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Towards the end of April, Japanese people start looking forward to a long vacation period called "Golden Week", which is series of four national holidays that take place within one week at the end of April and beginning of May. First comes "Showa Day" (Showa no hi/昭和の日) on Friday, April 29: the birthday of the late Emperor Showa, or Hirohito, who ruled Japan during World War II. Next, following the weekend, on Tuesday, May 3, is "Constitution Day" (Kenpo kinen-bi/憲法記念日), celebrated in honor of the ratification of the Japanese constitution in 1947. "Green Day" (Midori no hi/みどりの日), is celebrated on Wednesday, May 4, which honors the environment, as Emperor Showa was a lover of nature, flowers, and plants. Finally on Thursday, May 5, "Children’s Day" (こどもの日/Kodomo no hi; also called Tango no Sekku), is a festival in celebration of boy children. Towns and families often hang carp streamers outdoors to represent the presence of boys and to wish them strength and success in life. Although Monday, 02 May, and Friday, 06 May, are regular work days, company employees are encouraged to use annual leave on those days thereby ensuring 7 or even 10 days-off-in-a-row. Golden Week is especially a good chance to go on trips, and many Japanese people will travel to tourist destinations around the country. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, large numbers of Japanese would also fly to overseas holiday venues in Hawaii, Australia, Europe, and elsewhere.

written by Goodfield