Halloween in Chayamachi

October 12, 2014

So with it being October now, one of the first things I typically think of in this time of year is, HALLOWEEN! Back home, Halloween was always something to look forward to because I really enjoy costumes and partying with all my friends in them! Now being that I'll be spending this Halloween in Japan, I wasn't sure how the holiday was going to play out. Luckily for me, this holiday is starting to be bigger here with Halloween events, Halloween apparel sold in shops, Halloween themed menus and desserts, and more and more young people dressing up and going out. This past weekend, my friend Norie invited me out to a small event going on in Osaka. I quickly accepted being that I saw it as an opportunity to wear something different.

So as the weekend slowly crept up, I got ready for the event by making my own cat ears. I saw some at the store but being that they were ugly, I figured I just do the most practical thing and make my own. I wanted to dress as a black cat. It would be recognizable and also not too crazy for a Sunday afternoon. After attending Sunday mass, I quickly rushed home, threw on my black cat apparel, ears, lipstick, and headed to Osaka. It was funny riding the train and walking through the streets. I've never felt so many eyes on me! But it was a pretty cool feeling. ^.^

When I met up with Norie and her boyfriend, Issei, they immediately started laughing and was shocked that I was wearing my outfit on the train and the whole ride to the city. I find that many Japanese people are still a bit shy when it comes to being "out there" but it made things entertaining for me. Our first stop was a cosmetic shop. Norie had wanted to get some free face art done with the new liquid eyeliner that was featured but when we arrived there the person doing the face art was on lunch. The task was pretty easy to do so I took it upon myself to give Norie some cool Halloween face art. They were both impressed! Once we were looking a little bit more Halloween-y we headed to the Chayamachi area in which the Loft store was sponsoring an event open to the public.

When we arrived, we saw many contestants in costumes awaiting the upcoming contest. Norie had told me that these were college students and that they were all part of an art university or something. Some of the costumes I was actually impressed with but some I was confused as to why they were there.

Before the contest actually started, we walked around the area grabbing free goodies like face painting, balloons, desserts, and goodie bags because we had costumes on. A typhoon is scheduled to come into this area around this time but thankfully the weather was nice and breezy. Strolling around in a costume and body paint with a balloon tied to my belt loop made me feel like a kid. It was great!

Once the contest started, we headed back to the stage to check it out. The first place winner would win the equivalent to $1,000 USD and second place $500 USD. When watching the contestants go up, I was really confused by some. Many of them didn't even really perform their costume on stage but awkwardly walked around. It was embarrassing for some of the rankings that hte judges gave but honestly I would of been much more tough. I wasn't the only one confused, so were Norie and Issei. But out of the awkward bunch, there were some that I thought were cool or interesting but it was nothing I hadn't seen before.

By the end of the event, the three of us had seen nearly everything there was to see, gotten all our free goodies, taken a bunch of silly pictures, and even walked at the end of the small parade for a bit. The contest winners ended up being a couple of girls who's product looked like some fairy mystical creatures in prom dresses. When I asked Norie why they had won versus some of the other contestants, she said the judges said they liked that the face was actually done with make up and not a mask that was attached to the face. A weak reason in my book but congratulations to them.

For dinner we headed to this fancy food court and shared a few things. Thankfully, Monday was a holiday and staying out and having a drink would do me no harm. When we finished the yummy meal, Issei suggested to take pirikura pictures to end the day.

I always enjoy spending time in the city especially with good friends like Norie and Issei (also thanks for some of the photos!!). So thankful for the dry weather, fun event, and great company. I'm really looking forward to actual Halloween night now! Stay tuned for that!!

xx
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