6 best Halloween events at theme parks in Japan

Tokyo Disneyland’s annual Halloween festivities are always highly anticipated. This year, the entire park will be decorated with Mickey Mouse-shaped pumpkins and ghosts.

The Haunted Mansion ride, specifically, is getting a Nightmare Before Christmas revamp as usual, with Jack Skellington featured throughout the ride. During the day, you’ll get to enjoy the 'Into the Frenzy' parade featuring Disney villains including Maleficent riding on floats decked out in spooky Halloween decor.

Over at the restaurants and shops, expect seasonal souvenirs featuring ghost Mickey, neon-green spooky Mickey and Friends plushies and a selection of Halloween-inspired dishes such as ghost dango dumplings, pumpkin-flavoured ice cream sundaes and maple pumpkin-flavoured churros. And yes, you’re welcome to dress up in full costume as your favourite Disney character this year.

Until October 31

Sanrio characters are dressing up as magicians this year for the amusement park's magic-themed PuroHalloween celebration. For the 20-minute Halloween parade, you'll find Hello Kitty, My Melody, Kuromi and friends transformed into wizards. You can catch the spectacle from the first floor or second-floor balcony at Puro Village.

You’ll also get to meet and greet Halloween versions of Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, Pompompurin and friends. Make sure you stick around for the illumination show. It’s inspired by Ojamajo Doremi, as the TV series is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Throughout this Halloween season, Sanrio Puroland’s food court is serving some appropriately themed food and drinks. There’s pitch-black Kuromi karaage fried chicken and cheese hamburg curry (¥1,600), turquoise blue Cinnamoroll magical curry with curly fried shrimp (¥1,600) and Pompompurin Halloween gentleman’s katsu curry, as well as sweet treats like a golden Pompompurin sweet potato mont blanc (¥950) and Milk’s rare cheese and choco-mint parfait (¥900).

Until November 4

There's lots to do at USJ's annual Halloween Horror Night extravaganza. During the day, you can enjoy a Pokemon dance party hosted by DJ Pikachu and DJ Gengar, alongside ghost-type Pokemon including Misdreavus, Banette and Mimikyu. 

Elsewhere in the park, popular characters like the Minions, Elmo and My Melody will also appear in Halloween costumes while staff hand out candies to children who say ‘trick or treat’. If you’re looking to get spooked, stay until sundown. That’s when the streets are swarming with zombies (from 6pm). These undead creatures will be putting on a dance show choreographed to J-pop band King Gnu’s latest hit.

USJ will have five Halloween-themed attractions this year. If you’re game for more jump scares, take on the Factory of Fear: Zombie Tour haunted house, Chucky's Carnival of Chaos as well as the Chainsaw Man 4D horror theatre. For something a little tamer, go for the Hollywood Dream ride, featuring a special Chainsaw Man and King Gnu collaboration.

Until November 3

This Nagasaki theme park boasts scenery that resembles an old Dutch town, complete with colourful houses and a canal. The grounds have started lighting up with autumn-themed illuminations to kick-off its Halloween festivities.

The Halloween decor is extensive. There are hundreds of jack-o-lanterns adorning the streets leading up to the Art Garden, where you’ll find Huis Ten Bosch’s main light display. Musicians wearing Halloween-coloured costumes are performing at various times of the day to set the mood. 

Children can enjoy a daytime Halloween parade with pumpkin floats featuring Miffy, and get treats from the staff by saying ‘trick or treat’. Adults, however, can enjoy the park's Haunted Halloween event until November 3, where you can encounter zombies roaming in the park and performing a dance after dark. If you’re looking for even more spooky ways to end the night, visit the Horror Garden maze attraction to escape the Messenger of Darkness.

Visitors on October 11-12 and November 1-2 will be treated to a special Halloween-themed fireworks display. You can catch the spectacular show from almost anywhere in the park.

Until November 3

This Halloween, Legoland gets taken over by creepy monsters like vampires, mummies and spiders. If you want to participate in Legoland's 'Candy Hunt', come dressed in costume and purchase the colourful pumpkin bucket (¥2,000, advance reservation or pass holders ¥1,500) to collect your treats.

This year, the Palace Cinema is screening ‘The Great Monster Chase’, a short 4D Halloween-themed Lego movie that runs for about 15 minutes. Don’t leave the theme park without trying some special Halloween food. There’s an eyeball chocolate mousse cake (¥800), mochi mummy dog (¥850) and more. 

For three nights only, Legoland will be open after sunset for its special Halloween Night on October 25 and 26. This means you can enjoy the park from 6pm to 9pm for just ¥2,000 (free for annual passport holders and those staying in the official hotel). The park’s attractions will take on a spookier theme and you can enjoy special workshops and evening shows that are exclusive to Halloween Night.

Until November 4

One of the three Sanrio theme parks in Japan, Harmonyland in Oita prefecture is celebrating the spooky season with Halloween-themed decorations, shows and food. For this occasion, popular Sanrio characters will dress up in Magical Masquerade-themed Halloween costumes for meet and greet. So you can expect to interact and take photos with My Melody, Kuromi, Hello Kitty and more. Cafés and restaurants within the park are serving exclusive meals like Pompompurin’s black keema curry hotdog (¥700), red karaage chicken (¥1,000), masquerade Hello Kitty curry (¥1,700) and the like.

If you’re here for just one thing, make it the Halloween-only Magical Masquerade – Excite live show at Harmony Village Theatre, featuring thrilling performances and characters decked out in glamorous masquerade costumes. The twenty-minute shows are held once a day at 3pm until November 4.

Until November 4