Halloween in Japan: A Japanese Perspective on This Western Holiday

Hello, I'm Tomono, founder of Tomono Sushi Party here in the UK. As someone who grew up in Japan and now living in Britain, I'm in interesting position to see how different cultures celebrate same holidays. Today, I want to share about Halloween in Japan – this holiday has changed so much since I was child, and I think it shows a lot about how Japanese culture takes foreign traditions and makes them... well, very Japanese!

The famous Shibuya Halloween street party has become synonymous with how Halloween in Japan is celebrated among young adults

How Halloween Came to Japan

Halloween in Japan is quite new thing actually. When I was child in 1990s, most Japanese people only knew Halloween from American movies and TV shows. We knew about trick-or-treating and jack-o'-lanterns, but these seemed very far away and foreign – maybe similar to how British people thought about sushi before it became popular here!

The big change came in 2000s, especially around 2010, when Tokyo Disneyland started doing big Halloween events. Universal Studios Japan did same thing, and suddenly Halloween became about fun, entertainment, and chance to dress up. Unlike Western countries where Halloween comes from old harvest festivals and ancient traditions, in Japan it arrived just as entertainment – and that's exactly how we liked it.

The Shibuya Phenomenon

If you want to see Halloween in Japan at most crazy level, Shibuya crossing in Tokyo is the place. Every October 31st, tens of thousands of young people come to streets in amazing costumes, making what is now Japan's biggest unofficial Halloween celebration.

I joined several times before moving to UK, and the energy is incredible. But I must say, the event has grown so big that now it creates crowd problems. In recent years, police increased a lot and they even banned drinking alcohol on street to keep it safe. This is very Japanese response, I think – when Western holiday becomes too chaotic, we try to bring back order and thinking about others.

Costumes Over Sweets

Maybe the most Japanese thing about Halloween is how we focus on costumes, not trick-or-treating. In Japan, Halloween is mainly adult holiday with costume parties and themed events. You don't see many children going door-to-door for candy – partly because our buildings don't work well for this (many people live in apartment buildings with security systems), and also we already have many gift-giving traditions through the year.

Living in UK now, I can see the difference clearly. British children love going trick-or-treating in their neighborhoods, but in Japan we made Halloween about transformation and creativity. The costume culture in Japan is influenced strongly by our love of cosplay, anime, and pop culture. At any Halloween event in Japan, you see very detailed costumes – everything from traditional monsters to anime characters, movie villains, and even group costumes that tell whole story.

Themed Cafes and Limited-Edition Everything

Japanese businesses love Halloween very much! From late September through October, you find:

• Limited-edition Halloween snacks and drinks at convenience stores (we call them konbini, and seasonal items are really big deal for us)

• Themed cafe menus with black and orange foods – often squid ink pasta, purple sweet potato desserts, and drinks with ghost-shaped marshmallows

• Halloween decorations in shopping areas and train stations

• Special merchandise with popular characters in Halloween costumes

Maybe this seems too commercial for some people, but for Japanese customers, limited-edition seasonal items make each holiday feel special. We enjoy seeing seasonal changes in products around us. It's bit like how at Tomono Sushi Party, I create seasonal menu items for different occasions – this attention to seasons is deep in Japanese culture.

A Note on Tradition vs. Import

Some people ask me if celebrating Halloween in Japan means we losing our own traditions. I don't think so. We still celebrate our traditional festivals – Obon for honoring ancestors, Setsubun for welcoming spring, and many others. Halloween just fills different space in our calendar, giving us something our traditional holidays don't: chance to be playful, wear crazy costumes, and enjoy fantasy without spiritual or family duties.

Actually, I think how we adapted Halloween shows something very Japanese. We took foreign concept, removed the parts that didn't fit our culture (like trick-or-treating or scary horror themes), and made stronger the parts we liked (costumes, beautiful presentation, and celebrating together). This is what we did through history with many things – from Buddhism to baseball, and yes, even sushi has changed in different countries, including here in UK where I now run my sushi party business!

The Future of Halloween in Japan

As Halloween in Japan keeps growing, I'm curious where it will go. The Shibuya celebrations became almost too successful, so now people discuss if they should be organized officially or moved to special areas. At same time, more families are starting small trick-or-treating in their neighborhoods or apartment buildings, making gentler version of tradition.

What stays same is the Japanese way: we celebrate Halloween our way, with attention to details, thinking about others (mostly!), and enthusiasm for anything that lets us show creativity and enjoy seasonal change.

So if you visit Japan during Halloween season, don't expect carved pumpkins on every door or children in costumes collecting candy. Instead, look for creative costume displays, elaborate themed cafe menus, and the exciting energy of people who are happy to transform themselves for one special night. That's Halloween in Japan – different, but definitely ours.

From my view now living in UK, I appreciate both ways of Halloween. The British tradition of trick-or-treating brings communities together, while Japanese focus on costumes and themed experiences creates amazing visual celebrations. Both are good, both are fun, and both show how one holiday can mean different things in different cultures.