The three that matter
Japan has many public holidays, and most of them change very little about daily life. Shops open, trains run, and only offices and banks close.
Three periods are different because everyone takes them at the same time, and simultaneity is what causes the disruption: sold-out trains, tripled hotel prices, motorway queues measured in tens of kilometres.
Planning around these three is most of what a resident needs to know about the holiday calendar.
| Period | Roughly when | Main effect |
|---|---|---|
| Golden Week | 29 April – 5 May | Travel and tourism peak |
| Obon | Mid-August | Return to home towns, offices close |
| New Year | 29 Dec – 3 Jan | Longest closure of the year |
| Silver Week | Mid-September | Occasional long weekend |
| Single holidays | Throughout the year | Offices and banks only |
The dates shift slightly each year, and Golden Week is longer in years when the holidays line up favourably with weekends.
What actually closes
The pattern differs by period. On an ordinary public holiday almost nothing consumer-facing closes; during New Year a great deal does.
Government services are the ones to plan around, because visa paperwork, residence registration and tax deadlines do not care that you could not reach a counter.
- Banks close on all public holidays; cash machines mostly work.
- Ward offices close, and reopen busy.
- Clinics often close for longer than the official dates at New Year.
- Post offices run reduced services.
- Convenience stores stay open throughout, including New Year.
- Many restaurants close for several days at New Year.
Travelling during them
Reserved seats on long-distance trains open one month in advance and the popular ones sell out on the first morning for these periods. Accommodation prices roughly double, and motorways are heavily congested in predictable directions.
The alternative strategy that residents use is to travel against the flow or to stay put. Cities are noticeably quiet during Obon and New Year because a large share of the population has gone elsewhere.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 指定席を予約したいのですが。 | Shiteiseki o yoyaku shitai no desu ga. | I would like to reserve a seat. |
| 満席です。 | Manseki desu. | It is fully booked. |
| 自由席はありますか。 | Jiyūseki wa arimasu ka. | Is there unreserved seating? |
| 一本後の列車は空いていますか。 | Ippon ato no ressha wa suite imasu ka. | Is the next train less full? |
| 渋滞していますね。 | Jūtai shite imasu ne. | The traffic is heavy. |
| 帰省します。 | Kisei shimasu. | I am going back to my home town. |
The last phrase is the word for the seasonal return home, and it is what colleagues will say when explaining their August plans.
The greetings
Each period has fixed language, used at the office before and after. Saying nothing is the noticeable option, and the phrases are short.
The New Year set is the most rigid: one phrase before the break, a different one on returning, and a rule against using the returning greeting before the year has actually changed.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| よいお年をお迎えください。 | Yoi otoshi o omukae kudasai. | Have a good New Year. (before) |
| あけましておめでとうございます。 | Akemashite omedetō gozaimasu. | Happy New Year. (after) |
| 本年もよろしくお願いします。 | Honnen mo yoroshiku onegai shimasu. | I look forward to working with you this year. |
| よい休暇を。 | Yoi kyūka o. | Have a good break. |
| 連休はどうでしたか。 | Renkyū wa dō deshita ka. | How was the long weekend? |
| お盆は帰省されますか。 | Obon wa kisei saremasu ka. | Are you going home for Obon? |
Planning your own year around them
Residents who handle these well do one thing: they mark the three periods at the start of the year and make every scheduling decision with them visible.
That covers booking travel a month ahead, moving deadlines away from the days on either side, filling prescriptions before New Year, and knowing that a request sent on 28 December will not be read until January.
- Mark all three clusters in your calendar in January.
- Book long-distance travel the day reservations open.
- Move any government paperwork away from the edges.
- Stock up before New Year; many shops close for days.
- Do not expect replies to email during the closures.
The small talk that follows
Each of these periods produces a week of predictable conversation at work: what you did, whether you went home, whether the trains were bad. It is the most reliable small talk in the Japanese calendar and the easiest to prepare for.
Having two sentences ready about your break, and one question to return, covers the entire week. Practising that exchange with an AI Sensei in Unihongo's 3D classroom before the holiday means you spend the following Monday talking rather than assembling sentences, and the session feedback flags whether your answer sounded natural or rehearsed.
These conversations are short and low stakes, which is exactly why they are worth being good at: they happen constantly.
Prepare the answer before the break, not on the train back. It is the same question from every colleague.