Sightseeing spots in Tokyo were crowded with tourists on Saturday, the first weekend after travel to and from the capital was included in the government's Go To Travel tourism support program.
Hato Bus Co., a major bus tour company, offered a tour on the same day in which participants visited tourist areas such as Tsukiji and Asakusa, as well as Shibamata, Katsushika Ward, where the movie series "Otoko wa Tsuraiyo" (It's tough being a man) was set. The tour, with capacity of 28 participants, was fully booked. At Tokyo Station, the tour's departure point, the participants received discount coupons for use at souvenir shops and elsewhere. They boarded the bus after having their temperatures taken and disinfecting their hands.
A 49-year-old company employee from Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, took part in the tour with her husband, who works away from home in Kawasaki. "I was relieved that antivirus measures have been taken thoroughly for the tour," she said.
According to the company, the number of tour participants in July and August dropped to 3% to 4% of the figures for the previous year, but there have been signs of recovery with Tokyo included in the Go To Travel program.
At the same time, people have increasingly traveled to holiday destinations outside Tokyo. According to the Japan Road Traffic Information Center, at about 10 a.m. on Saturday, outbound lanes near the Takasaka rest and parking area in Higashi-Matsuyama, Saitama Prefecture, on the Kanetsu Expressway had a 27-kilometer-long traffic jam, and there were 14 kilometers of congestion near the Yamato Tunnel in Yamato, Kanagawa Prefecture, on the Tomei Expressway.
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