Trick or Treat

Halloween really isn't celebrated here, but it does have a tiny presence, mainly in stores:

I recently bought a thermos from starbucks and the gal ran out to show me the options, which included holiday-themed ones. She was having so much fun giggling and saying "Trick or Treat", I almost felt bad for getting the plain white one.
Much more common are the general autumn-themed decorations. Here is the menu window at my university cafeteria. The brown baby porcupines are apparently chestnuts (I had no idea they looked like that) which they call marrons, after the french. Lots of marron-flavored desserts this time of year.

I have been on the lookout for Halloween decorations on people's homes. There are only a few discreet decorations here and there, mostly on houses where some children live.

But I have been told that kids do not dress up and actually go trick or treating here. I think they do learn the term when they are in elementary school during English class. I guess the teacher keeps a bag of candy and has them come up one at a time and say the phrase to collect a treat.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to see a table full of japanese undergrads in costumes at the cafeteria on Friday. There were several cats, maybe sort of a zombie, and the character from a Nightmare Before Christmas. And then last night while we were coming home from dinner we saw these two Care Bears waiting for the train. Halloween in Tokyo.