I’m often asked about when one should go to Shibuya for Halloween.
For those not familiar with Halloween in Japan, it’s a phenomenon. About five years ago, you would see office parties and a few people dressed up but now, it’s become so huge that there are parades, stores and shops really go all out during the month of October and on November 1st, Japan immediately switches to Christmas mode.
And as there are more and more Halloween events, Halloween in Shibuya is well-known for people just turning out in large numbers. It’s not a parade, it’s for people to hangout and have fun.
But unfortunately, 2018 was a black eye for Halloween in Shibuya as a few unruly people went and turned a vehicle over (like a riot) and started behaving crazy as if they thought it was cool to overturn someone’s vehicle, proceeding to jump on top and behaving crazy. To make matters worse, people were littering and Shibuya looked like a disaster zone the day after.
Hopefully 2019, people can still have fun, but hopefully not be involved in unruly things.
For 2019, Halloween is on Thursday, October 31st. While there are people who will be dressed up on that day, most of the Halloween festivities around Tokyo will be on October 26th and 27th, with the main crowdedness happening on Saturday, the 26th and on Thursday, October 31st.
But for the most part, for the seven days leading up to Halloween, you’ll see a lot of people dressed up.
But for this guide, I want to ask a few questions that people tend to ask:
Will people show up if it’s raining?
The answer is yes. I will say that one of the things I would do is check Accuweather because the last week of October, sometimes there is rain…heavy and light. I do know that in 2017, it rained. In 2016, on Halloween day it rained.
And for 2019, according to AccuWeather, it may rain on Saturday, October 26th (Cloud with a bit of rain during the day and periods of rain during the night). It’s also going to be a little chilly at 59F and will feel like 50F due to the wind (12 mph/gusts of 17 mph).
Events will still go on, but as for parades, Omotesando Pumpikin Parade should happen as October 27th, Sunday, shows no rain (as of October 3, but still check the Accuweather report just in case). Right now, it looks like October 28th is not a good day to go out as there will be a thunderstorm, according to Accuweather (as of October 3rd).
The good news is that October 31st will be mostly sunny. It will be chilly at 50F at night.
I want to partake in the Halloween festivities, what can I do?
Buy yourself a costume. Claire’s in Shibuya has a Halloween shop and you can go in there and get yourself a mask or costume.
There are other locations to purchase Halloween costumes.
What time should I be there?
You can go in the afternoon or early evening. It’s crowded, people are dressed up, but a lot of the action happens at night. So, it will be busy from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m.
I will emphasize, go there for the fun, stay out as late as you can because no matter what time you ride the train, the Saturday leading to Halloween is insanely packed! And also the day of Halloween.
If you are traveling to Japan during Halloween, especially in Tokyo and don’t like crowded trains or metro, then it’s best to not be there during the Halloween festivities.
Advice for Halloween Night?
Eat before you head to Shibuya scramble. Use the bathroom when you can (if possible before 5:00 p.m.), because it will be insanely packed.
One of the things that Shibuya will crack down on is public drinking from October 25-27 and October 31-November 1st.
And most of all, don’t be a jerk.
Can I enjoy Halloween without going to Shibuya?
Yes! There are numerous events happening on Saturday and Sunday. Such as the HALLOWEEN IKEBUKURO COSPLAY FESTIVAL, the Harajuku Omotesando Hello Halloween Pumpkin Parade 2019, TOKYO DISNEYLAND also hosts Halloween events, there is the Kawasaki Halloween 2019, Futako-Tamagawa Halloween Parade and more!
Check out these videos from HALLOWEEN IN SHIBUYA!
