Middle of May

The first week of May (depending on the days of the week the holidays actually fall) in Japan is called Golden Week. There are 5 holidays and some people are able to take a few more days and add all that to the weekends to get a decent Spring Break. Most offices are closed and most stores are open. This year there was a special deal for those going by car on the major toll roads throughout the country so even more people than usual opted for car trips.

Rather than go somewhere and relax, most Japanese feel that if you go somewhere historic or famous, you need to run around as much as you can and see everything, and of course take pictures.

I went into Tokyo and visited an exhibit of antique Japanese fabrics and crafts one day, and went in the other direction to visit a big craft store for some findings for a bag I was making. Mostly I enjoyed having less people to share the trains with and having a couple days off work.

Now it is the middle of May and small signs of summer are appearing.