What is Showa Day like in Tokyo?

March 17, 2008 6:06 AM

I'm planning a trip to Tokyo mid-April and I'll be flying back to LHR on Apr 29th, which is Showa Day and the beginning of the Golden Week.
I'm told Narita is best avoided on that day, so I'm wondering if it's better to fly back a day earlier or, alternatively, a day later to make the most of any Showa day festivals.
Are there any festivals going on in Tokyo on that day? and, do museums, shops, etc stay open during Showa day?
posted by blogenstock to travel & transportation (3 comments total)

It is best to avoid Narita that day because half of Japan will be there going off somewhere.

You won't be missing out on anything going the day before - but you will be holding on to your sanity.
posted by gomichild at 7:20 AM on March 17, 2008

Oh god. Whatever you do, do not try to use Narita on the first day of Golden Week. The day after would probably mitigate quite a bit of the insanity, as most of the wageslaves will be leaving asap to make the most of every day of vacation. I rather suspect (perhaps incorrectly) that you might even have less company the day after rather than the day before.
As someone who has lived in Japan for several years, I must confess that it strikes me as somewhat conspicuous that I can't think of a single interesting festival I've ever seen on Showa day. You'll undoubtedly be able to find something interesting to do, but I'm not sure how likely it is that it'll be in Tokyo itself. Most of the really unique festivals I've been to were out in the boonies. A friend of mine just went to a firewalking festival (complete with massive bonfire, of course) that required about two hours of driving to get to. All that said, I'm not sure how accessible any of those would be if you don't speak a bit of Japanese or aren't proficient at traveling outside your element.
If I were you, I'd leave a day later just to avoid the swarming throngs at Narita, and not to get any extra valuable experiences in.
posted by GoingToShopping at 8:30 AM on March 17, 2008

The people I work with have all said to leave "a few days" earlier (not just one) or sometime in the middle of the week.

That said, my own whacked priorities have me leaving from NRT on the 29th also. Note also that the 4/29 fare was about $400 higher than the otherwise-same itinerary leaving on 5/1. You may see similar discrepancies.

GoingToShopping: when/where is this firewalking festival? I may have to add this to my list of things I want to see/do here :)
posted by whatzit at 5:28 AM on March 18, 2008