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Halloween quietly passed Japan by, which is reasonable considering they don't actually celebrate it. However, they do know how to take advantage of a marketing opportunity and every year I see more and more items designed to get the Japanese into the Halloween spirit. Well, that's not exactly true. I don't think they know what the spirit of All Hallow's Eve is and I'm pretty sure that, if they did, it wouldn't really suit Japanese sensibilities. I'm not only talking about how knocking on strangers' doors for free candy would rub them the wrong way, but the "tricks" aspect would be viewed as troubling others in a thoroughly unacceptable manner. Besides, in a country that goes for the toilet paper in a crisis, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't feel great about wasting it TP'ing.
Among the plethora of cute Halloween-themed treats, I was especially enchanted by these pumpkin-shaped manju (traditional Japanese sweets). I even considered buying them, but three are more than I can eat in a short time and this is the type of thing best consumed fresh.
omg, adorable!
ReplyDeleteVery cute! Halloween in Japan has started gaining in popularity since I first arrived more than 15 years ago :)
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A colleague of mine brought 4 different "Halloween" cakes for Halloween. All were pumpkin flavored, and elaborately designed! They were ordered from Rakuten. Halloween in Japan has taken off in Japan! Where Japan meets the west is where the creativity takes off!
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