Halloween....and more!

Ten years ago, the Japanese did not recognize Halloween.  Times have changed and the retail marketers have realized the potential.  In department stores you see Halloween decorations and various products with a Halloween theme.  While it is a burgeoning opportunity, it is not on the scale of the US yet.  They don't go door to door to "Trick or Treat" off base.  On base, however, it is pretty amazing.  The time to "trick or treat" is scheduled by the base commander and ran from 6p to 8p this year.  Many of the American kids went about the neighborhood collecting candy.  We had about 8 lbs of candy on hand and thought that would cover it.  What was amazing was that the American kids invited Japanese kids.  A lot of Japanese kids.  It was pretty much a constant flow of witches, ghosts and goblins at our door saying "trick or treat" and "happy halloween" in thick Japanese accents.  It was great!  We ran out of candy at 7:45p and had to turn out the light and close the door.  Maddie dressed as a 50's girl and had a great time.  The photo below is from a party at a neighbor's house.

The next day, Nov. 1st we went to the Naval base in Atsugi to see some live outdoor music.  It was an absolutely beautiful day.  The first band was a local band called Middle of the Road that included one of our new friends on vocals.  They were great but the crowd was sparse.   The next band was called Vinyl Soul and were very good with songs in English and Spanish.  The next band was wildly amusing.  It was a Japanese James Brown tribute band.  They were surprisingly fun and had an incredible amount of energy.   The crowd was really growing by now and most of them were dancing with the band.  Vanessa really liked them and got funky.  Finally the main event, an American rock band, SmashMouth, played for us.  They were extremely loud so we had to move back away from the stage.  Maddie and I had a great time dancing and goofing around while they played.  In addition to some of their hit songs (like "I'm a Believer" remake) they played some really good Van Halen tunes.  Here's a few photos (click to enlarge):