Kawasaki, near Tokyo, is host to a number of eccentric festivals and events, including the notorious Kanamara festival in April (where folk carry a giant pink penis statue down the street.) This month sees the return of Kawasaki’s annual Halloween festival, the highlight being a wild street parade on October the 28th, featuring some of most insanely outlandish costumes you’ve ever seen. An eclectic array of costumed freaks, from Pikachu to Freddy Krueger, hit the streets of downtown Kawasaki and follow floats blasting out pounding techno tunes, much to the horror and amusement of bewildered bystanders.
Below are some photos I took of the parade over the last couple of years and here’s a review of 2005′s event.



























The parade starts at 2PM on October the 28th, at Kawasaki’s Cittadella complex. Other events include a screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and a potentially hilarious “70s/80s Dancing Party Halloween Special” on the 27th.
Learn more at the official website.
Freaky.
It was hard to work out which of the masks you were behind.
I’m not in any of them! I’d probably make a good Frankenstein, though.
Very cool. Looks like a lot of fun!
[...] http://gaijintonic.com/2007/10/12/kawasaki-halloween-festival-2007/ [...]
Awesome! I live in Kawasaki and didn’t know about this. I’m definitely going to check it out this year.
Yeah, it’s definitely worth going along!
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Fantastic post, thanks a lot for the info – I don’t usually like to add comments in these things but enjoyed this post. Keep up the good work, I favorited your site!
Love Ozzfest. Love Ozzy!
hey i have been reading your blog for about a week now! great stuff. keep up the good work!
[...] If you want to see some eye-poppingly inventive costumes, I highly recommend checking out the Halloween parade at Kawasaki’s Citadella area on Sunday the 31st. Some of the more incredible costumes could only have been made by professional prosthetic make-up artists. The parade itself is more like a deranged gay Mari-Gras than a family festival, and involves a horde of hedonistic costumed revellers staggering after floats blasting out psychedelic trance music, to the bemusement of passing Sunday shoppers. Here are some pics from a previous year. [...]
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I really love getting dressed up for a showing of the Rocky Horror Picture. I remember high school dances and the fun we had. It’s great to see this classic continue to be so popular.
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It always amazes me how creative some people are at Halloween. How much fun would it be to to decked out like these costumes?
It truly is refreshing to hear an individual else say that! Thanks.
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