Golden Week holiday crowds down drastically from 2019 in Japan

This photo, taken from a Yomiuri helicopter, shows a minimal number of cars running smoothly in Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture on Tuesday. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

The number of people venturing on trips during Japan's Golden Week holiday between late April and early May was much lower than last year, according to a survey conducted by a major mobile phone operator.

The survey result comes nearly a month after the government declared a state of emergency in seven prefectures, including Tokyo, on April 7 amid the spread of the new coronavirus.

KDDI Corp., which operates a mobile phone business under the au brand, said the number of people on Monday's middle day of the five consecutive national holidays, dropped 95.1% from the same period the previous year in areas around Ise Jingu shrine in Mie Prefecture.

This photo, taken from a Yomiuri helicopter on May 5, 2019, shows the amount of cars typically crowding the Tomei Expressway during the Golden Week holiday period. (Credit: The Yomiuri Shimbun)

The mobile communications operator announced the average turnout at 23 nationwide tourist locations between 3 and 4 p.m., comparing the figure with the average number of visitors over last year's 10-day holiday period that stretched from April 27 to May 6.

The number plunged by 92.2% in the area around Karuizawa Station in Nagano Prefecture, and more than 70% at 10 locations, including the area around Asakusa Kaminarimon in Tokyo.

In regions such as Shikoku and Kyushu in western Japan and in Okinawa Prefecture, the figure saw a relatively slight drop. The numbers for Ishigakijima Yui Road in Okinawa fell by 19.7%, and the figure was 29.8% around Matsuyama Shiroyama Park in Shikoku's Ehime Prefecture.

According to JR train companies, the occupancy rate of general seating for most Shinkansen lines during Golden Week was less than 10%, while the figure for some trains on the Tohoku and Hokuriku Shinkansen lines bottomed out at 0%. The general seating occupancy rate on the Tokaido Shinkansen, which connects Tokyo and Osaka, peaked at 30%.

Meanwhile, the average number of automobiles on expressways, including the Tomei Expressway, at 40 locations nationwide during Golden Week holiday decreased by between 60% and 80% from last year's figure.

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