Shibuya Is Spending Millions to Make Sure Halloween Doesn’t Happen on Its Streets

Tokyo’s Shibuya ward is again trying to keep Halloween off its streets. SoraNews24 reports a campaign called Goodbye Bad Halloween aimed at nuisance behavior such as street drinking and smoking, littering, noise and blocking pedestrians for costume photos. Halloween falls on Saturday, October 31, and the ward expects about 18,000 people at peak times in Shibuya Center Gai, up from 4,200 last year, though still far below the roughly 40,000 seen in 2019.

Travelers should know the rules. Street drinking is banned year-round in designated areas around the station from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m., and on Halloween night 62 nearby retailers have been asked not to sell alcohol during those hours. Littering carries a 2,000-yen fine. The Hachiko statue, a popular meeting place, will be fenced off from 6 a.m. on October 30 through November 1, and LUUP and Lime scooter services near Shibuya Station are suspended from 5 p.m. on October 30 to 5 a.m. on October 31.

Enforcement is heavier than in the past. Patrols have grown from three teams of three to five teams of seven, supported by a large police presence, 185 private security guards and 70 ward employees. The ward is budgeting about 74 million yen, roughly 468,000 dollars, with most of it earmarked for station-area safety. Mayor Ken Hasebe has urged visitors to celebrate at events run by shopping streets, commercial facilities and clubs instead of on the streets.

Foreign visitors are a large part of the picture. Last year the mayor estimated that most costumed visitors were foreign tourists, and the ward posts warnings in several languages. The simplest approach for travelers is to plan your Halloween evening at a venue rather than at the crossing, expect station detours, and keep alcohol for indoors. A good costume is welcome in Tokyo, but the crowd control around it is serious.

Sources: SoraNews24, Japan Travel News