During Golden Week, major stations fill with vacationers, while carp-shaped streamers fly from balconies and poles for Children’s Day. Questions about holidays tend to come up right there, with a ticket half planned and a calendar open. Japan’s public holidays are fixed or tied to a set Monday, a few bunch together into Golden Week, and the New Year and Obon seasons shape travel and opening hours as much as any official day off.
What are the public holidays in Japan?
The first national holidays of the year run from New Year’s Day through the four holidays of Golden Week. A few of them are fixed calendar dates, one is tied to a Monday, and one moves with the equinox.
| Holiday | Date |
|---|---|
| New Year’s Day (Ganjitsu) | January 1 |
| Coming of Age Day | Second Monday of January |
| National Foundation Day | February 11 |
| Emperor’s Birthday | February 23 |
| Vernal Equinox Day | Around March 20 |
| Showa Day | April 29 |
| Constitution Memorial Day | May 3 |
| Greenery Day | May 4 |
| Children’s Day | May 5 |
Winter and early spring holidays
The year opens with New Year’s Day on January 1, the most important moment of the Japanese calendar. The New Year season, called Shogatsu, generally refers to the first one, three or seven days of the year, and that is when families visit shrines for the first prayers of the year and eat festive food at home.
Coming of Age Day follows on the second Monday of January. It is a day for young people turning adult, and it is the reason for the sudden sight of kimono and formal suits around town. National Foundation Day on February 11 and the Emperor’s Birthday on February 23, the birthday of Emperor Naruhito, come soon after, and Vernal Equinox Day arrives around March 20, shifting slightly with the equinox.
Golden Week holidays
Golden Week is a holiday period from April 29 to May 5 that contains several public holidays. Four of its days are officially designated: Showa Day on April 29, Constitution Memorial Day on May 3, Greenery Day on May 4 and Children’s Day on May 5. Showa Day marks the start of the stretch and Children’s Day closes it.
Children’s Day is also known as Boys’ Day or the Feast of Banners, which explains the streamers flying from poles and balconies. Golden Week brings events of its own as well. The Takatsuki Jazz Street Festival in northern Osaka runs two days of live jazz, with 300 acts and over 3,000 artists in 72 different locations, and the Super GT Fuji 311 miles car race is held on May 4.
When a holiday lands on a Sunday
Two rules stretch the calendar. When a national holiday falls on a Sunday, the next working day becomes a public holiday, known as furikae kyujitsu. And any day sandwiched between two other national holidays becomes a holiday too, called kokumin no kyujitsu.
In practice this means a long weekend can appear where the printed dates suggest only a single day off. It is worth checking the dates of your own trip against a calendar, because the extra day off changes what is open and how full the trains are.
Which weeks are busiest for travel?
Golden Week, the New Year period and Obon in mid-August are the three stretches when Japan travels, and each brings its own kind of crowd.
Golden Week, late April to early May
During Golden Week, expect heavy crowds and full transportation across Japan. The week often sees a surge in vacation travel, and it is a popular time for holiday travel, with many Japanese traveling domestically and, to a lesser extent, internationally.
For a visitor, that means the country is on the move together. It is also a lively time to be around, with festivals, banners and family outings, so a trip in these days is as much about joining the mood as about seeing the sights.
New Year, late December to early January
The New Year period, from late December to early January, is the other great pause. Many shops close for several days, and people head home or to shrines for the first visit of the year. The mood in the streets turns quieter and more ceremonial, and the first days of January belong to family meals and shrine visits. If you are in Japan then, plan your days around sights and shrines rather than shopping, and keep in mind that January 1 itself is a national holiday.
Obon in mid-August
Obon is not a national public holiday, but it is a traditional family observance in mid-August during which people return to their hometowns. It is a time of remembering ancestors, and it sends people back to the places they grew up in, which is why the weeks around it feel like a second season of homecomings.
Although Obon is not a national holiday, the journeys home still make it a major domestic travel period.
Ordinary weekdays and rush hour
Outside the holidays, the daily crowd is the commute. On weekdays, morning rush hour runs from about 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., and trains on major lines can be extremely crowded. The evening rush runs from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
What closes?
Less than you might fear, because Japan’s urban daily life keeps running on holidays, but offices and many shops follow the calendar.
Shops, offices and convenience stores
In urban areas, shops are generally open from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. every day. In rural areas, shops often close earlier, sometimes as early as 6:00 p.m. Offices are open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and are closed on weekends.
Many convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, FamilyMart and Lawson are open 24 hours a day, even on national holidays. That makes them the fallback for snacks, drinks and a quick meal on any day of the calendar, including the quiet days of the New Year.
Shrines and temples
Shrines and temples are generally open all year and often accessible from early morning until late afternoon. That includes the holidays, and the New Year season is exactly when people go to them.
Trains and the New Year closures
Most trains run from about 5:00 a.m. to midnight. The big closure is the New Year period, when many shops close for several days from late December to early January. If your trip crosses those dates, plan meals and errands before or after the break.
Outside the New Year stretch, a public holiday mostly changes who is out and about. Offices are shut, families travel, and shops and convenience stores carry on.
Good to know before you go
Holidays in Japan change the pace more than they close the doors, so a trip that crosses Golden Week, New Year or Obon rewards a look at the calendar before you fix dates. Japan’s holiday dates are fixed or follow the Monday and Sunday rules above, and an extra day off can appear next to a weekend. Keep in mind that the long stretches around the holidays are when the whole country is traveling.
Sources
- Japan National Tourism Organization, shop and attraction hours, national holidays (https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/business-hours-and-holidays/), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Golden Week (Japan) (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Week_(Japan)), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Public holidays in Japan (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Japan), checked October 11, 2026
To plan your stay
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