Halloween in Japan

期間限定 is the phrase to learn. It is printed on every seasonal snack and drink, and it means the pumpkin pudding in your hand will be gone in November. You will also see Halloween spelled ハロウィーン, with a long vowel. Both are in use and both are read the same way by most people.

Trick-or-treating does happen, but at organised events: a shopping street, a nursery, an English class. Nobody goes from house to house. The long Japanese line is how the English one is usually explained to children. The ぞ on the end is rough and playful, which suits a small monster demanding sweets and nothing else, so keep it for the joke.

Ask before you photograph anyone, however good the costume is. If the answer starts with ちょっと… and trails off, that is a no, and the right reply is a smile and すみません. Many events and theme parks ask you to change on site in a 更衣室 instead of travelling in costume, and have rules on masks and props, so check before you go.

The street gatherings have been reined in. Shibuya in Tokyo, once the best known of them, now asks people not to come for Halloween and bans drinking in the street, and police direct the crowd by loudspeaker. 立ち止まらないでください is the line you will hear most. Trains do not run all night, so know when your 終電 leaves.