For many young adults, Halloween is about having fun dressing up before meeting friends for drinks, clubbing, and snapping photos of everyone else in costume.

Each year, Shibuya becomes a magnet drawing huge crowds of giddy, costume-wearing people, many of whom are looking to participate in unofficial street parties and roam the area’s streets in search of fun. In 2022, there is no “official” Shibuya Halloween, though many will likely descend on Shibuya Crossing in costume.

Recent years have seen a variety of problems arise in the wake of Halloween, with huge amounts of trash generated, noise complaints, vandalism - and even the overturning of a car in 2018. Some international visitors have even mentioned that they thought it wouldn’t be much of a problem to get drunk and go crazy in Shibuya during Halloween.

For public safety reasons, this prompted the Shibuya City government to announce a ban on public drinking (including in parks and on streets) withinparticularn areas in Shibuya (shown below), which traditionally see a large number of partygoers.

For Halloween, the drinking ban will be in place on the following dates/times:
・Friday, October 28, 2022: 6:00 p.m. - Midnight
・Saturday, October 29, 2022: Midnight - 5:00 a.m., 6:00 p.m. - Midnight
・Sunday, October 30, 2022: Midnight - 5:00 a.m., 6:00 p.m. - Midnight
・Monday, October 31, 2022: Midnight - 5:00 a.m., 6:00 p.m. - Midnight
・Tuesday, November 1, 2022: Midnight - 5:00 a.m.

In Japan, convenience stores readily sell alcohol to those aged 20 and above, and drinking in public areas is generally acceptable, provided there is no nuisance to others. However, alcohol may not be available at shops in the prohibition zone, including convenience stores.

While this ban is aimed at preventing drinking in public, bars, nightclubs, restaurants, and other shops within the outlined area are not prohibited from selling alcohol.

In past years, Shibuya City specifically reminded that people observe a variety of other laws and manners, including no: littering; public drinking; smoking on the streets; urinating in public; vandalism; picking people up; using loud voices; fighting or violence; illegal parking; shoplifting; graffiti.

Shibuya is also expected to increase the presence of security and police on foot patrol, with an eye to cracking down on potential issues before they arise.

In nightclubs, bars, and theme parks in larger cities around Japan, people will dress up in all kinds of Halloween outfits.

Classics such as witches, ghouls, vampires, devils, and nurses will be joined by various colorful characters from video games, anime, and movies.

While some costumes are handmade, many people will get their outfits from places like the Disney Store, Don Quijote, and Daiso.

Wearing costumes on trains is not prohibited. However, locals will tend to bring their outfits and change into them somewhere around their destination so as not to cause a nuisance to others.

In past years, several businesses had offered booths for people to change into their costumes. In 2022, public changing rooms do not appear to be available.

As changing areas tend not to store personal property, you will want to locate the nearest coin locker nearby. Tokyo Metro's "Coin Concierge" lets you quickly locate available coin lockers near major train stations.

If you're looking to enjoy a fun Halloween in Japan, theme parks are especially exciting places to visit!

・Characters at Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Sea will be changing in fun, Halloween-themed ways, with a huge parade in the evening.
・At Sanrio Puroland, Hello Kitty and friends will be dressing up in adorable Halloween-themed outfits, while in the evening, there will be frightful experiences to entertain young and old alike.
・Fuji-Q Highland will be running several Halloween-themed events, including a dance party on October 22-23, a Horror Night event on October 30 and 31, and a fun Thomas Land event from September 17 to October 31.
・Universal Studios Japan also runs special Halloween-themed rides, plus a haunted house and other ghostly attractions.

In addition, many nightclubs around Japan will be holding Halloween-themed parties and cosplay competitions.

As Shibuya is such a popular Halloween destination, you might wonder how Japanese think about celebrating there. The Japan DJ Association conducted a survey of 138 Japanese men and women over age 18 to see what their attitudes were toward Halloween, and how people plan to celebrate. Some of the results were very interesting!

First, of the 138 respondents, 51% said they were interested in Halloween. But when asked whether they would do anything for Halloween, 26% mentioned they would do “something” while 18% said they would do something but that they “haven’t decided on a specific thing.”

When asked where they would spend Halloween, most (over 70%) responded they would spend at their or a friend’s home, while around 20% said they would be at a restaurant. Other popular answers were that they would be going out, either to a club, theme park, or elsewhere.

But when asked why they answered this way, the top 3 were that they didn’t want to get involved in some kind of trouble due to poor security; that it was crowded, and didn’t want to be bothered; and that they were concerned it would be difficult to get home.

Many said that they wanted to join in the Shibuya Halloween scene they see on TV because it seems fun, but that year by year it seems to be more of a troublesome occasion.