The Golden Week in Japan
As you might have noticed, everyone in Japan has just experienced a blissful long weekend. It’s known as the Golden Week (ゴールデンウィーク ・goruden wiku) in Japan.
The Japanese Golden Week combines several national holidays along with the weekend; starting from April 29th to May 5th. However, like this year, the golden week can be a day or two longer in Japan. Although there were two ‘non-holiday’ weekdays (Monday and Tuesday) within the week, most people would just take the two days off to have a full week of holidays!
The Golden Week is made up of the following national holidays:
- 昭和の日[showa-no-hi] ・ Showa Day — April 29th
As the name implies, this day not only honours the birthday of 裕仁[Hirohito], 昭和天皇[showa-tenno] Emperor Showa, but also to commemorate the years of Hirohito’s reign.
2. 憲法記念日[kenpou-kinen-bi] ・ Constitution Day — May 3rd
It’s a national holiday to celebrate the proclamation of the new postwar Constitution of Japan on this day in 1947.
3. みどりの日[midori-no-hi] ・ Greenery Day — May 4th
みどりの日[midori-no-hi] Greenery Day used to be celebrated on April 29th until the year 2006. It’s a day acknowledged in appreciation of nature; as the emperor’s love for plants and nature.
4. こどもの日[kodomo-no-hi] ・Children’s Day — May 5th
This day was originally known as 端午の節句[tango-no-sekku]-Boys’ day, while 雛祭り[Hina-matsuri]-Girls’ day is celebrated on March 3rd. The government declared this day as a national holiday in 1948 to celebrate the personalities and happiness of children, and hence it was renamed こどもの日[kodomo-no-hi].
鯉のぼり[koi-no-bori] ・carp-shaped streamers can be seen all around Japan from April to early May. They are traditionally flown high above houses to celebrate 端午の節句[tango-no-sekku] or こどもの日[kodomo-no-hi] nowadays. Japanese families with children fly 鯉のぼり[koinobori] in hopes that the children will grow up healthy with a good future. The black carp on the top represents the father, the red/ pink carp represents the mother, and the blue/ green carp represents the child of the family.
Since long weekends don’t happen everyday in Japan, especially for corporate employees, the golden week is one of the most popular travel seasons in Japan; be it traveling abroad or domestically. That being said, traveling in Japan during the golden week may not be the best idea if you don’t plan a lot in advance; as it means expensive flight tickets, public transportation tickets sold out, accommodation booked out, and overcrowded tourist sites. Nonetheless, it can be interesting to check out different special events, such as the Meiji Shrine Spring Grand Festival.
It’s always a good idea to learn the language before visiting a country. Chat with Renni to learn Japanese before your trip!
