HALLOWEEN IN JAPAN

by Brandon Miller

Halloween is a relatively new holiday in Japan. While some of the traditional elements of the holiday are observed, there are also some uniquely Japanese variations. 

History and Popularity in Japan

Before the late 1990s, Halloween was viewed as a Western tradition. Outside of small groups of American or European expats, the celebration of Halloween was mostly unheard of in Japan.

It wasn’t until Disneyland Tokyo hosted its first Halloween event in 2000 that the holiday started to gain momentum. A year later, Universal Studios Japan opened and began hosting its own festivities including a very popular zombie flash mob. Since then, Halloween celebrations have continued to grow. 

Today, it is common to find tens of thousand of people celebrating in major cities.  

Costumes and Decorations

To many, Japan is considered the birthplace of modern cosplay. Nobuyuki Takashashi, a Japanese businessman, coined the term in 1984. So, it’s no surprise that costumes take center stage during Halloween. Like other places around the world, costumes range from scary to funny to whimsical. 

While decorating for the holiday is not widely practiced in Japan, carving pumpkins has caught on since pumpkins are a typical fall harvest. However, Japanese pumpkins are green on the outside, so orange pumpkins must be imported for the holiday. 

Trick-or-Treating

Trick-or-treating is not common practice in Japan. If you visit during the holiday, you won’t find children in costume going door to door to collect the typical bounty of sweets. The reason for this has to do with traditional Japanese culture. In Japan, it is considered rude to bother people (especially strangers) and showing up unannounced at someone’s door is frowned upon. It is possible to find some trick-or-treat action, but it will be well structured events in public or commercial spaces. 

Places to Go During Halloween in Japan

For the cultural reason mentioned above and the fact that the average Japanese household lives in smaller apartments (compared to the United States), house parties during Halloween are not common. 

While bars are popular places to go for a Halloween night out, most people prefer to gather in public squares and parks. Some of these gatherings are extremely large. The largest event each year occurs in Shibuya (Tokyo) and is attended by about a million people!

A phenomenon that is unique to Japan is the concept of Halloween trains where people gather on a public train to party the night away. While this practice was originally considered a nuisance and protested by the public, people eventually warmed up to the idea. Now, Halloween trains are typically well organized, and the public train authority even sells tickets. 

Food and Drink

What would be a holiday without festive food and drink to go along with it? 

Drinking in public places is legal in Japan, so feel free to enjoy a beverage with your friends as you wander the crowds checking out the endless display of costumes. Some larger gatherings may restrict the consumption of alcohol, so check the rules before you attend. This is the case for Shibuya after some participants became unruly in 2018 (which may or may not have involved overturning a truck!). 

Halloween decorations in Japan follow the traditional color palette, but purple is often emphasized in the various treats and desserts. This comes from purple yams which are commonly harvested during the fall and winter. Even major brands like McDonalds have been known to jump on this trend with a holiday edition purple yam milkshake and fries drizzled in a purple and “black” sauce (purple yam and chocolate). Other popular holiday ingredients include pumpkin, taro, and chestnut. 

Join Us for Some Halloween Fun

Every year, the Kaizen Shabu team creates unique Halloween artwork using only our amazing ingredients. Click HERE to check out our past creations on Instagram!!