Halloween 2010

This is our first Halloween in Japan, and wouldn’t you know it, we get hit by Typhoon Chaba! The 14th Typhoon to hit Japan this year (which we are told is a lot of typhoons). It has been super rainy this fall, which means less ability to go out and about and do fun things.

Getting our Pumpkin
Halloween is another example of things being not quite as easy (and traditions not being so easy to keep up!) as they are at home in Michigan. It is not very easy or inexpensive to get pumpkins here in Japan. Every year in the past, we would take the girls to Gull Meadow farms or another equally as fun pumpkin patch, fully equipped with hayrides, apple picking, cider drinking and pumpkin picking out. We typically would get a pumpkin for each of us, each of us getting to pick how we wanted to carve it, and spending a whole Saturday carving the pumpkins,and having a really fun time as a family! This year, we had no available pumpkin patches, cider mills, etc. to go to...which we knew would not happen. However, the ability to get a pumpkin here was quite surprising. They are not sold in corner lots, at grocery stores, or really, very many places. They also run between 2300 Yen (about $26) and 4000 Yen (about $50) for a "reasonably" priced pumpkin...they run all the way up to nearly $100USD. For one pumpkin...and I am not talking a large (well, the $100 one is decent sized) pumpkin- I am just talking an average sized one! So, I went the cheapest route I could find, and ordered one from the Foreign Buyers Club, which was delivered to my house two weeks ago (yes, we got our pumpkin via the FedEx man!!!). We did have a fun time carving it, and the girls didn't seem to care one bit that we had one and not 4! I guess sometimes making new traditions is just as good as keeping old ones!


The Girls with Christy and Tessa Deki and Maggie Kallas

Halloween night we had trick or treating here in our building, LaTour, and then headed to Oyama-cho. There were so many people- adults, kids trick or treating - it was completely crazy…and exceptionally neat to see. The biggest difference that I noticed from trick or treating in the States is that people set up tables outside their homes- full of baskets of candy, and the kids just walk up and grab candy and leave. Very few kids actually said “trick or treat” or “thank you”- they just grabbed and ran on to the next place. We tried to make sure ours said Trick or Treat and Thank you, but it was hard to keep up with them due to the sheer number of people. Another neat thing was that my assumption was it would be mostly expats handing out candy (Halloween is NOT a traditional Japanese holiday) was completely wrong. Many, Many Japanese had their tables out, with houses fully decorated (another neat thing- the houses were all decked out!), and were having a really good time handing out treats (and taking pictures of the Gaijin- our kids again, were very loved by many of the Japanese homes they went to!). We did end up getting some very interesting treats- some American treats, just like at home, yet some..well..not exactly sure what they are!!


Girls Trick or Treating in Oyama-cho


Check out this crowd!


Weird "treats"- crab crackers, bourbon candy, cinnamon roll things...never know what you will get!

This year the girls school Halloween parties were held on the same day, at the same time. I was bummed, as I love to go experience these fun days with my kids. Scott was able to go to Maya’s, and I ended up going to Hanna’s. I was so happy that both kids would have a parent with them!

Maya’s party had a Halloween parade, followed by an all-school carnival, followed by a class party. She had a BALL. She dressed up again this year as Minnie Mouse, and looked adorable. Hanna’s had a great party as well- a classroom party, followed by trick or treating in the gym.


Maya with Sophia and Lauren


Maya with her class

Hanna’s school is very international- people from all over- the states, Japan, Israel, the UK, France…so the food was a mixture of everyone’s tastes and it was really neat to sample things that I have never had before. The kids put on a little performance singing some really cute songs – one fun Japanese Ghost song, and another one in English. Hanna ended up being a Hippy Girl, and she LOVED it and looked so cute! (Thank you Emma Filary!!)


Hanna with her class


Hanna with Ms. Tomoto and Ms. Carr-Barry