Spring holiday season is coming soon. There are several national holidays between late April and early May. It is called "Golden Week" in Japan. It starts from 29th of April, Showa-no-hi, which is the birthday of previous emperor, showa-tenno, followed by constitution day on the 3rd, Midori-no-hi (green day) on the 4th and Kodomono-hi (children's day) on the 5th of May.
Although May Day is not a national holiday, most of major manufacturing companies are closed on the 1st of May. Golden Week consists of these holidays and weekends around them, and the length of the holidays is depending on the calender of the year.
This year, since constitution day on the 3rd is Sunday, the 6th is set as a makeup holiday. It means that Golden week continues from the 29th to the 10th except 30th, 1st, 7th and 8th this year. Some companies close their offices on these days, some people take paid holidays to make the holiday longer. It is possible to make it 16-day holiday from 25th of April to 10th of May if the person can take days off on 27th and 28th as well.
It sounds nice, but it is serious that some companies take long holiday in order to close operations during this period due to the business depression.
Still I am really looking forward to the Golden Week!! It is lovely season.
