Tokyo/Hong Kong —
More than 500,000 people march, walk, skateboard, and dance through Shibuya Crossing every day. As the busiest and most famous intersection in the world, it is an essential place for sightseeing in Tokyo.
Many places around the world aspire to create a “must-see” destination of this fame. But Shibuya, one of the city’s most popular neighborhoods, doesn’t want to be one of them.
Shibuya’s local government is trying to change the district’s fashionable reputation as complaints about the number of tourists and poor manners lead to clashes between residents and tourists.
This district has long been considered the ultimate place for young people to celebrate Halloween in Japan. In the early 2010s, Shibuya became popular with young families who wanted to dress their children in cute costumes. But adults also wanted to join in on the fun. In 2017, the neighborhood actively promoted “Shibhalo” as a community event.
Shibuya’s central location makes it popular with foreigners, and with over 1,000 registered hotels and other accommodations, the party has grown in size over the years.
Now, 10 years after “Shibuhallo,” many Shibuya residents want to put the genie back in the bottle.
Tokyo is made up of 23 small cities or wards, each with its own leaders, rules, and regulations. Ken Hasebe has been Shibuya Ward’s mayor since 2015, and Halloween celebrations have become the most important event of his administration.
This year, Shibuya is not promoting Shibuharo. They are promoting another slogan aimed at preventing public disorder: “Goodbye, Bad Halloween.”
After Japan reopened after the pandemic, tourism numbers skyrocketed and are continuing to grow. Mt. Fuji’s hiking trails, Niseko’s ski resorts and Nara’s deer park have all begun to decline under the weight of overtourism.
In 2025, Japan will welcome more than 40 million foreign tourists. This is approximately five times more than in 2012.
With the increase in travellers, cultural clashes and misunderstandings have become more common.
For example, tourists visiting Kyoto’s historic Gion district were frequently seen chasing, harassing, and photographing the city’s famous geishas, leading locals to coin the term “geisha paparazzi.” The city installed signs in multiple languages telling tourists to be polite around women, but not everyone heeded. Some residents took matters into their own hands by turning away misbehaving visitors or blocking private roads.
But in the capital, Halloween, a holiday associated with all things spooky and frightening, has become a real-life nightmare.
During Hasebe’s tenure as mayor, Shibuya’s Halloween celebrations went from a neighborhood gathering to an international event. With that came all sorts of new problems: public urination, noise complaints, broken bottles on the street, and damage to buildings.
In 2018, Hasebe welcomed visitors to the area but urged them to enjoy Halloween without bothering others.
Although there were some hiccups along the way, including a few arrests, Shibuya Ward’s polite request seemed effective in balancing a love of dressing up and having fun with respect for one’s neighbors. But on October 29, 2022, the stakes were even higher.
Two days before Halloween 2022, celebrations were in full swing in the hipster Itaewon district of Seoul, South Korea. About 100,000 people crowded into the neighborhood, creating a human traffic jam on the narrow streets. Then tragedy struck. It became a pressure point as more and more revelers tried to crowd into the popular alley. People began to fall, piled on top of each other, with no way to quickly escape. Some people were suffocating. Others were crushed. A total of 154 people, mostly Koreans in their 20s and 30s, died that night.
The Itaewon news shocked the world. Other cities began to wonder if similar disasters could occur in their cities. In Shibuya, Halloween festivities had already become a nuisance, but authorities realized they had more to worry about than empty bottles and loud music.
Mr. Hasebe wrote a public letter expressing his condolences over the Itaewon tragedy, adding, “The congestion around Shibuya Station on weekends has me worried that a similar accident may occur in Shibuya.”
Additionally, the mayor issued an official statement asking people not to come to Shibuya on Halloween. Approximately 15,000 people visited in 2023, but this was a significant decrease compared to the previous year’s approximately 60,000 people. The number of spectators in 2024 was approximately 20,000. Hasebe estimates that 70 to 80% of them are overseas travelers.
The government has been making gradual changes to Halloween week over the years. Examples include erecting a fence around the statue of the famous dog Hachiko, which allows people to line up for selfies, and asking local businesses not to sell alcohol. This year will be no exception, with additional security guards scheduled to be stationed at 10 locations around Shibuya over Halloween weekend.
But some Shibuya business owners say they are hurting financially by Halloween restrictions. Some complain that they face more trouble from local police than from would-be parties.
“In the early evening, there are more police cars and officers than people in costume,” one pub owner told CNN. She asked that her name not be used because she feared it would affect her business.
She added that her regular customers are Shibuya office workers who tend to go home early on Halloween to avoid chaos. She also said her restaurant, which is located in the neighborhood but off Main Street, has “never” been damaged by a Halloween party. Her biggest challenge is weaving her way through the crowds to get to Shibuya Station without missing the last train of the night, which leaves around midnight.
Some people feel that the restrictions are not enough.
Tatsuharu Suzuki, chairman of the bustling Center Gai shopping district, said there are “no penalties” although there are more rules in place, including a 2,000 yen ($13) fine for littering. Without strict enforcement, he says, there’s no reason for people to change their behavior.
Mr. Suzuki says he decided to work together with his fellow members of the association, rather than relying on Shibuya Ward’s assistance. “In the past, this area was unsafe and there were few rules. The association took action because they thought that if tourists moved away, the shopping district would cease to function. Since the shopping district acted first, the ward cooperated, and a united front was formed to protect the area.”
Currently, street cleaning in Center Gai is carried out every day, rain or shine, and crime prevention units patrol the area.
Shibuya Ward also closed some public restrooms and changing rooms in the station to prevent costumed parties from overtaking them. All-cap posters posted around the area urge “no loitering” and “no interfering.”
The ultimate goal for Suzuki is to return October 31st to just a normal day on the calendar. He told CNN that Halloween has already begun to decline in popularity among local Japanese people, and that fewer people are enthusiastic about it each year.
“People have reached a stage where they feel embarrassed to dress up.”
Mayor Hasebe, whose annual Halloween campaign focuses on encouraging good manners, is proposing an alternative. It’s about celebrating indoors.
