Current Practice
Many Japanese take paid time off on the intervening work days, but some companies also close down completely and give their employees time off. Golden Week is the longest vacation period of the year for many Japanese jobs. Two other holidays may also be observed for most or all of a week: Japanese New Year in January and Obon Festival in August. Golden Week is an extremely popular time to travel. Flights, trains, and hotels are often fully booked despite their significantly higher rates at this time. Popular foreign destinations in Asia, Guam, Saipan, Hawaii, and major cities on the west coast of North America, such as Los Angeles, Seattle, San Diego, San Francisco, and Vancouver, as well as in Europe and Australia, are affected during these seasons by huge numbers of Japanese tourists.
Golden Week has a reputation for a high rate of suicide in Japan, with special suicide hotlines set up during the week as an attempt to reduce the number of suicides there.
Read more about this topic: Golden Week (Japan)
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