Obake Family Day

What gives scary movies their creep factor? It’s Foley sound effects artists who make doors squeak, monsters chomp, and thunderstorms boom and crackle. This special event features Oscar-nominated animated films with a live sound effects performance by a Foley artist right in the theater. Goro Koyama and Joanna Fang, internationally recognized Foley artists for movies such as Disney’s upcoming Mary Poppins Returns and Manchester by the Sea, will teach you the art of making spooky sounds using everyday objects! For children of all ages with parental supervision.

Animated films shown during the performance:

Possessions (13 min, 2013 Oscar-nominated Short Film) Directed by Shuhei Morita. A lost samurai is caught in a storm and seeks shelter in a seemingly abandoned house, only to find a succession of bizarre household objects come to life. Scary rating: 2 (out of 5)

Danemon Ban—The Monster Exterminator (10 min, 1935) Directed by Yoshitaro Kataoka. Danemon Ban attempts to rid a haunted castle of spooks. Scary rating: 2 (out of 5)

Children enter a classic Japanese Haunted House to discover some of Japan’s most famous ghosts and goblins — a ghost (yurei) in the graveyard, the long neck woman (rokurokubi) and a one-eyed boy (hitotsume kozo) who scares children by making his enormous eye glow and sticking out his long tongue! For children ages 4+, requires parental supervision.

Enjoy fun Japanese festival games at yatai vendor booths such as wanage (ring toss) superball scooping, shateki (rubber band flinging) and senbonbiki (pull a string to get a mystery gift) and win prizes! For children of all ages with parental supervision.

Join a storyteller in the Kaidan Hyaku-Monogatari (“100 Ghost Stories”) tradition. As each tale is told, candles are extinguished one by one to create an eerie atmosphere where an obake might just appear. For children ages 3+ with parental supervision as some stories might be scary.

Create the ultimate selfie with our Halloween-themed 3D Trick Art photobooth! A popular phenomenon in Japan, trick art is large-scale works of art that seemingly add a third dimension, which the audience can enter and interact with. For children of all ages with parental supervision.

Candy 5, a trained amezaiku artist, will entertain and mesmerize audiences by creating amazing ghost and goblin-shaped candy for children! Amezaiku is a traditional Japanese candy craft in which an artist shapes multi-colored taffy into incredible, edible sculptures. For children of all ages with parental supervision.

Decorate your own o-men paper mask and change your appearance into a demon, fox or whatever character you like this Halloween! An o-men mask lets you take on the character of another person, animal or spirit and is traditionally used as part of theater performances, festivals or cultural events in Japan. For children of all ages with parental supervision.

Create your own frightful soundtrack to movies using everyday objects at this hands-on station. Make and take home your own spooky sound effects! For children ages 3+ with parental supervision.