Halloween in Japan

Halloween is not traditionally part of Japanese culture but in the past few years it has become an important annual event for a lot of Japanese people. No matter whether you are into the food, the parties, the dressing up or the Halloween goods I think Halloween in Japan offers something for everyone.

Trick or treating is not a thing in Japan

Unlike in America kids don’t go play "trick or treat" during Halloween in Japan. Nevertheless, there are (or, rather, used to be considering the pandemic) Halloween parties for kids where they play dress-up with some stores having special events where staff hand out candy to the children that visit. Usually, these are smaller neighbourhood events that are organized by people that live in that area. Dressing up your kids can be very cheap in Japan. Most 100 yen stores sell a huge variety of Halloween items, makeup, and costumes for children, so a few 100-yen coins can be enough to get the job done.

Adults do dress up as well

It's not only the kids who dress up during Halloween, the adults do, too.

When you go to Tokyo's Shibuya district on Halloween night you can see a lot of people in costumes. Some people put a huge amount of effort into their costumes and do look really stunning. Besides that, if not for the pandemic, there would also be a lot of Halloween parties for adults on the days before Halloween night.  Some musicians and artists would do special Halloween performances as well.

Last year people were discouraged to go to Shibuya on the 31st because of the pandemic but I still saw a few people in costumes on the live cameras. I assume it will be no different this year.

Halloween in Disneyland

Halloween is also the only time of the year when you are allowed to go to Disneyland and DisneySea in costume. Usually, costumes are forbidden at the parks but during the Halloween event dressing-up is allowed if you stick to the rules park management has for costumes. This time is very exciting for cosplayers that cosplay Disney characters because Disneyland and DisneySea are probably some of the best locations you can find.

Last year the Disney Halloween event was cancelled so no dressing up was allowed at the parks.  I assume it will be the same this year, too.

Halloween in Disneyland is exciting for visitors that don’t dress up as well. You can enjoy special foods and parades and some rides will even be redecorated during the Halloween period.

Of course, you can get limited Halloween merchandise and souvenirs as well.

Halloween foods

If you are not into costumes, you might like Japanese Halloween foods. A lot of cafes will offer special Halloween theme desserts and drinks.

If you like Halloween and Pokémon, you might want to visit the Pokémon Café in Tokyo or Osaka because they always come up with a new Halloween-themed menu every year.

Some restaurants in Japan, like for example the Alice in Wonderland themed restaurants and restaurants of famous hotels, even do Halloween-themed buffets where you can enjoy a huge variety of cool-looking foods and sweets.

Places like Mister Donuts and Baskin Robbins will offer special Halloween doughnuts and ice cream for a limited amount of time and even your local supermarket will likely have Halloween-themed versions of KitKat and other popular sweets on the shelves.

Halloween is really an exciting time for foodies in Japan. With a lot of places being closed at the moment because of the state of emergency though, it might not be as exciting this year.

Halloween goods

A lot of popular franchises will sell special Halloween collections. You can get a Halloween Pikachu, a Halloween Hello Kitty and probably a Halloween version of every character you like. Popular items sell out fast so you should be quick.

However, sometimes seasonal items don’t sell as well as expected and you can get them for cheaper a few weeks after Halloween but I guess after Halloween they are not that exciting anymore.

If you don’t want to spend a lot of money, you can also check the 100 yen stores for Halloween goods. Recently they started selling Disney themed items in some of the 100 yen stores as well.

Halloween clothes

Some Japanese fashion brands, in particular Lolita fashion brands, will have special Halloween collections that go on sale in September and October. They come with Halloween-themed prints and patterns and look really cool. Unfortunately, they are also very popular and it is rather hard to get your hands on them as usually, the quantity is limited. This also makes these items interesting for resellers which makes it even harder. Because of that, some stores have policies like not selling to male customers and refusing customers that don’t come dressed in clothes of the brand when the sale of a popular item starts.

How do you like to celebrate Halloween in Japan? Which aspects of the Japanese Halloween culture do you enjoy?