In Japan, there are a series of holidays from late April to early May which they call it as “Golden Week”. During Golden Week, many companies are closing to let their employees to have a long nice rest and many Japanese people are going off for long vacation. So during this period of time, leisure-based industries will be very busy and all flights and hotel rooms will be fully booked!
The Golden Week kicks off in April 30th which is Greenery Day until the 5th of May where the Japanese celebrates Children’s Day. A specific Golden Week holidays are listed below, cited from Wikipedia:
Golden Week
April 29
- Emperor’s Birthday (天皇誕生日, Emperor’s Birthday), until 1988
- Greenery Day, or Nature Day (みどりの日, Midori no hi), from 1989 until 2006
- Shōwa Day (昭和の日, Shōwa no hi), from 2007
May 3
- Constitution Memorial Day (憲法記念日, Kenpō kinenbi)
May 4
- holiday† (国民の休日, Kokumin no kyūjitsu), from 1985 until 2006
- Greenery Day, or Nature Day (みどりの日, Midori no hi) (from 2007)
May 5
- Children’s Day (こどもの日, Kodomo no hi), also customarily known as Boys’ Day (端午の節句, Tango no sekku).
Many Japanese take paid time off on the intervening work days, but some companies also close down completely and give their employees time off. Golden week is the longest vacation period of the year for many Japanese jobs. According to P. Sean Bramble, the author of CultureShock! Japan:
The Golden Week is always gorgeous: warm sunshine and without any oppressive humidity. Many people if they take a vacation at all, will take it as this time, with the result being that public transport is clogged with vacationers and air ticket prices increase dramatically.
So, I think if want to travel to Japan, it is better to avoid this period of time because the streets of Japan is flooded with vacationers and no more hotel rooms available! To know how is 2008’s Golden Week and 2009’s Golden Week locate in the calendar, you can visit the Japan Guide’s article on Golden Week.
Finally, Happy Golden Week to all Japanese people out there!
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