The two major airports servicing Tokyo were congested Saturday with travelers returning home from the Golden Week holiday period.
The arrival lobbies of Narita airport, in Chiba Prefecture, were filled with couples and families, many carrying large suitcases.
The airport's operator, the New Tokyo International Airport Authority, predicts that a record 721,000 people will have passed through the nation's busiest airport during the holiday period from late April to today.
More than 50,000 travelers arrived at Narita airport on Saturday.
Haneda airport in Tokyo, which handles mostly domestic flights, experienced a similar level of congestion, with nearly all arriving flights booked solid. The crowds are expected to peak today.
The unusually large numbers are due to this year's calendar, which makes it easier for workers to take long spring breaks, as well as Y2K fears, which caused many travelers to postpone their New Year's holidays, according to the airport authority.
Sayo Katano, 26, an office worker from Shizuoka Prefecture, returned Saturday from a 10-day trip to Italy.
"I was able to travel to Italy, where I've always wanted to go, because I could get a long vacation this year," she said. "I went to art museums and cathedrals and saw works of art I had only seen before in textbooks."