What Is Don Quijote’s Doncos Festival?

If your Japanese travel plans already include a Japanese cosmetics shopping spree at Don　Quijote, this is the event for you. A biannual cosmetics fair held at Tokyo Big Sight convention center, the Doncos Festival is a uniquely exhilarating (and cost-effective) way to discover the biggest new trends in Japanese beauty, and explore some of the most popular products in the world of Japanese cosmetics, from skincare and haircare to glittering glam makeup and nail charms.

With over 100 booths, a schedule of special events, and endless products to explore, the Doncos Festival attracts everyone from local makeup-obsessed teens to beloved online beauty gurus and influencers, and the event even includes some celebrity appearances. During the Japankuru team’s visit, we actually ran into the Thai influencer Bonny from Krobkreung Japan (you can find her YouTube here) checking out some Don Quijote-exclusive face masks.

This festival is already a unique opportunity for the wide variety of Japanese beauty lovers already in Japan, and it’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of event for any travelers who can get their hands on tickets and add it to their Tokyo trip itinerary!

What to Expect at Doncos Festival

Don Quijote Exclusives, Japanese Beauty Booths, & International Cosmetics Trends

The Doncos Festival feels a little like a Japanese beauty industry event, with rows of flashy booths arranged by category, lined up across a large convention hall. Except attendees are mostly everyday beauty fans—regular Don Quijote customers on the hunt for the best new cosmetics—which adds a high-energy air of excitement. Walk in, and you’re presented with a cute tote bag (soon to be full to the bursting with samples), a map listing every booth in the room, and a free sample checklist, so you can see exactly which products each brand is offering.

When the Japankuru team went to check out the Spring/Summer 2026 Doncos Festival, our eyes went straight to the area by the entrance dedicated to Don Quijote exclusives, from products by Don Quijote’s original store brand to special Don Quijote collabs with major cosmetics brands, as well as a number of products being sold exclusively at Don Quijote first before a broader release.

Right off the bat, it was clear what kind of event this would be, with staff standing next to the displays ready to explain all the latest products, and follow up with surveys—tell them which cosmetic ingredient you’re most interested in, and get a free Derma Laser face mask! Next door at the Jonetz (Don Quijote store brand) booth, the Japankuru team was shown around a broad selection of cosmetics and their popular hand mirrors before being polled on which lipstick color we liked best, and in turn receiving a substantial pack of Jonetz face masks (soaked in a 100-ingredient formula!?) for our troubles.

The rest of the room was filled with a huge variety of different cosmetics brands—Japanese best-sellers, trendy Korean manufacturers, and even a few major Western names—representing a huge slice of the industry. Want to leave the event ready for glam? We spotted makeup brands like Maybelline, TIRTIR, and Etude House alongside Heroine Make (of mascara fame) and Shiseido. Interested in skincare? This event included booths from FANCL, Biore, Innisfree, Senka (known for their Perfect Whip facewash), and dozens of other big names.

We found ourselves collecting new face masks to try out, not just from Derma Laser and Jonetz, but also beloved brands like Lululun and Saborino.

Of course, the Japankuru team had to stop by the &honey booth in the haircare area to check out their newest products, and the blowing ticket machine at the High Tone Mania booth pulled us in to find out more about the hair color brand. There were brands specializing in nail polish and cute charms, supplement specialists handing out health and beauty-focused gummy vitamins, fragrance producers offering MBTI-like tests to help you find the right scent for your personality, and even a few food brands thrown in there—like Nisshin, handing out packs of their new Korean-style spicy ramen.

▶︎ While it varied from booth to booth, most brands asked visitors to follow them on social media in order to receive free samples. (Generally Instagram, X, or LINE.) Make sure your phone is charged before the event!

Celebrities, Mascots, & Other Festival Fun

Alongside the 100+ booths, the festival also included a stage set up for celebrity appearances and other, somewhat random, performances. We happened to catch a certain popular Japanese character putting on a short performance, but we hear a few Japanese actors dropped in for brief greetings! In another corner of the room, an area was set aside for a series of live streams from popular Japanese beauty influencers, each of whom took the time to talk about their favorite products at the event in front of both in-person and online audiences.

We also spotted a number of different mascots wandering the floor, including Don Quijote’s beloved penguin character Donpen, offering plenty of opportunities to snap fun photos to remember the day. And if all the photos and product samples weren’t enough, event goers could also participate in the ultra-Japanese “stamp rally” and collect stamps to receive a cute Doncos Festival t-shirt to take home!

How to Get Tickets to the Doncos Festival in Japan

With so much to offer, the Doncos Festival is a popular event, which means standard tickets are generally only awarded via lottery. At least the application methods are relatively simple! Most tickets are distributed through Don Quijote’s Majica membership program: make a purchase over a certain amount (on applicable products), and you can enter the ticket lottery through the official Majica app.

For the many travelers who don’t have much of a chance to make purchases ahead of time in Japan, the Doncos Festival also gives away a number of tickets via social media. Follow the official accounts, then like, comment, and repost as directed, and you might get a chance to attend.

A Japanese Beauty Event You Won’t Want to Miss—If You Can Make It!

For foreign visitors, the Doncos Festival offers a unique opportunity to experience Japan’s beauty culture up close. Instead of just browsing shelves, you can learn about trends, talk to the experts, meet crowds of similarly interested locals, and take home a whole suitcase’s worth of samples to test out (so you can put together an updated Japanese cosmetics shopping list for your next big trip to Don Quijote).

With so much to see, the Doncos Festival really reflects Don Quijote’s famously fun and chaotic charm! So keep an eye on official announcements, make sure to snag a ticket, and plan your next trip accordingly—you might just discover your next favorite beauty product while enjoying one of Japan’s most entertaining cosmetics events!

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