Holidays in Japan
The most important holiday in Japan is New Year (お正月 Oshōgatsu), which pretty much shuts down the country from December 30 to January 3. Japanese head home to their families (which means massive transport congestion), eat festive foods and head out to the neighborhood temple at the stroke of midnight to wish in the New Year. Many Japanese often travel to other countries as well, and prices for airfares are very high.
In March or April, Japanese head out en masse for hanami (花見, lit. "flower viewing"), a festival of outdoors picnics and drunken revelry in parks, cleverly disguised as cherry blossom (桜 sakura) viewing. The exact timing of the famously fleeting blossoms varies from year to year and Japan's TV channels follow the progress of the cherry blossom front from south to north obsessively.
The longest holiday is Golden Week (April 27 to May 6), when there are four public holidays within a week and everybody goes on extended vacation. Trains are crowded and flight and hotel prices are jacked up to multiples of normal prices, making this a bad time to travel in Japan, but the weeks immediately before or after Golden Week are excellent choices.
Summer brings a spate of festivals designed to distract people from the intolerable heat and humidity (comparable to the US Midwest). There are local festivals (祭 matsuri) and impressive fireworks competitions (花火 hanabi) throughout the country. Tanabata (七夕), on July 7th (or early August in some places), commemorates a story of star-crossed lovers who could only meet on this day.
The largest summer festival is Obon (お盆), held in mid-July in eastern Japan (Kanto) and mid-August in western Japan (Kansai), which honors departed ancestral spirits. Everybody heads home to visit village graveyards, and transport is packed.
National holidays
Lunar holidays such as equinoxes may vary by a day or two; the list below is accurate for 2009. Holidays that fall on a weekend may be observed with a bank holiday on the following Monday. Keep in mind that most Japanese people take additional time off around New Year's, during Golden Week, and during Obon.
* January 1 - New Year's Day (ganjitsu 元日 or gantan 元旦 )
* January 12 (Second Monday of month) - Coming-of-Age Day (seijin no hi 成人の日)
* February 11 - National Foundation Day (kenkoku kinen no hi 建国記念の日)
* March 20 - Vernal Equinox Day (shunbun no hi 春分の日)
* April 29 - Showa Day (showa no hi 昭和の日)
* May 3 - Constitution Day (kenpō kinnenbi 憲法記念日)
* May 4 - Greenery Day (midori no hi みどりの日)
* May 5 - Children's Day (kodomo no hi こどもの日)
* May 6 - Children's Day - Observed
* July 20 (third Monday of month) - Marine Day (umi no hi 海の日)
* September 21 (third Monday of month) - Respect-for-the-Aged Day (keirō no hi 敬老の日)
* September 23 - Autumnal Equinox Day (shuubun no hi 秋分の日)
* October 12 (second Monday of month) - Sports Day (taiiku no hi 体育の日)
* November 3 - Culture Day (bunka no hi 文化の日)
* November 23 - Labor Thanksgiving Day (kinrō kansha no hi 勤労感謝の日)
* December 23 - The Emperor's Birthday (tennō tanjōbi 天皇誕生日)
The Japanese calendar
The Imperial era year, which counts from the year of ascension of the Emperor, is often used for reckoning dates in Japan, including transportation timetables and store receipts. The current era is Heisei (平成) and Heisei 21 corresponds to 2009. The year may be written as "H21" or just "21", so "21/1/5" is January 5, 2009. Western years are also well understood and frequently used.
The most important holiday in Japan is New Year (お正月 Oshōgatsu), which pretty much shuts down the country from December 30 to January 3. Japanese head home to their families (which means massive transport congestion), eat festive foods and head out to the neighborhood temple at the stroke of midnight to wish in the New Year. Many Japanese often travel to other countries as well, and prices for airfares are very high.
In March or April, Japanese head out en masse for hanami (花見, lit. "flower viewing"), a festival of outdoors picnics and drunken revelry in parks, cleverly disguised as cherry blossom (桜 sakura) viewing. The exact timing of the famously fleeting blossoms varies from year to year and Japan's TV channels follow the progress of the cherry blossom front from south to north obsessively.
The longest holiday is Golden Week (April 27 to May 6), when there are four public holidays within a week and everybody goes on extended vacation. Trains are crowded and flight and hotel prices are jacked up to multiples of normal prices, making this a bad time to travel in Japan, but the weeks immediately before or after Golden Week are excellent choices.
Summer brings a spate of festivals designed to distract people from the intolerable heat and humidity (comparable to the US Midwest). There are local festivals (祭 matsuri) and impressive fireworks competitions (花火 hanabi) throughout the country. Tanabata (七夕), on July 7th (or early August in some places), commemorates a story of star-crossed lovers who could only meet on this day.
The largest summer festival is Obon (お盆), held in mid-July in eastern Japan (Kanto) and mid-August in western Japan (Kansai), which honors departed ancestral spirits. Everybody heads home to visit village graveyards, and transport is packed.
National holidaysLunar holidays such as equinoxes may vary by a day or two; the list below is accurate for 2009. Holidays that fall on a weekend may be observed with a bank holiday on the following Monday. Keep in mind that most Japanese people take additional time off around New Year's, during Golden Week, and during Obon.
* January 1 - New Year's Day (ganjitsu 元日 or gantan 元旦 )
* January 12 (Second Monday of month) - Coming-of-Age Day (seijin no hi 成人の日)
* February 11 - National Foundation Day (kenkoku kinen no hi 建国記念の日)
* March 20 - Vernal Equinox Day (shunbun no hi 春分の日)
* April 29 - Showa Day (showa no hi 昭和の日)
* May 3 - Constitution Day (kenpō kinnenbi 憲法記念日)
* May 4 - Greenery Day (midori no hi みどりの日)
* May 5 - Children's Day (kodomo no hi こどもの日)
* May 6 - Children's Day - Observed
* July 20 (third Monday of month) - Marine Day (umi no hi 海の日)
* September 21 (third Monday of month) - Respect-for-the-Aged Day (keirō no hi 敬老の日)
* September 23 - Autumnal Equinox Day (shuubun no hi 秋分の日)
* October 12 (second Monday of month) - Sports Day (taiiku no hi 体育の日)
* November 3 - Culture Day (bunka no hi 文化の日)
* November 23 - Labor Thanksgiving Day (kinrō kansha no hi 勤労感謝の日)
* December 23 - The Emperor's Birthday (tennō tanjōbi 天皇誕生日)
The Japanese calendar
The Imperial era year, which counts from the year of ascension of the Emperor, is often used for reckoning dates in Japan, including transportation timetables and store receipts. The current era is Heisei (平成) and Heisei 21 corresponds to 2009. The year may be written as "H21" or just "21", so "21/1/5" is January 5, 2009. Western years are also well understood and frequently used.
Best travel services by tabigo.asia.
ReplyDeletejapan holidays
hokkaido tours
japan private tours
tokyo tours & osaka tours
cheap flight booking & cheap hotel booking