The rush of travelers heading for their ancestral hometowns and overseas for the New Year's holidays entered full swing Wednesday, with reservations for bullet trains almost full and major airports congested by holidaymakers.
According to the JR group, the annual mass exodus on railways will peak Thursday, while domestic airlines said departures from Narita International Airport reached its peak Wednesday. Those people are expected to return en masse Monday.
Meanwhile, expressway operators said traffic wasn't too bad as of Wednesday afternoon, apparently because the government's toll discount system — charging only ¥1,000 regardless of distance — doesn't apply to yearend travel.
At Tokyo Station in the morning, the platform for north-bound trains on the Tohoku Shinkansen Line were packed with passengers carrying lots of luggage.
At Narita airport, the departure rush of travelers planning to spend the holidays abroad peaked Wednesday, with an estimated 38,000 people using the airport, Narita International Airport Corp. said.
Many travelers opted for destinations in Europe on the back of the euro's weakness.
