When Halloween comes to one of Japan’s most fashionable districts, you know it’s going be quite a show.
Apparently, Shibuya has now become the site of Tokyo’s largest unofficial outdoor Halloween event, with thousands coming to strut their stuff to celebrate the spooky season.
The “event” reportedly takes place on the weekend closest to Halloween, and this year’s had the biggest turnout yet.
At one point, the site got so chaotic that a truck was overturned, NHK reported. A few others were arrested on suspicion of groping or attempting to take upskirt photos of women.
The Shibuya Ward has since asked partygoers not to disturb others after residents complained of their late-night noise and the pile of garbage they left in the morning.
Around 70,000 people showed up on Saturday night alone, making the event comparable to a World Cup or New Year countdown celebration.
Locals said that Japan’s celebration of Halloween can be traced back to the 1970s, when a bookstore in Harajuku started selling merchandise and organized costume parades related to the season, according to the Japan Times.
That store’s predecessor, Hashidate Shoten, also supplied the demand of foreigners for Halloween items, a culture that eventually spread to locals.
Check out more pictures of this year’s Halloween celebration in Shibuya below:
Featured Images via Instagram / @hikari_naka_hyogo (Left) and @camera.an (Right)
