It’s not Halloween yet, but the weekend before drew big crowds in Tokyo’s Shibuya. Costume-wearing revelers descended on the neighborhood, and the tricks made a much bigger impact than the treats.
Update: November 1 - 6:30am: According to Japan Today, thirteen men were arrested last night for alleged theft and groping. A fire also broke out in Shibuya at 6pm; however, there were no reported injuries. There was a big push to clean up trash. Below are photos of video of Halloween in Shibuya.
Original story continues below:
Japan’s national news media has been covering the event, during which the vast majority of people didn’t cause trouble.
There were some good costumes.
Cute ones, too.
A brutal fight broke out.
Winnie the Pooh had his own security detail.
Shibuya got crowded.
There was music.
However...
The driver did get out. (Note: Apparently, initially invited people to get in the back. From there, things got out of control.)
But people decided to mess around with his vehicle.
Then, his truck was pushed over.
While...
This man, who’s not in a costume (I think?), yelled at a police officer.
Another guy poured water into a ramen shop’s ticket machine, destroying it. His friend looked on and took either photos or video.
The fuck.
According to the Japanese media, there were five arrests: Three for alleged assaulted, one for alleged voyeurism (with a camera) and one for alleged groping.
Shibuya was covered in trash.
That was cleaned up by volunteers and local businesses.
Each year things get rowdier and rowdier. Halloween celebrations aren’t over as the actual day isn’t until mid-week. Japan Trends reports that the get together might be canceled next year because of the way people have behaved and the inconveniences it places on local businesses. If it is held next year, expect more rules and regulations.
The good news? Not all Halloween celebrations in Japan are like Shibuya’s. Phew!