Kawasaki fun

I was there, and it was fun, but thousands? Maybe 750, at a stretch, counting the children's parade, 1000, but not thousands. I was a little disappointed, actually. I know it isn't the Japanese way to passionately celebrate all out, but there were 4 groups, two sections each, four floats, leading each group, and only music for the first section of each group. The end sections just kind of walked behind the parade, mustering up only what enthusiasm they could personally generate.

Well Hello mrs. Santa. :)

There were some seriously dressed up people in their costumes. Some very scary and disturbing.

Thousands? I wouldn't agree.. I was there. The parade didn't took an hour.

"Kawasaki" and "fun" is a odd juxtaposition of words.

That bear mid shot right side freaks me out.

Matthew SimonOct. 29, 2012 - 09:12AM JST That bear mid shot right side freaks me out.

You mean the two bear, I agree with you wholeheartedly!

@ Joe, I hadn't noticed the other one, yeah that makes it even more disturbing.

There be Captain Jack Sparrow in the middle! Arrrrrrrrr!

Never heard of a Halloween "parade" before - but it looks fun.

Wolf - They have parades in Japan instead of trick or treat.

You would think Japanese candy makers would have caught on by now...

Halloween gets bigger every year in Japan.

I'd like to think that after many years of "foreigner influence" we can see the effects...

One of my favorite events of the year when in Japan.

It'll never, ever be the same as it is in North America (stands to reason, given that it's not NA), but it's nice to see Hallowe'en growing to an extent here. Not sure the Santa Claus/Christmas outfits are fitting, but whatever floats your boat, I guess. Would have been fun to participate, and it must be an absolute blast for the kids.

And yeah, the bears are a bit freaky. Imagine them showing up on American Horror Story!

I don't think there's anything wrong with Christmas costumes at Halloween. Isn't it the North Americans that led the way in making Halloween about all costumes rather than those specifically Halloween-themed? I prefer the more on-theme costumes in principle but this kind of thing is fun either way.

I wonder if anyone came dressed up like Sadako? lol Anyway, sounds like people had fun on this parade and the popularity of Halloween seems to be growing every year in Japan. As far as the North American custom of door-to-door trick-or-treating goes, it's probably unlikely that it'll catch on in Japan. Though most I've seen are children in and out of the parade with their bags of treats.

くまもん. look it up

Why is Hallowe'en even celebrated in Japan? Like Christmas it comes from a European pagan festival for the dead, and was popularised in Scotland before the Americans turned it into an OTT excuse for kids to get sweets.

Sorry to sound so down on this, but it's just seems weird... Next they'll be celebrating US Thanksgiving Day and going to KFC for a special meal.

Why is Hallowe'en even celebrated in Japan?

Same reason Christmas is - there are folk who make money out of it.

I should have guessed that was the answer, Cleo, lol

Not sure why people are down on this. As long as people are having a good time with it, great.

looks awesome! at first i thought it was an anime convention lol

Whats wrong with the world celebrating, Japan is not Isolated any longer and a lot of Japanese are increasingly mixed. Good Ideas (festival) can always be added like the wheel who cares who created it its a good idea{.}; and its nothing wrong with Celebrating Thanksgiving a day of giving thanks for having food a job and being safe with your love ones Sounds like a human trait.

I wonder if halloween is also popular in japan because it gives cos players another chance to dress up lol oh well im glad to see western festivals celebrated in other parts of the world.