Travelers crowd stations as Japan's 5-day Silver Week holiday ends

Tokyo's train stations were bustling on Wednesday as individuals returned from trips and hometown visits, marking the conclusion of Japan's inaugural five-day Silver Week autumn holiday, a break that had not transpired in 11 years. At Tokyo Station, the crowds were thick, with Kokoha Mieda, a 9-year-old fourth-grader from Kobe in Hyogo Prefecture, sharing that she made her inaugural journey with her 54-year-old grandmother without her parents.

Despite a day spent indoors due to the impact of Typhoon Dujuan on the 25th of the season, Mieda recounted her delight in exploring Harajuku with a cousin residing in Tokyo and sampling local cuisine while strolling. Similar to Mieda, Nagoya Station was teeming with visitors as the city hosted festivities related to the Asian Games, set to take place in neighboring central Japan.

Yudai Hiroto, a 31-year-old man from the western region who had paid a visit to his wife's family, attended an Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games volleyball match. He admitted the event was underwhelming, expressing a wry smile while rushing back home. Numerous Tokaido Shinkansen bullet trains, which connect Tokyo and Osaka Prefecture in western Japan, were fully booked in the afternoon, according to the operator, Central Japan Railway Co.