In Japan, the end of April to the beginning of May is one consecutive holiday. Depending on what days Saturday and Sunday fall on, the holiday is a week to two weeks long, and it is possible to take a vacation from work during this time.
Generally, in most of Japan’s workplaces and companies, it is very difficult to take off days consecutively from work. In western countries, it is a given to take off two weeks or so for Christmas and other holidays.
Vacations spanning for several weeks or months are also offered in some countries over the summer. However, in Japan, if one has a lot of days of paid leave left, and they actually use those days to take a vacation, they are instantly labeled as someone who “Can’t read the atmosphere”.
The average vacation is usually limited to about a week in most Japanese workplaces. To put it like the Japanese would; “Going on a vacation for too long causes trouble for others”, even if no one is actually being troubled. While the Japanese workplace culture is changing, skills like “reading the atmosphere” or “paying attention to those around you” are still considered very important.
For the average Japanese worker, what takes the place of a long vacation are the festival holidays. In Japan, there are many festival holidays per year. There were about 17 days in 2017 alone. If those days connect with Saturdays and Sundays, they can turn into long periods of work free days, effectively saving some from the deathly effects of overworking.
Out of all the festival holidays, the one stretching from the end of April to the beginning of May is the “Golden Week”, or abbreviated as “GW”. GW is defined by the Japanese as the time to take off for a long time without feeling guilty.
There are only two other times like the GW throughout the year; the Bon Festival, where spirits of ancestors come to visit, and New Years, which together only take up less than half of August and the end of December through the beginning of January. The great part of GW is the ability to enjoy an outing blessed with the refreshing spring sun and breeze.
April 29th is “Showa Day”, the third of May is “Constitution Memorial Day”, the fourth is “Greenery Day” and the fifth is “Children’s Day”. Add in Saturday and Sunday, and together, these days form the Golden Week. How many days it consists of depends on the structure of the month. Many of the Japanese care immensely about the order of the days of Golden Week.
Even to foreigners, this time of year is the best to visit Japan as a tourist. The weather is perfect, and Japan’s annoyingly high levels of humidity are nowhere to be found. From the northern Hokkaido to the southern islands of Okinawa, it is truly a perfect time for sightseeing.
Of course, the number of Japanese people that travel overseas during GW is very high. Recently, the number of Japanese enjoying both trips outside and in Japan has increased, causing tourists sites to be very busy and lively.
The Golden Week is truly the best time to enjoy Japan’s natural scenery and tourists sites. However, during this time, tourist attractions, hotels, airplane and train trips become crowded and overbooked, and prices and fares skyrocket to two or even three times the normal cost. Perhaps the largest setback of the Golden Week is the the piling up of vacation expenses.
In 2019, Japaneses experienced “10 consecutive holidays of Golden Week” as the first and the last time for celebrating new Imperial era of “Reiwa”. Most of people in Japan must have felt happy because new era began with the Emperor’s abdication, due to his concern about his age. No Japanese emperor has abdicated for centuries except for his death.