News
Shibuya fences off Hachiko and closes roads for Halloween, 30 October to 1 November
Shibuya will enclose the Hachiko statue from 6am on Friday 30 October, close roads around the station on Friday and Saturday evenings and ask 62 shops not to sell alcohol on the 31st. Shinjuku restricts street drinking in parts of Kabukicho that night. What changes for visitors.
By Spike Travel Editorial Desk, Editorial team
Published Oct 25, 2026. 2 min read
What you need to know
- Shibuya City will enclose the Hachiko statue from 6am on Friday 30 October until the morning of Sunday 1 November (planned), and suggests seeing it on or before Thursday 29 October.
- Roads around Shibuya Station close to vehicles from about 4pm on Friday 30 October to early Saturday, and from about 4pm on Saturday 31 October to early Sunday. Parking meters near the station cannot be used all day.
- Drinking in the street is banned in Shibuya's restricted area from 6pm to 5am all year, and 62 shops there are asked not to sell alcohol from 6pm on 31 October to the next morning.
- Luup and Lime e-scooter and e-bike ports around Shibuya Station close from 5pm to 5am on 30 and 31 October, and the smoking areas close.
- In Shinjuku, drinking in the street is restricted in parts of Shinjuku 3-chome and Kabukicho 1-chome from 5pm on 31 October to 5am on 1 November.
- Shibuya has fined litterers ¥2,000 since June 2026.
The Hachiko statue outside Shibuya Station will be fenced off from 6am on Friday 30 October until the morning of Sunday 1 November, Shibuya City said on 21 October, and the ward suggests visiting it on or before Thursday 29 October instead. The times may change on the day. The ward expects crowds as large as 2024's, when Center Gai peaked at about 20,000 people, the Mainichi Shimbun reported. Rain held 2025's peak to about 4,500.
In Shibuya
Roads around the station close to vehicles from about 4pm on Friday 30 October until early on Saturday, and again from about 4pm on Saturday 31 October until early on Sunday, the ward's bulletin says, with checkpoints from 4pm on Friday until early Sunday as needed. Parking meters near the station cannot be used all day. Press pens go up from 5pm on Saturday to 1am on Sunday, and the ward warns that the crowds may disrupt trains and buses.
Drinking in streets, parks and other public places in the ward's restricted area has been banned from 6pm to 5am all year since October 2024. For the night of 31 October, the ward is asking 62 shops in that area not to sell alcohol from 6pm until the next morning, and plans about 60 security staff on the night of the 30th and about 125 on the 31st, the Mainichi Shimbun reported. Littering has carried a ¥2,000 fine since June.
Luup and Lime will close their e-scooter and e-bike ports around the station from 5pm to 5am on both nights, and the smoking areas will close, Nikkei reported.
In Shinjuku
Shinjuku City restricts drinking in the street in parts of Shinjuku 3-chome and Kabukicho 1-chome from 5pm on Saturday 31 October to 5am on Sunday 1 November, and asks shops in the area not to sell alcohol over that period.
If you are in Tokyo that weekend
Pick a meeting point other than Hachiko, and leave extra time for trains through Shibuya and Shinjuku on Friday and Saturday evenings. If you plan to shop in Shibuya on Sunday 1 November, Japan's new tax-free rules start that day: you pay the tax at the till and claim it back at the airport, as our guide to the refund method explains.
Sources
Where the facts on this page come from. Dates show when we last checked each one.
- Shibuya City: Temporary enclosure around the Hachiko statue and press areas during Halloween (21 October 2026)accessed Oct 25, 2026
- Shibuya City: Traffic restrictions during Halloween (ward bulletin, 15 October 2026)accessed Oct 25, 2026
- Shibuya City: Ordinance banning drinking in public places, 6pm to 5am all year since 1 October 2024accessed Oct 25, 2026
- Mainichi Shimbun: Shibuya says no to a nuisance Halloween, ¥74 million for two days of measures (1 October 2026)accessed Oct 25, 2026
- Nikkei: Shibuya repeats its Halloween measures, with e-scooter ports closed (30 September 2026)accessed Oct 25, 2026
- Shinjuku City: Halloween 2026 (street-drinking restriction in Shinjuku 3-chome and Kabukicho 1-chome)accessed Oct 25, 2026
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