Japan Top 10

Japan has embraced Halloween wholeheartedly. Stores bring out the Halloween displays in August and Halloween decorations start appearing already in September, even though the summer heat has not subsided yet.

But the Halloween decorations, apart from pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks, are the only things there is. Japan has taken the decorative part of Halloween to heart, but they have not embraced the social aspect. Trick or treating is something Americans do in the movies – it does not happen in Japan.

You would be right to wonder why when you see the stores flowing over with Halloween candies. If there is one thing more popular than Halloween decorations, it is candy. Maybe it helps that Japanese children eat less candy than kids in other countries, or maybe it is the grownups that snap them up, but Halloween candy is selling like hotcakes. Maybe Japan is full of sugar vampires.

So it should not come as a surprise that inventive manufacturers seek to combine the decorations and the candies, and where better to start where the candies come out?

This years Halloween novelty is Halloween themed toilet paper, using two popular children’s TV characters done up to be scary. But that is not the scariest part. It is that the toilet tissue is candy-scented. Yes, it smells like a mix of gummi bears and jelly beans.

Now, the wait for Christmas is going to be unbearable. What scent does Santa use?