Happy Halloween. Does Japan celebrate Halloween? When I first came to Japan over 20 years ago, there were no Haloween celebrations until after the year 2000, when "rat land, oh sorry excuse me" disneyland had a Halloween event, and the rest is history. The closest to Halloween in Japan is Obon, A Summery Festival of the deceased. Where family members gather across Japan who are honoring departed relatives, cemeteries are filled with visitors. Temples are busy with festivities that are out of this world cool, where the sake pours freely, and food is plentiful; the atmosphere brings me back to when I was a child, and the fair came to town, oh those summer fairs in Canada where are far out cool when they rolled into town. Here are a few pics of summer festivities across Japan that I love and enjoy yearly, and I am always humbled by this divine opportunity to experience authentic Japan way off the beaten path.
