Public Holidays

There are 16 official public holidays in Japan, so expect downtown shops, trains, buses, roads, highways, and tourist areas in and around Kyoto city to be packed with people. There are 2 longer public holiday weeks, one is called Golden Week between April 29 to May 5. The other is Obon Week from around August 15 from 3 to 5 day depending if it connects closely to a weekend. These 2 holiday periods are extremely busy and bring Japanese people out of their homes to travel about. Airports, railway station and bus stations are absolutely packed to capacity. Timing when and where you go during these times is a big factor to consider.