How does Japan cope with large passenger flows? , "Golden Week" holiday begins at Mount Fuji | Golden Week | Holidays

April 27 marked the beginning of Japan’s “Golden Week” holiday, and all major train stations and airports in Japan were crowded with tourists.

This is the first "Golden Week" since Japan lifted all entry restrictions. Data show that Japan’s tourism industry is experiencing a strong recovery trend, with many data exceeding the level of the same period.

At the same time, against the background of the continued decline of the yen, the number of international tourists arriving in Japan reached a new high. But at the same time, local governments are also busy dealing with the "over-tourism" problem caused by the increase in tourists.

The end of April to the beginning of May is Japan's "Golden Week" holiday that covers multiple holidays. The adjacent holidays are Showa Day, Constitution Day, Green Day, and Children's Day.

Since the last day of the holiday coincides with Sunday, the first day after the holiday is a compensatory holiday. It is worth noting that April 29 this year happens to be the weekend, and most office workers will choose to take three days off, thus getting nearly 10 days of vacation.

In May last year, Japan officially downgraded the new coronavirus infection to the same level as influenza and lifted all entry restrictions. This also makes this year’s “Golden Week” the first “Golden Week” holiday after Japan lifted all entry restrictions.

Airlines counted in mid-April that from April 27 to May 6, more than 2.6 million people had booked domestic flights, which was the same as last year’s holiday period; another 490,000 people had booked international flights, a year-on-year increase. About 20%.

Data earlier this month showed that from April 26 to May 6, six Japanese rail operators reserved a total of 2.96 million seats, a 16% increase from the same period last year. The number of reserved seats this year has also increased by 7% compared with 2018 before the new crown epidemic.

The railway company said traffic congestion is expected to peak on May 3 and 6.

Narita International Airport predicts that during the 10-day "Golden Week" holiday, the airport will welcome more than 800,000 passengers, about 77% of the number of passengers in the same period in 2019, but 1.3 times as many as the same period last year.

Earlier this month, a survey released by the Japan Transportation Corporation showed that about 23.3 million people in Japan are expected to travel during the holidays, which is about 90% of the pre-epidemic level.

On April 26, after the Bank of Japan decided to keep interest rates unchanged, the yen continued to "fall and fall." On the same day, in the New York foreign exchange market, the exchange rate of the Japanese yen against the US dollar once fell below 158 yen per US dollar, once again setting a new low in 34 years.

On the one hand, this increases the cost of outbound travel from Japan. In order to travel during the "Golden Week", some Japanese tourists said they had prepared more money to exchange foreign currencies.

However, on the other hand, this has led to an increase in the number of tourists visiting Japan.

According to estimates from the Japan Government Tourism Bureau, the number of tourists visiting Japan exceeded 3 million for the first time in March, setting a record high in a single month.

At the same time, the weak yen has boosted the consumption of luxury goods by tourists visiting Japan. In the first quarter of this year, the total tourism consumption of tourists visiting Japan reached 1,750.5 billion yen, setting a record high in a single quarter.

How does the Japanese government respond to the "over-tourism" caused by a large number of tourists?

In Kyoto, severe crowding on buses has become the norm as the number of tourists and large luggage increases.

From April 27 to May 6, if passengers transfer from buses to city subways in Kyoto, the bus fare can be reduced to 230 yen. The move is aimed at reducing bus congestion caused by the flow of people, especially on the section from Kinkakuji Temple to Kyoto Station.

In addition, during the "Golden Week", Kyoto has increased the frequency of buses connecting Kyoto Station and Kiyomizudera Temple, running every 3-4 minutes.

In addition, Kyoto Station has also added real-time monitoring of popular tourist attractions to intuitively display the passenger flow of tourist attractions in the form of pictures, so that they can make travel plans, thereby alleviating overcrowding at attractions. Real-time monitoring is also accessible online.

Gion, Kyoto, is a famous geisha district. In recent years, women have been frequently harassed by tourists and private property has been broken into without permission. The local government erected signs in the area this month, prohibiting tourists from entering some private streets, otherwise they will be fined 10,000 yen.

Since last year, Kamakura has been discussing with neighboring cities and local transport operators how to control "over-tourism" during the "Golden Week" period.

As a city only an hour's commute from Tokyo, Kamakura attracts a large number of tourists during the holidays. Since mid-April, Kamakura has deployed volunteers at stations to guide international tourists and ease congestion.

Recently, Mount Fuji has become popular due to a "most beautiful flight spot" and is facing an overflow of tourists. In a parking lot near the foot of the mountain, tourists can "check in and take photos" with the convenience store and Mount Fuji as the background.

But behind the countless people who "come here because of their fame" is a chaotic order. The behavior of jaywalking and illegal parking intensified, and some people even climbed onto the roof of a dental clinic near the parking lot to take pictures.

Mount Fuji is usually closed due to snow, and climbing is usually only open during the opening period from July 1st to September 10th each year.

Earlier this year, the Yamanashi Prefectural Government, which manages Mount Fuji, announced that it would limit the number of climbers on the Yoshida Trail, a popular hiking route on the north side of the mountain, to 4,000 per day for 70 days this summer. At the same time, a fee of 2,000 yen will be levied on each climber.