Kawasaki Halloween Project 2005

By Chris Carlier

The biggest and coolest Halloween event in the Tokyo area (outside of Disneyland, natch) is in Kawasaki, one stop south of Shinagawa on the JR Tokaido line. The annual ?Kawasaki Halloween Project?, which takes place around the La Citadella entertainment complex over the final weekend of October, features all kinds of freaky festive shenanigans. The highlight, however, is undoubtedly the Sunday afternoon parade, when a multitude of costumed bohemians descend upon the area and march like crazed escapees from hell up and down the high street. The folks of Kawasaki aren?t easily shocked (they already have to put up with an annual spring fertility festival featuring a ten-foot pink penis), but the sight of masses of weirdos dressed as vampires, witches and monsters certainly raises a few eyebrows.

It?s lots of fun, and not exclusive - there seem to be more people participating in the parade than watching it. Anyone with a costume can join in and simply follow the garishly decorated floats playing pounding trance and techno music. Unlike parades in the West, few kids are involved here (unless you count the Harajuku teenagers in gothic outfits, swigging chu-hi). The festival has a decadent, adult flavor, more like a mad Mardis-Gras than a Sunday afternoon family outing, and this is reflected in the outrageous costumes. There is a willful disregard for taste, with fishnets, piercings, surgical stitching and fake blood vying for attention with Star Wars Stormtrooper helmets and Hello Kitty outfits.

Prizes are given for the best costumes - the more original and imaginative the better. Be warned, though: some of these people put a lot of time and effort into their get-ups, so if you show up as a ghost with a sheet over your head, or as the ubiquitous toilet-paper mummy (there?s always one), prepare to be totally upstaged. If you want to participate in the costume contest, you'll need to register beforehand on the parade website (see below).

The parade starts at 14:00 outside the Cinecitta movie theater, and ends there a couple of hours later. Afterwards, the fun continues with an after-party in Kawasaki?s popular venue/nightclub, Club Citta, meaning you can do the monster mash until late with all them costumed folk. Hey, where else can you see Winnie the Pooh dancing with an axe-wound victim, without the help of powerful hallucinogens?

Other events planned for the ?Kawasaki Halloween Project? include live music and DJ performances in Club Citta from Saturday 29th to Monday 31st and special late-night screenings of classic horror movies at Cinecitta.

Details:
For up-to-date information, check http://lacittadella.co.jp/halloween/

La Cittadella
4-1 Ogawamachi, Kawasaki-ku
Kawasaki City
(044) 223-2333

Access: From Shinjuku, take the JR Yamanote line to Shinagawa Stn, then the JR Tokaido line to Kawasaki Stn. La Cittadella is in the same building as Saikaya Department Store, about 5 minutes from the station - just follow the freaks.

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