Travel rush underway at start of 5-day stretch in Golden Week holidays

TOKYO — Roads, train stations and airports in Japan were congested Saturday as people headed to their hometowns or departed for domestic and overseas vacations at the start of a five-day stretch in the Golden Week holidays.

Japan's busiest holiday season apart from New Year and Obon in the summer, Golden Week started in late April, with Saturday marking the latter half including four consecutive national holidays.

At JR Tokyo Station, a family from Chiba Prefecture said they were planning to travel to Kyoto and Nara prefectures in western Japan.

"I want to feed deer," Nanami Sotozaki, 4, said, apparently referring to the crackers tourists give to roaming deer in Nara.

In Osaka, station staff were busy guiding customers near ticket gates at JR Shin-Osaka Station, while people in the station building waited in line to buy souvenirs.

"I can't wait to visit TV drama locations with my boyfriend," Honoka Hamasaki, a 28-year-old resident of the western Japan city, said as she headed to Yamanashi Prefecture.

According to JR East, strong winds and a fallen tree were disrupting operations on the Yamagata Shinkansen Line between Tokyo and Shinjo Station in Yamagata Prefecture.

© KYODO