAgent, Inc. / Society of Idea People / Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc. / Mori Building Co., Ltd.
CARTA ZERO and dentsu Japan Among Seven Sponsor Companies Confirmed
CARTA ZERO and dentsu Japan have been confirmed as Gold Sponsors supporting the Toranomon Advertising Festival this year. Together with Silver and Bronze sponsors, a total of seven sponsor companies and eleven supporting companies have been confirmed.
Toranomon Advertising Festival 2026 Sponsors and Supporters
Gold: CARTA ZERO, Inc. / dentsu Japan
Silver: Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. / Suntory Holdings Limited
Bronze: ADK Marketing Solutions Inc. / テレシー / Baycurrent, Inc.
Supporters: AOI Pro., Inc. / ウィットコレクティブ / GEEK PICTURES INC. / KEY pro / SUN-AD Co., Ltd. / ソーダコミュニケーションズ / TAIYO KIKAKU CO., LTD. / TOHOKUSHINSHA FILM CORPORATION / halfwaytheir / BUILD / リガール・ミュージック
(in Japanese syllabary order)
Cannes Lions, The One Club for Creativity, and Ad Museum Tokyo Return as Partners; TCC Joins for the First Time
Continuing from last year, the festival is once again partnering with the world's largest advertising festival, Cannes Lions, the New York-based The One Club for Creativity, and domestic industry organizations including ACC (the All Japan Confederation of Creativity), the Japan Advertisers Association (JAA), the Japan Advertising Agencies Association (JAAA), and the Japan Ad Content Production Association (JAC), as well as Japan's only advertising museum, Ad Museum Tokyo. The festival will also coordinate with the international marketing conference ad:tech tokyo, held around the same period (October 21 to October 23, 2026). This year, the Tokyo Copywriters Club (TCC) joins for the first time, with sessions planned around the theme of "words." A wide range of domestic advertising agencies and creative boutiques are also taking part, making this an even more industry-wide event than last year.
Toranomon Advertising Festival 2026 Partners
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (planned)
Cannes Lions Japan Office / The One Club for Creativity
ACC / Japan Advertisers Association (JAA)
Japan Advertising Agencies Association (JAAA) / Japan Ad Content Production Association (JAC)
Tokyo Copywriters Club (TCC) / ad:tech tokyo / Ad Museum Tokyo
As of July 22, 2026
Event Overview
- Name: Toranomon Advertising Festival
- Dates: October 9 (Friday) to October 17 (Saturday), 2026 — 9 days
- Venue: TOKYO NODE (2-6-2 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Toranomon Hills Station Tower, 8F and 45F–49F)
- Organizer: Toranomon Advertising Festival Executive Committee
- Organizing companies and organizations (in Japanese syllabary order, as of July 22, 2026):
- CyberAgent, Inc.
- Society of Idea People
- Hakuhodo DY Holdings Inc.
- Mori Building Co., Ltd.
- Organizing companies and organizations (in Japanese syllabary order, as of July 22, 2026):
- Venue cooperation: TOKYO NODE
- Official website: https://toradfes.com/2026/
- Tickets: On sale from 10:00 AM, Tuesday, September 1, 2026
About the Venue: TOKYO NODE
TOKYO NODE is a new information hub located at the top of Toranomon Hills Station Tower, which opened in 2023. Spanning approximately 10,000 square meters, this multi-purpose facility brings together an event hall, gallery, restaurants, and a rooftop garden. It also houses a restaurant led by a Michelin-starred chef and TOKYO NODE LAB, where innovative players gather for joint research. True to its name — NODE, meaning a point of connection — the facility aims to be a stage for creating and sending out cutting-edge experiential content, services, and businesses to the world, crossing boundaries across technology, art, entertainment, and beyond.
From left: TOKYO NODE HALL, TOKYO NODE GALLERY, TOKYO NODE LAB, and SKY & GARDEN & POOL
All information is current as of July 22, 2026, and is subject to change or cancellation without notice. For the latest updates, visit the official event website: https://toradfes.com/2026/
