NATIONAL
This is Halloween ... in 2020 Tokyo
Despite Shibuya Ward officials’ pleas, crowds of revelers — with and without masks — converge for a costume street party
![A large crowd of people gather in Tokyo's Shibuya for Halloween on Saturday. | RYUSEI TAKAHASHI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/np_file_48073-scaled.jpeg)
By RYUSEI TAKAHASHI
Staff writer
Annual Halloween festivities in Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward are known to attract revelry and rabble rousing to a degree unseen in a typically docile city. This year — though the atmosphere was noticeably tame compared to previous years — massive crowds gathered Saturday night in the capital’s popular district despite fears that public celebrations during an ongoing pandemic could trigger a cluster of novel coronavirus infections. In an effort to convince as many people as possible to stay home, Shibuya Ward collaborated with local artists to organize and host a number of online events, including a game in which users can create an avatar and experience a music festival in virtual Shibuya. But the crowds in real Shibuya on Saturday were sizable. Owing to the incubation period of COVID-19 and the time it often takes for symptoms to appear — if they appear at all — it won’t be clear for at least another week or two whether Halloween celebrations helped the virus spread further.![RYUSEI TAKAHASHI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/5-DSC_2650.jpg)
![RYUSEI TAKAHASHI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/6-DSC_2450.jpg)
![TOMOHIRO OSAKI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/5-DSC_0429.jpg)
![RYUSEI TAKAHASHI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/2-DSC_2847.jpg)
![TOMOHIRO OSAKI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/4-DSC_0583.jpg)
![RYUSEI TAKAHASHI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/x-DSC_2610.jpg)
![TOMOHIRO OSAKI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/3-DSC_0325.jpg)
![RYUSEI TAKAHASHI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/np_file_48075.jpeg)
![RYUSEI TAKAHASHI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/DSC_2479.jpg)
![TOMOHIRO OSAKI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/7-DSC_0580.jpg)
![RYUSEI TAKAHASHI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/DSC_2510.jpg)
![TOMOHIRO OSAKI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1-a-DSC_0882.jpg)
![TOMOHIRO OSAKI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/6-DSC_0546.jpg)
![TOMOHIRO OSAKI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/10-DSC_0895.jpg)
![TOMOHIRO OSAKI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/8-DSC_0665.jpg)
![RYUSEI TAKAHASHI](https://www.japantimes.co.jphttps://cdn-japantimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/1-DSC_2860.jpg)