The last week has been “Golden Week” which is a week in which you get four public holidays. If you take an extra couple of days off you can manage ten days in a row free of work. The four public holidays are:
- Showa Day (29 April) which commemorates the birthday of the previous Emperor;
- Constitution Memorial Day (3 May);
- Greenery Day (4 May); and
- Children's day (5 May).
The whole Golden Week thing snuck up on me. I wasn't aware of it until it was almost upon me so I didn't have a chance to book a trip out of the country. In future, I will! In fact, I would highly advise any foreign tourist to not even contemplate setting foot in Japan during Golden Week as every tourist sight will be over-run with Japanese.
None the less, I braved the crowds and went to Nikko and Hakone – two places I hadn't been last time I came to Japan. Both were awash with people particularly Hakone. Nikko is famous for several shrines and temples and its mountainous setting. It's quite a nice place. Hakone on the other hand is not so impressive. Its main claim to fame is that you can get nice views of Fuji from there on a clear day. However, clear views of Fuji are few and far between at the best of times. Luckily, I had already seen Fuji on several clear days last time I was here. This time, I could barely see its outline.
All in all, I'm glad that Golden Week is over so that things can get back to normal. In short, the golden rule of Golden Week is don't leave your home and if you must, leave Japan altogether!
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