Japan has no shortage of year-end traditions — but not all the ones you’re used to. On Christmas Day the banks and markets are all open, and people largely go about their regular routines. This isn’t to say, of course, that Christmas and New Year’s aren’t celebrated....
The Halloween traditions that Westerners know so well officially came to Japan in 2000, when Disneyland Tokyo held its first-ever Halloween event. Universal Studios in Osaka soon followed, and the Japanese quickly embraced the opportunity to dress up. While...