#54 Golden Week, Japanese national long holiday in May
How to travel in Japan during one of the busiest national holidays post-pandemic
Whenever and wherever you travel, it's important to be aware of national holidays that may affect your plans. This weekend marks the Eid holiday after Ramadan in most Muslim countries, and it can significantly impact travelers. If you're planning to travel to Japan, it's also important to be aware of peak travel times to avoid crowds and higher prices.
One of the most critical periods to avoid is coming up soon: the spring holiday in early May. In this week's newsletter, I will be discussing this holiday and providing some tips to help you plan your trip accordingly. I hope this information will be useful in either adjusting your current itinerary or planning for future travel.
What is Golden Week?
"Golden Week" is a major holiday period in Japan, celebrated from the last week of April until the first week of May. It consists of 4 national holidays that are spread across a week, and when combined with weekends and a few weekdays off, it usually allows people to take a 10-day to 2-week vacation in late April and early May. This makes it a highly valued vacation time for Japanese people, second only to the Bon festival in August and the New Year holidays.
Details of the 4 national holidays during Golden Week.
April 29: Shōwa Day: Originally Emperor Showa's birthday but was changed to Greenery Day when he died. Later, Greenery Day was moved to 4 May and this became Showa Day as a day to "reflect on the Showa period of reconstruction after turbulent days and think about the future of the country".
May 3: Constitution Memorial Day
May 4: Greenery Day
May 5: Children’s Day
Why is it called Golden Week?
The term Golden Week was coined in Japan and there are many theories as to its origin. One theory is that it was named after a film with the same title by a different film production company that was released during the May holidays in 1951 and became a hit. Another theory is that Marco Polo, who introduced Japan as the 'Golden Land of Zipangu' in his book 'The Travels of Marco Polo to the East', visited Japan in early May. Whatever its origins, it is worth knowing what period this falls in Japan.
National holidays and paid leave in Japan
There are 17 national holidays in Japan in 2023 but 21 in 2024. This occurs because when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday is a holiday.
That’s a lot more than countries like the US (11 federal holidays), Canada (10-13 days depending on the jurisdiction), and even many European countries (e.g. France has 11 days), which may come as a surprise.
Japan has by far the largest number of public holidays, but fewer days off with pay, and this trend may be the reason for the characteristic behavior of travelers during consecutive holidays such as Golden Week in Japan.
In Japan, where it is difficult to take paid holidays due to concerns about the atmosphere in the workplace, government-designated holidays allow people to take time off with a great deal of enthusiasm, so crowds inevitably tend to concentrate at these times.
Golden Week this year
So, what is the trend for this year?
It’s going to be the first real Golden Week since the pandemic. Last year we could travel without restrictions, but psychologically lots of people were still hesitant to do so. This year, more people will be enthusiastic about traveling.
As the new coronavirus will be reclassified to the same category as the regular flu on May 8th, Golden Week is likely to see an increase in revenge tourism as people make up for the lost time.
More people are booking international flights as well as domestic flights.
Hotel prices in Tokyo have soared during the Golden Week period. This is believed to be due to national travel support and the relaxation of waterfront measures, which led to higher unit prices.
Tips on avoiding the crowds during Golden Week
Going against the grain of the Japanese movement: JR has announced that the Shinkansen congestion forecast is the 3rd of May for outbound trains and the 6th of May for inbound trains. As long as avoiding these timing and direction of your traveling, you may still face some congestion, but not the worst.
Avoid major tourist attractions: It may be a good idea to extend your traveling a little bit and go out to the suburb of Tokyo. Showa Kinen Park is one of your opinions. You can reach there within one hour from central Tokyo.
Focus on attractions that you can book in advance such as Tokyo Sky Tree or Teamlab Planets.
Visit tourist attractions on a rainy day.
If you’re traveling in Japan during Golden Week, expect big crowds at main stations and tourist attractions and higher accommodation prices. If you want to avoid crowds, try visiting before or after Golden Week. That said, it’s a great season to travel in Japan with great weather and temperature, and you’ll get to enjoy the festive atmosphere. You may even have more chances of interacting with the locals and taking part in the holiday traditions!
I’m traveling to Pakistan!
In the upcoming weeks, I’ll be away in Pakistan for a few weeks for my day job where I’ll be running some charity programs. For this reason, I may skip a few weeks writing this newsletter and I just wanted to give you a heads-up. I’ll hopefully be back with more insights into traveling in Japan from a new perspective!
Thanks for another very informative post. Traveling during the Golden Week is one of those things I also try to avoid... like going to the Golden Arches...