2027 Golden Week

Golden Week is Japan's biggest holiday stretch, running from Showa Day on April 29 through Constitution Memorial Day on May 3, Greenery Day on May 4 and Children's Day on May 5. Showa Day marks the birthday of Emperor Showa, and Children's Day is celebrated with koinobori carp streamers flying over homes and rivers, samurai helmet displays and kashiwa-mochi rice cakes wrapped in oak leaves. Depending on how the weekends fall, workers can string the four public holidays together with paid leave into a break of a week or more, and many companies close for the whole period. It is the peak domestic travel season: Shinkansen trains and flights are booked solid, expressways see traffic jams stretching dozens of kilometres and hotel rates rise sharply, so reservations should be made months ahead, while popular attractions in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka are at their most crowded. This countdown ticks to midnight Tokyo time on April 29, the first day of Golden Week.