Enjoying Halloween in Japan and South Korea is similar, but also very different. Read more about Halloween decorations, snacks and goodies here.
After spending a few weeks marveling at Halloween decorations in Japan in 2018, I expected the same on my visit to South Korea a year later. Except the Halloween decorations were hard to find. Why?Â
Halloween decorations in Japan
I visited Japan from October 9th until October 25th. From the very first day in Fukuoka, Halloween decorations were present to add a celebratory feeling to the trip. I visited the island Kyushu in the south of Japan and ended my trip in Tokyo. All malls had shops offering many sweets and all kinds of snacks you don’t actually need. Patisseries had their own Halloween line of cakes and cookies. A Halloween KitKat, cocktails and ice creams in style, clothes, you name it. Outside the stores, pumpkins and skeletons could be found. It was a sight to behold. This was not only in Fukuoka and Tokyo but also in Nagasaki, Kagoshima and Miyazaki.
Even more interesting was that some of the stores in Tokyo began transitioning to selling Christmas ornaments in the last week of October: I remember spending looking for ornaments for my Christmas tree over Christmas 2017 in Seoul and returning home without them.
Flash-forward to October 2019 in South KoreaÂ
I spent September 29th till October 25th in South Korea, traveling around the country. I didn’t expect any Halloween decorations in the more rural areas, but I was looking forward to the spirit of Halloween in the bigger cities from the second week of October onwards.
The only ‘big’ city I visited in the first few weeks was Daegu. No Halloween there except for the occasional orange flags in some stores, usually the Daiso (a Japanese brand). It is possible Halloween decorations were added later. I had high expectations for Halloween in Seoul though as I would be going there after October 20.
During my stay in Seoul, stores started to decorate their storefronts. The food levels in department stores looked nice, approaching the more enthusiastic Japanese version of Halloween decorations. You could buy Halloween ice cream, coffee, cakes and snacks. Even though many stores did something to celebrate Halloween, it somehow felt like less because pre-Halloween started later. But the stores that went all-in aced it, as you can see in the pictures above.
Where to enjoy pre-Halloween in South Korea and Japan?
Maybe I don’t know the right places to look for Halloween and Christmas decorations and perhaps there’s this whole underground uber-Halloween go-to-location in South Korea; I just expected it to be more in my face.
I am in no way saying South Korea should decorate more; in my country, there are hardly any Halloween events or decorations to speak of. But the decorations are just so pretty to look at and I had high expectations after last year’s visit to Japan. On the other hand, when focusing on what’s really important: I had almost four weeks of blue sky in South Korea, while Japan’s wasn’t always as bright (even sinister at times, matching the spirit of Halloween). Priorities…
Do you know of any places with nice Halloween decorations? Let me know… maybe I’ll go there on my next visit.
Pin it for later
