2025’s Disneyland Halloween event sees two extra-special parts: a daytime parade, "The Villains’ Halloween 'Into the Frenzy'," and a nighttime fireworks show, “Night High Halloween.” That accompanies the Haunted Mansion “Holiday Nightmare” attraction, based on Tim Burton’s hit, The Nightmare Before Christmas, open until January 2026.

“The Villains’ Halloween 'Into the Frenzy'" 45-minute parade, which premiered in 2024, welcomes back the Disney Villains, including Dr. Facilier, The Evil Queen and Cruella De Vil. They’ll be joined by Mickey and his friends: favorites Donald Duck, Minnie Mouse and more. “Night High Halloween” sees a 5-minute, Halloween-themed pyrotechnic display after the sun sets.

All aboard for Tokyo Disneysea’s Halloween spectacular. This year includes Mickey Mouse and friends helming a pumpkin-decked boat, a debut of Lazos de la Familia paying tribute to Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), and Halloween-themed merchandise.

The Mickey Mouse trick-or-treat boat will appear at the Mediterranean Harbor to spread Halloween cheer, doling out treats to anyone who says “Trick or Treat!,” and performing a dance for 15 minutes each time. The Lost River Delta section of the park will host Lazos de la Familia for the first time, with festive dances, decorations, and mariachi music.

Sanrio Puroland, best known for its abundance of Hello Kitty, hosts its Halloween event around the theme of “magic” this year. The show will feature Hello Kitty, and Youri and Sumika as the magicians. For the Halloween Parade, Hello Kitty will be joined by characters such as MyMelody and PomPomPurin to spread Halloween cheer through the park daily.

On October 25 — the closest Saturday to Halloween — the park holds an all-night mini music festival, with 50 popular Japanese acts, such as the band Kroi and rapper Charlu. Open to adults aged 20 and over, the event, titled “Spooky Pumpkin” is the chance to get loose in costume, enjoy greetings, alcohol, and dance to your new favorite acts under the Halloween moon.

This year, Tochigi’s expansive Edo-period theme park celebrates Halloween, Japanese style, welcoming ghosts and ghouls of the yokai (Japanese folk lore) variety, to haunt each nook and cranny of the park. The yokai will be on hand to impart the stories of how they came to be, including the mythical kappa. There will be performances and parades each day of the event period.

Visitors will be able to interact with the yokai too, turning the Western idea of “trick or treat” to the Japanese version of “rock paper scissors,” only receiving a treat if they win. Elsewhere, there will be special menu items on sale, goods and a yokai gambling den.

Setagaya/Kawasaki’s biggest fireworks show is back. Over 6000 fireworks are lit each year, attracting thousands of yukata-wearing revelers, who come to experience autumnal fireworks on Tama River, the stretch of water between Tokyo and Kanagawa.

The fireworks display, which dates back to 1929, aims to put a smile on the face of everyone who watches, serving as an expression for the bright future of the area through its children, and fostering community spirit among onlookers, and a renewed appreciation for the river. The theme for 2025 is 「彩～多摩川に映える、花火の彩り～」, which loosely translates to “Brightly colored, Tama River lit with the glow of fireworks.” There will be crowds, so organizers recommend arriving in plenty of time.

Kawagoe, a small town in Saitama Prefecture, is known for its gorgeously preserved shopfronts and buildings dating back to the Edo Period (1603–1868). It’s also the setting for the annual Kawagoe Festival, a two-day spectacle that sees thousands descend upon its streets to enjoy festivities centered around ornate festival floats.

The nearly 400-year-old festival — a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property — includes various traditional activities, including an impressive musical battle, “Hikawase” between the festival floats come nightfall. Visitors to the festival may also enjoy food stalls serving traditional Japanese festival fare, like yakisoba and takoyaki, and even a haunted house.

Tokyo Yosakoi Contest is one part of the <local festival|@=article:a0002302@>, “Fukuro Matsuri.” The Yosakoi began in 2000 as an addition to the Fukuro festival, which had been running since 1967, and has since become one of the most well-known parts of the event. The Fukuro Matsuri takes place approximately one month before the Yosakoi Contest.

Yosakoi is a dance contest that originates in Kochi Prefecture, and is held in Sapporo, as well as Tokyo. This year, 113 teams, (approximately 5000 dancers in total) come from across Japan, including Kochi Prefecture, Toyama, and even Hokkaido, to take to the (street) stage. The types of teams vary greatly, from children to professionals, university students and local clubs. The Yosakoi is an imitable Tokyo event, as the streets around Ikebukuro come alive with costumed performers strutting their stuff.

In 2025, there will be two significant retirement ceremonies for famous rikishi (sumo wrestlers): Takakeisho and Myogiryu. Both have retired in the past year, and once the Grand Tournament finishes in September, it’s time to celebrate the pair’s return to civilization.

Each retirement ceremony is different, but there are certain rituals performed at each one. The most famous is the topknot-cutting ritual. Hundreds of people will gather behind the rikishi, who is seated inside the ring. Each takes it in turn to step up and cut off a single strand of hair from the rikishi’s topknot. The final cut is made by the stablemaster, before the wrestler bows to everyone present, and heads off to a barber, for his first “normal” haircut. Other activities preceding this can include children’s sumo wrestling and demonstrations of topknot styles.

Enter the world of Viennese painter, Gustav Klimt. Step into his paintings, move through his phases of works as though you’re inside his mind. Known most for his painting, The Kiss, the hugely influential artist is someone that we’ve all learnt about in school — as someone from the past, a historical figure.

This exhibition brings Klimt to life, through immersive, moving projections, haptic flooring that changes the way we sense our surroundings, and sound. A worldwide hit run by Grande Experiences, seeing “Klimt Alive” in Japan enables you to feel how the Japanese appreciate art – you’ll be in one of the calmest exhibition halls ever.

The Mori Art Museum presents the first major exhibition upon one of Japan’s most famous modern architects. Sou Fujimoto has been active since the early 00s, coming to prominence with The Aomori Museum of Art Design Competition Proposal, then again with his stark white design for the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion in 2013. Recently, Fujimoto is the architect of Osaka Expo, designing its famous Grand Ring structure.

This exhibition looks at Fujimoto’s works from the past three decades, taking viewers from his early projects to the present day, including works that are still in progress. Using large-scale models, plans and photos, visitors are invited to step into Fujimoto’s architectural world.

Each year, Ikebukuro hosts one of the biggest cosplay events in Tokyo. Hundreds of cosplayers convene in its area as one of their favorite anime or manga characters. Expect less blood and more spiky hair, as this is considerably less scary than a traditional Halloween event.

Since Shibuya Halloween was effectively cancelled, Ikebukuro has taken up a new baton and is fully embracing those who want to dress up, charging a small premium for the privilege. Even camera people need to pay for the opportunity to get up close to the cosplayers. On the Friday is an adults-only, nighttime cosplay party in a basement car park, to up the spooky factor.

One of the biggest movie events of the year is back. The Tokyo International Film Festival (TIFF) is now in its 28th year, showcasing the best movies from the past 12 months and beyond, with a particular focus on Asia. Japan’s most famed movie stars walk its red carpet, and accolades include names like the Akira Kurosawa Award, which honors those who’ve made splashes in the cinema world.

The festival screens hundreds (2024’s edition screened 208 movies) of pictures across 10 days, alongside talks, workshops and, of course, its award ceremony. Workshops and talks bring fans and industry titans together to talk all things big screen, with many actors and directors appearing at the screenings.

Ramen shops from around Japan converge at Ramen Festa, the largest ramen gathering in Japan, across a 12-day ramen bonanza. The festa, now in its third year, is linked to other similar ramen events across Japan, and uses its network to stretch to the far-flung reaches to find the best local ramen. Last year’s edition saw Michelin-guide-rated ramen from Okayama Prefecture, new wave ramen from Fukuoka Prefecture and miso ramen from Hokkaido.

The event aims to promote ramen as a cultural asset, so the event naturally has its own mascot, Naruto-chan, a character based on naruto-maki, the small fishcake that is found atop bowls of noodles. Naruto-chan promotes Ramen Festa’s goods and is around on all event days, taking part in talks and shows.