Shibuya: Leave the kids at home and go at your own risk

Shibuya always seems to grab all the attention when it comes to Halloween in Japan. As we have reported before, until recently, the crowds thronging to Shibuya at this time of year, although at times drunk and rowdy, have mostly been busy parading in their costumes, talking to other costumed revelers and partying all night, with the only foul note being trash in the streets and the occasional fight. However, this year, the festivities in Shibuya were marred by crime as a small truck was overturned by a crowd, a ramen shop ticket vending machine was vandalized, and several men were arrested for groping and taking up-skirt pictures of women on the weekend before Halloween.

If you're looking for fun without the crowds and chaos, especially if you're traveling with children, there are better alternatives. The Omotesando Halloween Parade and the Kawasaki Halloween Parade are wonderful for kids and the Ikebukuro Halloween Cosplay Festival is great for cosplayers during the day time, but if you want to enjoy Halloween at night in a safe and fun environment, with activities for both kids and grown-ups, then Noge might be the best choice for you.

Noge: Family fun in the parade and bar-hopping for grown-ups

The neighborhood of Noge in Yokohama City is famous for its friendly, Showa Era-like mood and its rows of small bars and eateries. When it comes time for Halloween, Noge throws a great party with a parade winding through the neighborhood and a special deal for grown-ups with 122 shops participating, many staff members in costume and ready to welcome you. There's a lottery with prizes to win and special coupons you can use in all participating shops.

Far less crowded than Shibuya, more well-behaved and monitored by the watchful eyes of the participating shops and neighborhood association volunteers, it strikes just the right balance between family-friendly Halloween fun and more mature entertainment for adults to enjoy.

While the situation was getting rowdy in Shibuya last Saturday, we were on location in Noge reporting live from the parade and enjoying the scene. Please view our videos at the end of this article if you missed our live broadcast.

Noge Parade

Here are some of the participants we captured on camera:

Group Shots

Prisoners (zombie prisoners?) and Minions together

You can't miss the lady cosplaying as a packet of Nagatanien brand nori ochazuke soup seasoning at the right.

Halloween parades can produce the most incongruous juxtapositions. Here we have Platelet-chan from the anime Cells At Work following closely behind a man in a McDonald's meal outfit.

A Japanese oni (demon) working on a tall can of beer, followed by his pal, an anthropomorphic bottle of sake. Meanwhile, to their right, two witches and a police officer in a bunny outfit (?)

Characters

Darth Vader together with junk food puffed corn snack favorite Umaibo, corn soup flavor, wearing a carnival mask for some reason.

Elmo and Cookie Monster

Mario, is that you?

Lt. Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde from the Disney film Zootopia together with yokai Ittan-Momen from the anime Gegege no Kitaro.

A complete McDonalds meal...

Families

Kids and even pets got into the fun during the parade

---

Noge Halloween Livestream Archives

---

If you'd like to see the map of the shops, review the parade route or learn more about the activities at Noge Halloween, please visit their official website here (Japanese only).