Halloween stirs imagination in costume-loving Japan

By Sophie Hardach

TOKYO (Reuters) - A handful of giggling Japanese women wearing devil's horns and cat costumes gather under a giant neon-orange pumpkin outside a Tokyo shopping mall.

A Halloween street party?

"Ah, no, this is cosplay," says 20-year-old Saori, referring to costume role-play, or the Japanese past-time of dressing up as their favourite animation movie character.

"Halloween is different," Saori says, giggling as she tugs at her hooded cape with cat ears.

The cult around fancy dress, and Japan's love of quirky festivals and eccentric trends in general, may go towards explaining why Halloween has turned from an obscure foreign celebration into a popular cultural event here.

"Japanese wear suits every day, so at the weekend they like to be different," says Saori's friend Akiko.

The two point the way to the real Halloween party, which is taking place a few streets away. Amid inflatable ghosts and pumpkins in all shapes and sizes, hundreds of spectators crowd around a singer wearing a pumpkin-shaped hat.

In fact, the street party in Kawasaki, on the outskirts of Tokyo, is just a warm-up to Halloween on October 31.