3 theme parks where you can celebrate Halloween in Japan!

Having grown up in Australia, I never really experienced any Halloween celebrations as a kid. Since my husband is American, Halloween is as commonplace to him as Christmas is - and as a result of his influence (and that of my American friends!) I’ve grown to love this time of year.

We've spent the last several years in Japan living on a US military base, and Halloween celebrations were still held there with everything you’d expect - loads of seasonal candy, kids out trick-or-treating, house parties with friends and more. Now that we’re not living in that kind of environment in Japan we’ve been wondering how we’re going to celebrate this year.

One thing that I’ve noticed is that many of Japan’s theme parks hold Halloween events to embrace this much loved holiday - Halloween certainly does seem to be gaining some traction here each year. Here are three offerings of theme parks in Japan where you can celebrate Halloween in all it’s spooky glory.

Disneyland and Disneysea

Probably the most well known theme parks here, Disneyland and Disneysea are all about celebrating Halloween and there are plenty of events at both locations. The Disneyland website notes that they have decorations galore, and a special Halloween parade prepared (one of the best reasons to go, in my opinion - their parades are always incredible). The Disney characters will be dressed up in special Halloween themed attire, which is great for those fun photo opportunities - and they've even got Halloween merchandise and a seasonal menu full of spooky treats. You can find out more about what's on at Disneyland here (and DisneySea's Halloween events are on their separate website here).

Pic Credit: Flickr User dlovesfuni2

Universal Studios Japan

If you're closer to Osaka than you are to Tokyo, you might want to head to Universal Studios Japan for your Halloween celebrations. They have separate events for daytime and nighttime - the daytime events are particularly geared towards the little ones, which is perfect if you have kids! There's trick or treating, and parades with confetti and other goodies for the little ones to catch and collect - but nighttime is definitely much more grown up in the scary vibe stakes! Street zombies and creepy clowns are a couple of things on their agenda once the sun goes down...not for the faint hearted or easily scared! You can find more information about USJ's Halloween schedule on their website here.

Pic Credit: Flickr User mawari

Sanrio Puroland

On the outskirts of Tokyo by Tama Station (about 60 minutes from Tokyo Station itself) is probably the cutest theme park you'll ever encounter - Sanrio Puroland. If you or any of your friends or family are into all things Hello Kitty, this is the spot to celebrate Halloween. From all the Sanrio characters dressed up in costume through to loads of themed photo spots and shows, you'll be feeling Halloween kawaii style. There are more details about their Hallowen program here - the website is in Japanese but Google Translate can assist!

Pic Credit: Flickr User mono0x

I hope that if you are looking for a way to celebrate Halloween that some of these options might help!