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 Spooky Boo parade featuring floats decked out in cobwebs and pumpkins, and steered by characters dressed in ghost costumes.

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

Until October 31

Sanrio character and My Melody rival Kuromi is hosting Sanrio Puroland’s Halloween celebration this year, and she’s painting the theme park in her signature colours, black and purple. She’ll be leading a 20-minute Halloween parade featuring other Sanrio characters in adorable costumes. You can catch the spectacle from the first floor or second-floor balcony at Puro Village.

Don’t worry, you’ll also get to meet and greet Halloween versions of Hello Kitty, Cinnamoroll, Pom Pom Purin and friends. Make sure you stick around for the illumination show. It’s a collaboration between Kuromi and popular mobile game The Wizard’s Promise.

Throughout this Halloween season, Sanrio Puroland’s food court is serving some appropriately themed food and drinks. There’s a pitch-black Kuromi croquette curry (¥1,500) and black cheese burger (¥2,100), as well as sweet treats like a purple potato parfait (¥1,200) and colour-changing lemonade soda (¥880).

Until October 31

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. For the best seats in the house, you’ll have to purchase an additional ticket online for ¥1,500-¥1,900.

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 Japanese pop singer Ado's latest hit. 

USJ will have five Halloween-themed attractions this year. The main highlight is Universal Orlando’s famed Halloween Horror Night maze, which requires you to escape from Werewolf, Frankenstein and Dracula. If you’re game for more jump scares, continue on with the Biohazard-themed Survival Horror Maze, Chucky's Carnival of Chaos and Sadako’s Curse. For something a bit more tame, go on the Hollywood Dream ride which will feature the song ‘Show’ by Ado.

Until November 5

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

The good news is, the Halloween decor is being scaled up this year. There will be more than double the amount of illuminations plus 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 will be performing 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 very first Haunted Halloween event from October 8 to November 5, 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 Mission in Silence attraction to locate the whereabouts of a cursed painting.

Visitors on September 16, 17, October 28, November 3 and 4 will be treated to a special Halloween-themed fireworks display. You can catch the spectacular show from mostly anywhere in the park, but we recomment booking a reserved seat to get the best view. Tickets can be purchased online for ¥1,000 (¥2,000 for photographers) in advance.

Until November 5

This Halloween, Legoland gets taken over by creepy monsters like vampires, mummies and spiders. Complete the three spooky graveyard mazes filled with trick art and traps and you’ll receive an exclusive Halloween sticker, which allows you to partake in receiving sweet treats at the Candy Station. Even if you don’t have the sticker, you can still participate if you come dressed up in costume or purchase the colourful pumpkin bucket (¥1,000).

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 a skull caramel mousse (¥650), mochi mummy dog (¥600), ghost cake (¥650), eyeball soda (¥650), and more. 

For two nights only, Legoland will be open after sunset for its special Halloween Night on October 27 and 28. This means you can enjoy the park from 5.30pm to 8.30pm 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 5

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 special 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 Kuromi’s black keema curry hotdog (¥550), ghost Kitty cream pasta (¥1,500), dracula Kitty red soda (¥700) and the like.

If you like jump scares, stay until the evening for more horror-filled events starting at 6pm. In the Obaken Zombie Escape room, you have to find the antidote in the dark while running away from zombies. As for the Nightmare Hunt shooting game, you’ll be tasked with hunting down the killer clown Naughty.

Until October 31