A New Sort of Halloween

I spotted the first signs of Halloween on September 1, at the supermarket. There was a special display of sweets in Halloween-themed packaging. Rather than the candy and chocolate you would typically find in America's Halloween aisles, these were bite-sized cakes and biscuits. During that first week of September, I noticed Halloween decorations everywhere. And not just a hint of the holiday but elaborate displays at store windows. "That's weird. Nobody celebrated Halloween here when I was growing up," said my husband. It seems the increase in Halloween festivities is commensurate with the increase of Anglo expats living and settling in Tokyo. It doesn't have the same presence in Japan's small towns and the country. Even in Tokyo, it was different from the American Halloween I know. 

Japanese Halloween is more about the aesthetic of Halloween. There are decorations everywhere, and a small handful of young adults might dress up in costume and walk around the famed Shibuya Scramble. I think the very act of wearing a costume is so novel that the costumes themselves tend to be conventionally commercial: amongst adults, mostly Squid Game and Pokemon. You will be hard pressed to see abstract themes here. 

Kids don't generally wear costumes or go trick-or-treating. Aside from a few nightlife hotspots, Halloween night in residential neighborhoods is a quiet night like any other. Since E attends international school, though, she got to celebrate Halloween...a lot. Her school had a no-uniform-day, where student could wear costumes to school. A couple of her classmates prepared goodie bags for everyone to take home. Most of the treat giving happened after school on Friday at a nearby park, where classmates gathered to exchange treats. It was more like Valentine's day, with kids handing each other goodie bags. You wouldn't hear anyone saying trick-or-treat. 

This was our first Japanese Halloween haul. Some familiar, many unfamiliar. 

This was my favorite. 

E's favorite. 

The big party was on Saturday, the day before Halloween. On Friday, October 29, I went to buy treats for the party and found the most shocking thing about Halloween in Japan: the Halloween candy disappears before Halloween. Not a pumpkin or witch in sight. Instead, I saw Christmas decorations! Christmas before November! Without the buffer of Thanksgiving, the Christmas spirit has already arrived in Tokyo. I realized that, in Japan, Halloween was more an abstract part of the autumnal scenery than a concrete holiday to celebrate. 

A classmate's mom had reserved an indoor play space for the party. It included an inflatable play structure, a pretend grocery store, an indoor sand pit, and other random toys. Parents brought treats, either food or toys, and the kids came in their Halloween costumes. They played some and trick or treated some. There were more toys than candy, and the spread was impressive. 

I had been feeling nostalgic for last year's Halloween, but there was plenty of celebrating this year. Despite the ubiquitous Halloween decorations around town, there is no tradition of trick-or-treating in Japan. We felt lucky to be part of a smaller community that made Halloween special for the kids. Happy Halloween!