Japan's two major international airports -- Narita in Chiba Prefecture and Kansai in Osaka Prefecture -- were strained to capacity Thursday as travelers returned home from New Year's vacations abroad, airport officials said.
International flights from Southeast Asian countries and other parts of the world were almost fully booked, with the number of returning passengers in the two airports expected to be 6,000 to 8,000 more than on the same day last year, the officials said.
Fear of Y2K problems kept many New Year's travelers in Japan last year, they said.
At Narita airport, some 43,000 people were expected to arrive on Thursday, while an estimated 25,000 arrivals were anticipated at the Kansai International Airport, they said.
The number of returning passengers at Kansai airport would peak Thursday, while Sunday would likely be the busiest day at Narita airport, the officials said.
Mariko Shimada, 54, a housewife who touched down at Kansai airport with her husband and daughter, said she had a wonderful New Year's dinner while greeting the new millennium on Indonesia's Bali Island.
"Things sure got moving over there," she said.
Masahiro Tsumagari, a returning passenger at Narita, spent a week in Thailand with his wife.
"Last year, I spent New Year's holidays at home due to the Y2K bug fears. This year I was able to relax, sunbathe at my own leisure, and start the new year with a great time at the hotel," the 50-year-old Tokyo company employee said of his experience.