Saturday, November 1, 2008

Yes, they do celebrate Halloween in Tokyo

Halloween is pretty big here. The stores are decked out in pumpkin decorations and they were selling pumpkins at the Market near our house. However, this is the first year we didn't have/carve a pumpkin. A small one was going for 12 - couldn't even carve the thing. There was also a giant one on display for 25, 000 Yen (250 smackers), didn't buy that one either. Next year, I'll plant them in our window box. We did celebrate with 5 other families from the kid's school and followed them through the designated trick-or-treating neighborhood. We live in an area called Minami Azabu, but the place to be and get treats was Moto Azabu and Nishi Azabu, just on the other side of Arisugawa Park. We wandered in, out and around little back streets while apartment buildings set up shop with decorations and bowls of candy to hand out to passersby. It got a little scary trying to keep track of everyone. As always we - uh - lost track of Connor - that third child thing...We did have a chance to go to an actual house, through a Japanese entrance, into a beautiful garden and perched up on this little hill was this beautiful home, right out of a magazine. It's these little treasures that are everywhere and you don't even know it. Although the kids didn't come away with 10 pounds of candy it was just as well. They ate their way through the streets and then wondered why their tummys hurt. As for the pictures below, they are completely out of order as I still don't know how to arrange them once they are uploaded.
One stop trick-or-treating



Typical displays at a florist


TAC (Tokyo American Club)Party on the 25th



TAC Party




Taking the bus to the TAC Halloween Party








One of the stops during Trick or Treating in the neighborhood



Kate and Nick at our apartment






Some of the gang we went out with on Halloween





The end of Halloween night - quick rest at somebody's house on the walk back home









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