Halloween in Japan
Halloween has gone global, so it should be no surprise that Japan too embraces the Halloween spirit. There might not be much trick or treating here, but there is merchandising in the form of cute ghost plushies and decorations for the spooky season.
©F.L. Blumberg 2026
Even the florist will sell mini jack-O-lanterns on a stick so you can jazz up a potted plant.
©Wendy Gan 2026
A restaurant advertising a fall mushroom pasta on a poster will throw in a ghost graphic as well.
But perhaps the most fascinating Japanese take on Halloween is Jimi Halloween (地味ハロウィン) or Mundane Halloween. This annual event begun in 2014 asks participants to dress not as superheroes or supernatural beings but as folks you would see on any given day: the office worker with food stuck in her teeth after lunch; the out-of-shape man who tweaks his back warming up before even starting his gym session; the brave diner who eats curry udon in a white shirt. This is Halloween for those too shy to dress outlandishly but who still wish for the chance to be someone else for a night. Or are they merely satirising themselves, allowing their own quirks and flaws to be warmly recognised with a laugh? If Halloween costumes are a carnivalesque escape from being too human, Jimi Halloween costumes hold up a mirror to life and show us what loveable fools we all are. In this manner, we are reconciled to our everyday foibles and primed to resume our ordinary lives the next day with a touch more good humour and grace.
Happy Halloween!
For those who wish to investigate an archive of Mundane Halloween costumes through the years, click here.
