Japan transport hubs overflow as 9-day New Year break begins

Travelers flooded airports and major train stations in Japan on Saturday as they departed cities to spend time in their hometowns and elsewhere during the up to nine-day New Year holiday break, Kyodo reports.

Shinkansen bullet train services were temporarily suspended in the morning between Shin-Osaka and Okayama stations in western Japan due to a fire near the tracks in Bizen, Okayama Prefecture, according to JR West. The disruption affected connecting trains as well.

Express westward-traveling shinkansen trains leaving Tokyo were nearly all fully occupied, while domestic flights operated by Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways departing Tokyo's Haneda airport also had few available seats.

"I want to spend a relaxing yearend and New Year," said 13-year-old Natsuki Kawai from Kawasaki, near Tokyo, as she headed from Haneda airport to her grandparents' home in Tokushima, western Japan, with her mother.

Expressway operators forecast more than 200 traffic jams stretching at least 10 kilometers will occur across the country over the nine days, including weekends, from Saturday to Jan. 5.

As earlier reported, over 30 percent of foreign tourists to Japan experienced problems associated with overtourism during their trips in 2024 and more than 60 percent said they are willing to accept higher charges as a way to ease congestion and protect natural and cultural resources, according to a recent survey.