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As we’ve discussed earlier, Japan has been really getting into the Halloween spirit as the years go on. However, there are still a few Halloween traditions that aren’t easy to carry out. While Japan loves any excuse to cosplay, you still won’t find many, if any, children going door-to-door in their neighborhood begging for candy come October 31. You can, of course, find good ole orange pumpkins in Japan for some Japanese-style Jack o’ lantern carving, but they aren’t available everywhere and can be quite expensive. Japanese pumpkins (kabocha), on the other hand, are too meaty and tough to elegantly cut designs out of. So what’s a Halloween-loving resident of Japan to do? Decorate persimmons, of course!

Persimmons are the quintessential autumn fruit in Japan, and can be found not only in stores, but on trees in neighborhoods all over the country. Traditionally eaten dried or straight off the branch depending on the type, they’ve now found a new use: Halloween Jack o’ lanterns. Let’s take a look at a few smiling persimmons from across Japan:

https://twitter.com/roi_du_poisson/status/527031175508807680

https://twitter.com/MAAYA_Quince/status/527305507120230401

https://twitter.com/hiroka_chapo/status/525266337501675521

https://twitter.com/frygon811/status/527298979394891776

https://twitter.com/narumaru32/status/522005992116985857/

https://twitter.com/caponyan/status/522705498496192512/

Some intrepid netizens attempted to actually carve their persimmon, just like folks in the West do with pumpkins:

https://twitter.com/dai___315/status/527003388701995008/

https://twitter.com/hirona2706/status/523082352725991424/

And a few managed to actually carve those notoriously tough green kabocha:

https://twitter.com/39_ymym/status/524198616974368768

Whether you carved a pumpkin, kabocha, or persimmon, we hope you have a happy and safe Halloween!

Source: Naver Matome
Featured image: Twitter (altobraver)