#006 Timing to avoid travelling in Japan
When the Japanese all travel simultaneously and flock to places.
"Golden Week", which is a Japanese English word may sound very strange, but it is a very important period of time for Japanese people since national holiday concentrates for a short period of time. The Japanese working environment has changed dramatically in a couple of decades, but still, it is difficult to take longer holidays like Western people. So, four national holidays in seven days mean a lot of Japanese. A combination of national holidays and weekends provide you a good chance of taking long holiday up to 10 consecutive days off.
On the other hand, this is the best moment to enjoy a cool green in the mountains. It’s a bit late in Tokyo, but if you go out of the city you will enjoy the most. In this newsletter I will write about what you will expect and what you should be aware of if you plan to travel in Japan this time of the year.
It was the first time in three years Japanese people could move without any restrictions during this long holiday due to pandemic. There have been lots of places which number of visitors increase rapidly this year. There were lots of congestion on major highways, bullet trains with full of passengers, you name it. But the last year and the year before pictures were entirely different. I would say that situation hasn’t recovered completely before the pandemic, but the movement of people is picking up.
As I said, it is the best time to go out and enjoy the fresh green. Trees begin to sprout new shoots and it is so impressive to see against the sunlight. Mountains sprout and you can’t help going out. But please stop and think. It is the best, but also the worst timing to go out. It is a long holiday season. People take days off at the same time and flock to places.
Japanese holiday seasons are when you should avoid colliding with your visit to Japan. Imagine that you will be traveling with mass crowds to your destinations, and you will end up with seeing these crowds when you reach your destinations. I don’t advise you to go anywhere and anytime when you would like to use your precious time if you want to get away your normality. It is so embracing to take photos in crowds trying to avoid people in the same frame.
Costs for accommodation and transportation rise and your satisfaction level of travel will go down. Most of overseas travelers will visit Kyoto, but lots of Japanese tourists rush to Kyoto at the same time. So the followings are tips to avoid all congestion.
Check the calendar before planning your trip, i.e. avoids April 29th to May 5th, including a weekend before and after.
If you chase cherry blossoms in northern Japan start your journey much before this long holiday.
If you look for mountain sprout, travel a bit further out of cities and go higher places in the mountains.
The second half of May before the rainy season is the best timing to explore in Japan. Rainy season normally starts at the beginning of June in Kyusyu and the middle of June in Tohoku. “Seasonal rainy front” stays along Japan and it continues for one and half months.
Now that “Golden Week” is over, you have to wait another year for this long holiday, but this is one of the best time to travel in Japan. Please make your planning much before if you would like to travel around this timing.