Japan Golden Week


Golden week in Japan is a collection of four national holidays over a period of seven days. The holiday week starts from April 29th and goes through May 5th. Depending upon the calendar, many offices in Japan closes for about 7 to 10 days. Even though the holidays occur on non-consecutive days, people generally take off the in-between days.


The origin of Golden Week apparently comes from the entertainment industry as they thought that it would be a golden opportunity for people to have time, go out and watch movies during this period. At this time, many blockbuster Japanese movies get released. Let’s look at the holidays that fall during the Golden Week.

The first holiday of Golden Week period comes on 29th April. The day is celebrated in honor of the birthday of former Showa Emperor, who died in 1989. After emperor’s death, the day had been declared as Greenery Day, but in 2007 Greenery Day moved to May 4, and April 29 became Showa Day to display the reign of the emperor.

After this day comes Constitution Memorial Day on May 3rd. The day is observed to honor the Japanese constitution that was put into effect on 1947, after World War II. Japanese media even uses this day to reflect on the country’s democracy and government.

After Constitution Day, Greenery Day is celebrated on May 4. Until 2006, it was celebrated on April 29. As the emperor loves flora, so in his honor, the day is dedicated towards the nature and environment. Before being declared as Greenery Day, the day used to be a national holiday as according to Japanese Law, if a day falls between two national holidays, then the day itself becomes a national holiday.

The last holiday during Golden Week is celebrated in the name of children. On May 5th falls the last holiday of the week that is marked as Children’s Day. The day is Japan’s national holiday, which falls on the fifth day of the fifth month. The holiday was traditionally boy’s day. On this day families hung up koinobori flags outside their home, which reflects boy’s struggle and ultimate success in life.

With the end of April, several holidays fall. Beside New Year (January) and the Obon Festival (August), Golden Week is the Japan’s busiest holiday season. During this period two things are common in Japan- fun-filled activities and huge crowds across the country. There are numerous Japanese celebrations that occur throughout the week and people too can participate in these events.

As this time is the longest vacation period of the year, so many Japanese nationals take time off and travel across the country or abroad which results in crowding of airports and train stations. It is quite difficult to get reservations during this time. Transportation and sightseeing spots get busy during this period. So if one wishes to come to Japan during this time, it is highly recommended to plan and book things as far in advance. Even though fares are quite high during this period, but still people prefer to travel to Japan as the week comes at a very pleasant time of the year as temperatures are neither too hot nor too cold.

Stay tuned to get detailed information regarding every national holiday during the week. We will get back to you tomorrow with the first holiday of the Golden Week.

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