Sources: Musashino Art University’s notice of 1 October 2026, the official festival website and X account, and the university’s press releases from previous years (checked 5 October 2026). Detailed programmes are still marked “coming soon” on the festival site.
Every October, Musashino Art University (known in Japan as “Musabi”) turns its Takanodai Campus in Kodaira, west Tokyo, into a three-day festival run entirely by students. It has been held since 1971, and each year the student committee picks a theme and dresses the whole campus to match. In 2023 it drew more than 30,000 visits over three days.
What makes it worth the trip is that nearly everything on show was made by art students: painting, sculpture and design exhibitions, pop-up shops with their own interiors, original goods you can buy straight from the people who made them, plus theatre, music and dance by student clubs. You don’t need to register, and you can come and go as you like.
- When: Fri 23 Oct to Sun 25 Oct, 10:00–18:00 (until 18:30 on the last day).
- Entry: no advance registration, free to come and go. The university’s 2024 and 2025 press releases listed admission as free.
- Theme: FIORALUNE, “a land where art takes root.”
- Getting there: there is no parking on campus. Take the train or bus; the university also asks visitors not to arrive by taxi.
- Shop and event line-ups have not been published yet. Watch the official website and X accounts.
Key details
| Event | Musashino Art University Festival 2026 (武蔵野美術大学芸術祭) |
|---|---|
| Theme | FIORALUNE (芸術が芽吹く大地) |
| Dates | Friday 23 – Sunday 25 October 2026 |
| Hours | 10:00–18:00 (until 18:30 on Sunday 25) |
| Venue | Musashino Art University, Takanodai Campus |
| Address | 1-736 Ogawa-cho, Kodaira, Tokyo |
| Entry | No registration; come and go freely (see the note on admission below) |
| Organiser | Musashino Art University Festival Executive Committee |
| Contact | Tel 042-342-6479 (answering machine outside the festival) [email protected] |
A note on admission: this year’s university notice only says that no registration is needed, and the festival’s X profile says entry and exit are free. The press releases for 2024 and 2025 both stated admission: free. Food, artwork and merchandise are paid for separately.
What to expect: six kinds of things to see
The festival website sorts this year’s programme into six categories. Names and timetables are still to come, but here is what each one covers:
Photos: previous festivals. Images: Musashino Art University Festival official website
For a sense of what turns up, the official X account previewed a haunted house in Building 8, a jazz club playing in Takanodai Hall and club-run food stalls before the 2025 festival. In 2024 there was also an evening show in the main plaza, with video projected onto an 11m × 28m wall of the university’s museum, surround sound and lighting (from 17:00). Whether something similar happens this year will depend on the programme.
- The exhibitions are the heart of the festival. Work from each department is spread across classrooms in different buildings, so following the stamp rally route is an easy way not to miss any.
- You can buy directly from the artists: illustrations, handmade accessories, zines and other small runs you are unlikely to find in shops.
- The account @MAU_geisai_info reposts announcements from individual shops and events. In 2025 it started on 17 October, sharing posts tagged #ムサビ芸祭2025出店企画. Following it is the easiest way to plan which stalls to visit.
The 2026 theme: FIORALUNE
Each year’s festival comes with its own story. 2024 was a coral-reef kingdom and 2025 a mysterious circus. For 2026 the theme is FIORALUNE, a temple standing at the centre of a green, flourishing land.
According to the festival website, once a year the temple hosts a celebration where every kind of creative expression is welcome: work as gentle as a breeze, work as fierce as a storm, and work no one has made before. The tagline translates roughly as “Let creation sprout.”
The poster shows that temple: white columns wrapped in vines, with a moss-covered deer standing at the entrance. The website’s frames and icons share the same hand-drawn, old-fashioned style.
Getting there: train and walk, or bus to the gate
The Takanodai Campus is a little way from the nearest station. The university gives three routes:
| Route | How | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Train + walk | Walk from Takanodai Station on the Seibu Kokubunji Line (change at Kokubunji on the JR Chuo Line; two stops towards Higashi-Murayama) | 18-minute walk |
| Seibu Bus | From stop 4 at JR Kokubunji Station North Exit, take a bus to Musashino Bijutsu Daigaku or Kodaira Eigyosho; get off at Musashino Bijutsu Daigaku Seimon | About 25 min |
| Tachikawa Bus | From stop 5 at JR Tachikawa Station North Exit, take a bus to Musashino Bijutsu Daigaku and get off at Musashino Bijutsu Daigaku | About 25 min |
Coming from the Seibu Shinjuku Line, change at Higashi-Murayama for Kokubunji; Takanodai is the second stop. The bus saves you the walk, while the train is easier to time. In its directions for entrance exams, the university itself points people to the train because buses can run late in traffic.
Official merchandise
Each year students design a set of official goods, sold only during the festival at the official store on campus. Both 2024 and 2025 had seven items, plus an official programme booklet.
| Year | Announced goods |
|---|---|
| 2026 | An A4 clear file (500 yen) and a B5 croquis (sketch) book (1,000 yen), shown on the official X account on 5 October |
| 2025 | Programme booklet, acrylic keyring, croquis book, tote bag, rubber band (2 colours), set of 2 badges, set of 4 stickers, masking tape |
The clear file is designed so the illustration on the back shows through the transparent parts and completes the picture on the front. If you like to draw, the sketchbook is a fitting souvenir from an art school. Prices for the other items have not been announced.
Tips before you go
- Closing time: 18:00 each day and 18:30 on Sunday. In 2024, last entry was 17:30 on the first two days and 18:00 on the final day; check the official announcement for this year’s last entry.
- For a quieter visit: Friday 23 October is a weekday. If you can take time off, it is worth considering.
- Bring a tote bag: art, zines and merchandise fill your hands quickly.
- Prospective students: a mini open campus runs on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 October, 11:00–16:00. Details are on the university’s admissions site.
- Weather: the festival spreads across the whole campus, from the open plaza to classrooms. Check the forecast and the official X account before you set off.
A short history and past themes
The festival dates back to 1971 and is the university’s biggest event of the year. A student committee handles everything from the theme and decorations to merchandise and running the days themselves; according to the 2023 press release, the committee is made up only of first- and second-year undergraduates.
The pandemic changed the format for a while. The 2020 festival was cancelled and 2021 went online. In 2022 it returned in person for the first time in three years, but with full advance booking to cap numbers and no food sales by students. 2023 switched to registration without a cap and brought food back, and from 2024 registration was dropped altogether.
| Year | Theme |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Day of the Dead (over 30,000 visits in three days) |
| 2024 | MAUREEF, an undersea kingdom |
| 2025 | Ars CIRCUS, a phantom circus |
| 2026 | FIORALUNE |
Making a weekend of it? Further along the JR Chuo Line in Koenji, the Marugoto Taiwan Fair runs on 24–25 October, and Shiba Park hosts a free-entry Vietnam Food Festival the same weekend. The following weekend, Pan no Fes bread festival opens in Minami-Osawa, also in the Tama area, and the weekend before, Shinagawa holds its once-a-year Tokyo Meat Market Festival (17–18 October).
FAQ
- Q. When is the Musashino Art University Festival 2026?
- Friday 23 to Sunday 25 October 2026, 10:00–18:00 each day and until 18:30 on the Sunday, at the university’s Takanodai Campus in Kodaira, Tokyo.
- Q. Do I need a ticket or to register?
- No registration is needed and you can come and go freely. The university’s 2024 and 2025 press releases listed admission as free. Food, artwork and merchandise cost extra.
- Q. What is the 2026 theme?
- FIORALUNE (芸術が芽吹く大地, roughly “a land where art takes root”). The story centres on a temple where an art festival is held once a year, with the tagline “Let creation sprout.”
- Q. What is there to see and do?
- The official site lists six categories: student-run shops, events, food and drink, exhibitions, the committee’s own programme and a flea market. That means student exhibitions with a stamp rally, original goods, theatre, music, dance and workshops by clubs, festival-only food, and handmade and second-hand finds. Detailed programmes will be posted on the official website.
- Q. Can I drive?
- No. There is no parking on campus, and the university asks visitors not to drive, not to do drop-offs on nearby roads and to avoid taxis. Use the train or bus.
- Q. How do I get there from the station?
- It is an 18-minute walk from Takanodai Station on the Seibu Kokubunji Line. Alternatively, take a Seibu Bus from JR Kokubunji Station North Exit (about 25 minutes, get off at Musashino Bijutsu Daigaku Seimon) or a Tachikawa Bus from JR Tachikawa Station North Exit (about 25 minutes, to Musashino Bijutsu Daigaku).
- Q. Is there anything for prospective students?
- Yes. A mini open campus called Open Campus in Geijutsusai runs on 24 and 25 October, 11:00–16:00. Details are on the university’s admissions site.
Festival website (Japanese) / University notice (Japanese) / Official X @MAUgeisai / Shop and event info @MAU_geisai_info / Official Instagram