On Halloween, residents of Ojika Island came together to celebrate at a local grocery store completely decked out in a variety of expertly prepared costumes! As I explored, I spotted various cats, a 狐 ("kitsune" fox), a pirate, some ghosts, and a few superheroes such as Iron-Man and Spider-Man!
The adults in the crowd also had impressive outfits, including princesses, and a retro school-girl. The cashier in the grocery store even participated - he wore a SWAT uniform that was very realistic and a little bit terrifying.
While "trick or treating" is a famous holiday tradition in the USA, it isn't a widespread phenomenon in Japan. In fact, Halloween only truly arrived in Japan around twenty years ago when Disneyland held it's first Halloween event.
Since it's more of a niche activity, you won't be able to go "trick or treating" at random houses in Japan. Instead, on Ojika Island, children pick up a map from a friendly witch in a booth that gives them the locations of the homes they can visit for some sweet treats. Japan has adopted the holiday and applied it's own Japanese twist to the festivities.
When all the children receive their maps, they make there way to a kind woman who emerges with a smile and hands out a bag featuring some tasty treats! Even a group of teenagers from the neighbourhood made it out to take part in the fun Halloween activities, and I took part alongside some friends.
To close off the evening, we had a fun party at the Melody Box Karaoke Bar which is near the ferry port of Ojika and has a beautiful view of the ocean. We celebrated with lots of delicious food, and also sang some songs! I even tried to sing a few songs in Japanese, by following along with the hiragana characters but it went but a bit fast for me to read the lyrics. I was still proud that I managed to sort of figure it out and sing some of the Japanese songs!
It's interesting to learn that a holiday such as Halloween, which used to not even be celebrated at all in Japan, has made it's way all the way to such a tiny remote place such as Ojika. Seeing all the adorable children dressed up and excited about their candy brought me back to when I did the same, back in my hometown in California.
While there are many differences between Ojika, Nagasaki and Petaluma, California, at our core we are all the same. Children the world over will always get excited about the opportunity to dress up and receive permission to receive lots of delicious キャンディー (candy)!
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