Golden Week in Tokyo

I've read some posts but they're from years ago.

I am thinking of going to japan from Apr 30 to May 7. I think I'd spend all that time in tokyo.

Are stores and malls open during gw? Would tokyo be super crowded or quiet?

Thanks

Tokyo will be open and subways, commuter trains less crowded. There should be less people in Tokyo than normal but I doubt that you�fd notice it except for the trains.

Enjoy your trip to Tokyo!

Would the stores, malls and restaurants still be open?

Hi!

Yes, stores, malls, and restaurants are still open, it's not New Years. It's generally a vacation time for office workers, and honestly depending on the company, people only take off so much time.

I think it's a beautiful time in Tokyo because of all the azaleas in bloom. I use to love visiting Tokyo then.

I would say trains might be less crowded but there are plenty of people who pick to go to Tokyo during that period for vacation so just make sure you book accommodations ASAP. I imagine a lot of the cheapest places are already booked. If you planned to go to the Disney parks they're going to be super crowded. Places near to Tokyo like Hakone are probably going to be crowded as well. Tourist sights will be busy.

Enjoy!

One more thing to keep in mind, there are two days in the work week that aren't holidays. May 1st and 2nd (Tue and Wed) aren't holidays. so GW is cut into two long weekends. This may ease the congestion a bit as well.

A comment on "commuter" congestion - just because there are some non-work days does not mean the trains will necessarily be empty. Less full maybe. There are still very large numbers of people moving around the city on weekends - a few less office workers, but still lots of people.