Sep 27, 2023

Find your Halloween Costume in Nagoya

Halloween is rapidly approaching, and we want to remind you that leaving your costume to the last minute, and dressing “as yourself” or “an ax murderer, because they look just like you and me,” isn’t as creative as you think it is.  Get your costume on in Nagoya!  Halloween was not really “a thing” in Japan previously, but more recently, they have been jumping on the ghoulish bandwagon.  If you plan to dress up for the season, here are a few places to start looking for your costume.

Don Quijote – (Discount Variety Store)

Don Quijote has everything you never knew you always wanted.  This selection includes costume items, and while the stock at each store is different, the overall company offers 1,400 costumes year-round and likely more during Halloween.  Besides a good selection of costume items, they have a truly fantastic selection of odds and ends that could be re-purposed for creating your own costume.

Multiple Locations
www.donki.com (en) 

Loft (Variety Store)

It is a great store and a fantastic place to kill a couple of hours, in addition to finding costumes and accessories.   There are many locations around Nagoya and Japan; choose one!

Multiple Locations
www.loft.co.jp/shoplist (JP) 

Tokyu Hands (Variety Store)

I found Tokyu Hands described as “the description-defying Tokyo institution that sells just about everything you could ever need and is loved by everyone who visits,” and I have a hard time arguing that.  It is a great store and a fantastic place to kill a couple of hours.  It is also a great place to pick up costumes and accessories. There are many locations around Tokyo and Japan; choose one!

www.tokyu-hands.co.jp (en)  

GEE! Store “Cospa”

COSPA Authentic Shop on the third floor of the GEE! Store is a great place to go if you are looking for “cosplay” style costumes.   From the website, “Our shop fully supports cosplayers, from beginners to those who hand-make their costumes! We offer an extensive range of products needed for cosplay, including costumes, knee-high socks, wigs, makeup, accessories, dyeing tools, and materials for hand-making items.”

3F, GEE! STORE NAGOYA, 3 Chome-11-34 Osu,
Naka Ward, Nagoya, Aichi 460-0011
Map Link

www.cospa.com/ nagoya
www.geestore.com/ nagoya  

Animate Nagoya

The Animate store is small, but it features a good collection of books and magazines, character goods, music, and movies.  You can find some costume items here.

18-4 Tsubakicho Nakamura Ward,
Nagoya, Aichi 453-0015

Map Link
www.animate.co.jp
アニメイト名古屋
Animate Nagoya  

Village Vanguard

Village Vanguard is billed as Japan’s “Exciting Book Store,” and it lives up to it.  If uncomfortable surrounded by an incredibly eclectic collection of goods displayed in what can only be described as organized chaos, this is not the store for you.  If you are looking for incredibly random stuff, like costume parts and masks(!), this IS the store for you. There are many locations around Tokyo and Japan; choose one!

Google Map link
www.village-v.co.jp 

100 Yen Shops

One hundred yen stores offer a wide variety of goods to solve little problems you never realized you had, and often the items on offer are of a very similar quality to those available in much more expensive grocery or hardware stores.  When looking for costume items, a 100 yen store can be invaluable.  There are tons of these around and likely one near you now.

Google Maps Link 

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Halloween Costumes Online

Amazon

Amazon does not need much of an explanation.  Check the links below for a quick browse through their selection.

Search for “costume” in Japanese
Search for “Costume”

Rakuten

Rakuten does not need much of an explanation.  Just in case, though, Rakuten is the Japanese equivalent of Amazon.  Check the links below for a quick browse through their selection.

Search for “cosplay”
Search for “Costume”

HJS

HJS is a bit on the risque side of things, but depending on what you are looking for, it may just fit the bill.  They offer cosplay, schoolgirl, and maid outfits for the most part, but the selection is large and well worth a visit to the website.

mia.shop-pro.jp (JP)

Photo by Danny Choo from Tokyo, Japan (Kawasaki Halloween) [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons