Halloween in Osaka

Holidays really sneak up on me while traveling. The only days that I find important to pay attention to are Friday, Saturday, and Sunday so that I can avoid the tourist crowds and catch some events. So when my favorite holiday was just a week away I scrambled to find something that resembled a costume to wear. Thank goodness for Daiso, the most famous ¥100 store in the world. They have locations all across Asia, and even a few in America and Europe. It's like if Walmart and Dollar Tree had a baby in Japan. They have everything and most items are only a dollar.

I managed to piece together some sort of devil costume out of horns, wings, and a tail with some plastic weapon. For four dollars and no planning before hand I thought it was alright enough. Surprisingly, it went over really well! A lot of people commented on it with a "Sugoi!" (Which is like wow) and wanted to take a picture with me. Although I found that people across Asia wanted to take pictures with me even when it was not Halloween so maybe just being a foreigner was exciting enough for them.

The weekend before Halloween held a massive celebration. It felt like the holiday was celebrated over the span of three days. Friday and Saturday night and then Tuesday. Each time the sun went down, the costumes came up and out. I’m sure if I was in Tokyo I would’ve seen an even bigger display, but Osaka was just so delightful with its offbeat energy and rule breaking attitude that I wouldn't have changed a thing. This was awesome!

I was really impressed with the quality and coordination of costumes. One of my more favorites was a group doing their best to seem American. I asked them if any of them were actually from the states, and they said one guy was from Europe. “Well, I’M from AMERICA and your doing it wrong... It's like this! USA! USA! USA!” I shouted. They all excitedly chimed in and shared a good laugh after.

The two big spots in Osaka during this time were the Triangle Park, and Dontonburi Bridge. Both locations were swamped with people drinking. The local convenience stores were drained of all the beers and overloaded with empty cans. Any and all rules about having to buy something to use the garbage were thrown out on these nights. I had a lot of sympathy for the poor workers stuck serving and cleaning.

I want to remind you that Halloween is very much a western holiday. To them, it’s basically just an excuse to get dressed up and party. Actually that doesn't sound all that different from home. Though they don’t even have trick or treating! Perhaps the very idea of disturbing people at night in order to receive free candy is just not in their moral code.