The Golden Week holiday period started on Saturday, with good weather across the country. Transport facilities such as railways, highways and airports were crowded with people leaving for resorts or returning to their hometowns.
At Narita Airport, the number of people departing from the country came to a peak, with many families and other tourists packing a departure lobby of the airport from the morning.
According to Narita International Airport Corp., the operator of the airport, about 56,000 people were expected to leave the country from the airport on the day. The total number of people to enter and leave Japan using the airport from April 27 to May 6 is expected to hit 867,300, up 6.1 percent from the same period the previous year.
Up to nine successive days of holidays -- if workers take off two non-holiday days between the national holidays -- is the reason for the high travel figures. This year the Golden Week period has been split into two parts -- the former is three consecutive days off, while the latter is four straight days off.
Return trips are expected to reach a peak on May 6.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
