In Tokyo, Comiket, aka Comic Market, kicked off on Dec. 28. It's not only the biggest self-published comic book convention in Japan, it's the biggest in the world.
And where are comic books, there are nerds. And where there are nerds, there are cosplayers.
First held in 1975, Comiket is now a biannual event, drawing half a million visitors to both the summer and the winter Comiket.
Even when temperatures get down right frigid that doesn't stop the slew of cosplayers from bringing their favorite game, manga, and anime characters to life.
Sister site Kotaku Japan was on hand at this year's Comiket, along with Japanese sites Moeyo and Asagawa Blog. Check out the first day of cosplay in the above gallery and more photos in the links below.
This year's Comiket runs from Dec. 29 to Dec. 31 at Tokyo Big Sight.
To see the larger pics in all their glory, click on the "expand" icon on the main image above.
心温まるコスプレギャラリーその1, 冬コミケからのコスプレギャラリーその2, 冬コミケ・コスプレギャラリーその3 [Kotaku Japan]
1日目のコスプレダイジェスト [Moeyo.com]