ハロウィン (Halloween)

In Japan, Halloween is celebrated on 31 October, with many events also held on the weekend before it. It is less a neighborhood door-to-door holiday than a costume-centered outing in entertainment districts and commercial venues. Tokyo’s Shibuya area became especially famous in the 2010s for huge crowds in elaborate outfits gathering around Shibuya Station and the Scramble Crossing, often from late afternoon until the last trains. Because of past crowding and disorder, the ward and police now use barriers, patrols, and repeated loudspeaker announcements, and they regularly urge people not to come for street drinking or unsanctioned partying. Even so, orange-and-black displays, masks, capes, and character costumes appear all over busy shopping areas.

Many people in Japan experience Halloween through organized events rather than by knocking on strangers’ doors. Theme parks such as Tokyo Disneyland and Universal Studios Japan run seasonal Halloween programs with decorations, parades or shows, special merchandise, and limited foods, so visitors often spend the whole day there in themed outfits where rules allow. Children may say トリック・オア・トリート at shopping malls, English schools, community centers, or apartment events where staff hand out wrapped candy. Seasonal food is usually sweets and snacks, not a big home meal: kabocha pudding, Halloween doughnuts, decorated pastries, and convenience-store treats are common. On the day, people often say ハッピーハロウィン and compliment one another’s costumes or ask for photos.

The pack has 36 words spread across these domains.