Part 6: Grocery Stores
Grocery stores in Japan have set up Halloween displays, too.
Marue, Kanazawa
I think this is a result of manufacturers driving the Halloween market: they make Halloween goods and promotional banners, as we see in this display of Halloween candies and snack foods at Marue, so the grocery stores create displays to house said goods.
"On Halloween, people carve lanterns out of pumpkins and children dress as monsters and witches. They say "Trick or Treat" while knocking on the doors in the doors of the neighborhood and get sweets!" Marue, Kanazawa
Here we have another instance of an explanation of what Halloween is.
Apita, Kanazawa
Here we have a sign for Wakayama persimmons in a spooky font with a jack-o-lantern. Apita doesn’t sell orange pumpkins, but I thought the visual of the orange persimmons and orange pumpkin was nice.
"Halloween Party! For gatherings and for fun people"
Haagen Daaz has a pumpkin pudding fall flavor. None of the other flavors on the sign (strawberry, vanilla, matcha) are Halloween-related.
"Halloween Desserts!" Apita, Kanazawa
Slices of kabocha roll cake and kabocha choux creme.
Kabocha pudding and Mont Blancs with Halloween packaging.
Halloween roll cakes in chocolate, chestnut, and milk.
Though anything can become Halloween-themed with the right packaging, like chocolate or matcha, especially given their colors, the favorite still seems to be kabocha. Ironically, kabocha’s thick flesh and tough skin make it terrible for carving as jack-o-lanterns, though they aren’t terrible for cutting up for meals and also lack the orange pumpkin’s strange smell when raw. Plus, the skin is edible when cooked. I guess calling all of these goods kabocha-flavored is easier for Japanese people to understand–using the name of a native squash instead of a katakanaized word for a squash most people have never eaten or possibly never seen in person. They aren’t the same thing, but I guess the flavor is close enough and that it’s better to eat local.
I should also note that this weekend marked the start of the Christmas displays at Lupicia and in the home decor sections of a number of stores.
Stay tuned for more Halloween in Japan!
More “Documenting Halloween in Japan”
Part One: Pumpkin Cheesecake Kit Kats
Part Two: Halloween is for Engagement?
[...] Comments « Documenting Halloween in Japan (6) [...]
Yes, it seems to me that Halloween in marketing is really picking up in recent years. My local station in Minato-ku, Osaka, was decked out with kawairashii Halloween decorations for the month of October this year.
Colonel Sanders seems to be managing Christmas in Japan pretty well. Who knows, we may end up seeing a KFC Halloween Party Barrel before long.
Great series!
Matt
Thanks for reading and for your comment! The Colonel as a pumpkin or a witch would be pretty fun…. If Christmas is Christmas cake and KFC and Valentine’s Day is reshaped chocolates, I wonder what the Japanese official Halloween dish will be?