Booked To Go to Tokyo in Golden Week. Don’t Panic!

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Golden Week, which happens at the end of April and beginning of May in Japan is one of the busiest travel periods in the country – so, what happens if you find out you’ve booked your trip to Tokyo then? Here’s what happened when we did exactly that!

Article by Helen Foster. Disclosure: Some links in this post are affiliate links. See our Affiliate Disclosure.

What the Heck is Golden Week?

Now, chances are you’re reading this because you know what Golden Week is and are a little bit concerned that you’ve booked your trip to take place during it, but just in case…Golden Week in Japan is the time when pretty much the whole country takes their holidays.

Many factories shut down for the whole period and the fact that they can get a week, or even ten days, off while taking hardly any holiday means that many other people also down tools and go exploring in Japan or overseas.

This means that businesses close, hotels and trains around the country get booked out and the crowds in super busy places like Kyoto grow massively.

When is Golden Week in Japan in 2024?

Golden Week happens every year between April 29th and May 6th. During this time, there are four public holidays – April 29, May 3rd, May 4th, and May 5th.

My Experience of Tokyo in Golden Week

It shouldn’t have happened. ‘Don’t go to Japan in Golden Week.‘ says almost every article, website, and person who lives in Japan ever. So, imagine my horror when on one of my trips I realized I’d managed to do exactly that.

Considering how many times I’ve been to Japan, how much time I spend reading about Tokyo, or planning trips to Tokyo, it’s a bit odd that I managed to slip up – but, I was blinded by a bargain.

Only once I had my flight did I realize, I’d booked to go to Tokyo in Golden Week…

This was the exact point that I’d booked my solo trip to do some blog research before my friend joined me. No wonder the flight was so cheap!

I admit, at this point, I panicked.

My original plan for the trip had been to spend a few days in Tokyo and then go down to Kyushu island in the south of Japan.

A quick Google on the price of hotel rooms down there saw me rapidly rethink things. I decided I’d stay in Tokyo during Golden Week – I love the place and had heaps to research for the blog.

Best decision ever…

While most of Japan sees an influx of local tourists during Golden Week, Tokyo has the opposite – people leave the city and as such, it was the quietest I’d seen it for a lot of my trip.

Look, I even managed to sit in the road in the middle of Ginza (it was closed to traffic, I’m not a total numpty!)

Hence, my overwhelming advice, if you’ve booked to go to Tokyo during Golden Week, is Don’t Panic. It’s all going to be completely fine.

I’d had visions of walking into a ghost town and living on food from the 7-11 (no hardship admittedly), but pretty much everything I wanted to see was open when I wanted to see it, bars and restaurants are still open during Golden Week so I didn’t starve.

I managed to take three different tours – and I had an awesome time with at least one experience I’d never have had if I hadn’t traveled during Golden Week. And you will too…

But saying that there are a few bits of advice I think might help make your trip go smoothly and ensure you get to see as much as possible.

13 Tips for an Awesome Tokyo Trip During Golden Week

1. Plan in Advance

Golden Week is not a time to be spontaneous – especially with big things like your accommodation.

Have your hotel(s) booked well in advance – this is even more essential if you are leaving Tokyo and traveling elsewhere in Japan during Golden Week.

2. Double Check Opening Hours

One thing I did notice during Golden Week, is that opening hours get erratic.

Places that normally close on a Monday, suddenly decide that Monday is a great day to open (even though it’s a bank holiday) and that Wednesday is the best day to lie in instead – for no apparent reason.

For example, I walked past this cute little curry shop every night on the way back to my hotel, but when I actually decided to go in there to eat one evening, it was suddenly closed for Golden Week. So I just got to admire the cute shutter art instead.

So if there’s somewhere you really want to go, either go in then when you see it open or, go in and check if it’s closing at any point over the next few days rather than leaving it to chance.

If you’re planning in advance or worry about making yourself understood if you go and ask about their hours, a lot of places put their Golden Week opening hours on their website.

Those websites may not be in English so Google Translate is your friend – although I do find that using it on the desktop version offers far more coherent translations than the app version.

3. Embrace the Madness

The good thing about spending Golden Week in Tokyo is that you’ll stumble across all manner of special happenings in the city.

The closed road in my pic above in Ginza is one example of this, but there was an even more amazing one to come.

I was wandering around Ginza with a couple I’d met on a Food Tour and we came across a matsuri – a ceremony where people carry a shrine through the streets with a lot of shouting and bouncing.

The male of the couple was a huge bloke named Thor and as soon as the guys carrying the shrine saw him, they grabbed him and shoved him underneath.

Giggling, his wife and I got our cameras, out until we realized they were now coming to get us. Cue the three of us dancing through the streets carrying a shrine float – it was incredible!

Be open to experiences, keep your eyes peeled for groups of people in matching outfits that might signify there’s a parade nearby, and embrace whatever is on offer.

4. Be Flexible

This is a bit of an offshoot of the above as small things can be different in Golden Week. For example, the first afternoon I arrived in Tokyo, I met up with a friend, Jonelle (who also told me about her favourite day in Tokyo here), and we went off for lunch.

We were going to a Shabu-Shabu place in Ginza she wanted to take me to – but when we got there, we found they had a special Golden Week menu and the dish she had wanted me to try wasn’t on it.

Things change during Golden Week, expect it, be prepared, and don’t let it ruin your fun and all will be good.

5. Go to Less Touristy Places

This might not be super feasible if it’s your first trip to Tokyo as you’re going to want to see iconic sights like Senso-ji or Takeshita Street in Harajuku – but so does everyone else that’s there on their holiday from other parts of the country.

If you can take a break to see some cool, but less obvious areas you’ll get away from the crowds at least some of the time.

Some of the best places to visit during Golden Week include…

Sugamo – an old traditional area best known as the place seniors love to shop or go to Shimokitozawa – often called the new Harajuku.

Another great area to explore is Yanaka – the Nezu shrine (above) that you’ll find here is like a mini version of Fushimi Inari in Kyoto with row after row of red torii gates but without a queue of people to get into it.

It’s also near the main shopping street of the area, Yanaka Ginza is a must-stop for anyone who loves cats. Just go and all will be revealed.

6. Hit the Tourist Spots Early

During Golden Week the sun is up at 5am and the earlier you can get out and do things the better.

While it’s true that much of Tokyo opens later, you can visit many shrines before 9 am – including the big names like Senso-ji or the Meiji Shrine and if you do you’ll beat some of the crowds. This picture was taken super early in the morning of Golden Week.

Tsukiji Outer Market and Toyosu Fish Market, are also open before 8 am (although check opening hours as they might vary with bank holidays). While Toyosu isn’t the greatest place to sightsee, it’s a fantastic place for breakfas.

7. And Do The Same With Malls

The only time I gave up trying to do something I wanted to do during Golden Week was when I wanted to try and see the tiny statue of Godzilla that used to live near Ginza.

It has been replaced by a much larger one, and I wanted to get a pic of the old one in the cinema area of the mall opposite – off to the mall I trotted, only to find a queue to get in!

I still haven’t seen the tiny statue of Godzilla.

I also found the crowds slightly unbearable at Tokyo Character Street, a row of cutesy character shops, under Tokyo station (and they were also pretty big in the row of ramen shops here too). Seems shopping is a BIG Golden Week activity.

8. Know When the Bank Holidays Are. 

Not everyone can take the whole of Golden Week off, some people do have to work, but they do get the bank holidays at either end off – and this is when things are likely to be more crowded and more things are likely to be closed so again, plan around this.

Remember, the holidays in 2024 are April 29, May 3rd, May 4th, and May 5th.

These are the days when you’ll definitely want to make sure you have your train reservations sorted out and book Shinkansen tickets in advance if you’re traveling under your own steam (see more about this below).

Also note, that for Golden Week 2024, April 29th is a Monday, so, the Friday night and Saturday before this are also likely to be busy travel days.

9. Book Attractions in Advance

Some tickets in Tokyo are incredibly popular at the best of times – try and just rock up without a reservation in Golden Week and you’re either standing in a queue for hours – or, not getting in at all.

The list below takes you to links where you can book tickets or skip the line passes to some of Tokyo’s most popular attractions. I’d really suggest you use them if you’re traveling to Tokyo in Golden Week.

Tokyo Skytree. Depending on how brave you are, you can pick from the 350m views or the 450m high observation deck. Click here to buy Tokyo Skytree tickets in advance.

Shibuya Sky: The most Instagrammable observation deck in Tokyo, you need to book to go here at sunset on a normal day, and if you’re trying to visit in Golden Week I’d suggest booking at any other part of the day too. Tickets go on sale a month before the date of entry. Find them here.

Mori Teamlab Digital Art Museum: This innovative museum blows people away with its incredible interactive effects. It’s been closed for a while and reopens in February 2024, so Golden Week 2024 will be mobbed.

On top of that, despite the fact that it’s open from 10-7 pm people queue up before opening to get in. If you’re going in Golden Week you might want to get there for 9 am just to be sure.

They release tickets for the next month in the middle of the month before (so, April tickets will go on sale in mid-March, May tickets in mid-April, and so on.) 

Book tickets to Mori Team lab in advance here.

Studio Ghibli: If you love Studio Ghibli and want to go to the museum, you’ll need to book tickets the day they go on sale. This is on the 10th of the month before the date you want to visit – so, for visits during Golden Week you’d either book April 10th, or May 10th. You literally have to be online the minute they go on sale at 10am Japanese time.

Buy them here.

If you do miss out, we have details on a sneaky way you might be able to get tickets in our post on Tokyo attractions to book in advance.

10. Maybe Avoid Disneyland 

This was the one thing that Golden Week stuffed up for me on my last trip.

I love Disney, Mr Japlanease hates the place, and so, I was going to spend a day of this trip hopping between the parks – erm no!

Even when I found out it was Golden Week, I was still going to go as it was the food, shops, and other little quirks I wanted to see most, but when someone told me you might queue an hour even for a snack, I decided against it. Nope, not even a cute alien mochi could tempt me!

Golden Week can see crowds of 50,000+ at Disneyland (compared to a predicted 20,000 on May 7th when it’s all over) and over 30,000 at DisneySea.

If you do have to go during Golden Week check the exact crowds expected on the day you choose on a Disney Crowd Calendar and try and find the quietest day. This post explains what that is, where one is and how to use it.

Expect things to be super busy, chill out about queuing, and you must book your tickets in advance.

11. Book Trains as Early as You Can

If you do decide to head out of Tokyo for a day trip or longer during Golden Week, book your bullet train tickets as early as possible – especially if you want to travel on the faster Nozomi trains between Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka as during Golden Week reservations on these are mandatory.

Even on the slower trains things get busy. I was standing in a queue to activate my rail pass one evening listening to a family of four trying to get to Kyoto the next day – they had to go on two different trains, three hours apart as there was nothing left for them to travel together.

There are JR Pass-friendly trains at least every half an hour between Tokyo and Kyoto – that’s how busy it gets.

How to Book Shinkansen Tickets in Advance in Golden Week

If You Have a Japan Rail Pass: Exactly how to book tickets depends on where you bought the pass.

If you bought the pass directly from the official JR site, then you can make online reservations a month before the day you want to travel.

If you bought it from a third party like Klook, once you enter Japan you can activate your Japan rail pass up to 30 days before you travel and start making train reservations as soon as it’s done.

While I appreciate you might not want to spend the first day of your trip to Tokyo booking trains, if you’re traveling during Golden Week, it will be time well spent.

If you’re Buying Individual Tickets: By Golden Week 2024 the JR Pass will have increased in price making it less cost-effective (see more on that in this piece on pricing the Rail Pass in 2024) and so more people will be buying individual tickets, and while you don’t usually have to buy these in advance, Golden Week is one time you are going to want to do this – especially if you want to use the faster, Nozomi trains.

As I mentioned above, from Golden Week 2024, you will not be able to get on a Nozomi train during the week without a seat reservation. You can use the slower Hikari and Kodama trains, but Nozomi will need a reservation.

There are a few ways to buy Shinkansen tickets in advance, including direct from the train companies and the Smart Ex app (see our full guide here), but one of the easiest with a foreign credit card is via Klook. They now offer a service where you can book Shinkansen tickets a month in advance, so if you don’t want to risk waiting until you get to Japan to secure your train seats, this could be a great option – and they also include the faster, and more frequent Nozomi trains.

Book your tickets here.

You’ll usually find a list of the expected peak travel days for Golden Week online – they will differ slightly each year, so just double-check them for when you’re traveling.

12. Use it as an Excuse to Slow Down

When my friend Kendall arrived to join me on the last weekend of Golden Week, we headed off to Harajuku to play with otters and eat loads of crazy ice creams – and yes, we wanted to see Takeshita Street, Harajuku’s busiest road.

It was a zoo – admittedly, it’s packed on a Sunday too – but, as we shuffled along behind hundreds of other people, instead of getting frustrated, I realized it gave us the perfect time to peer in upstairs windows that normally get ignored for all the shiny bright things on the ground level.

If you do get stuck in a queue of people, use it as an excuse to look up – you never know what you might spot.

13. Look For Special Golden Week Events

While I’ve spent most of this post telling you how to avoid crowds during Golden Week, Tokyo also puts on some extra events over the period that, even though busy, might be worth a look.

As I found with my float-carrying experience, there are parades and other events going on around the city that you might want to get involved in.

Some of the best sights and activities during Tokyo Golden Week include…

Beautiful Flowers

The Wisteria bloom around Golden Week, and while they might not be as popular as the cherry blossoms they are still beautiful. Kameido Shrine, about a 20-minute walk south of Tokyo Skytree is one of the best places to see them.

Or, about two hours away from Tokyo is the Ashikaga Flower Park. This has a beautiful wisteria display and they light the flowers at night. That’s it below.

Image: Ashikaga Flower Park. Courtesy Tobu Railway. Used with Permission

How to Get to Ashikagashi Flower Park

Use the Tobu line from Tokyo Skytree or Tobu-Asakusa.

It takes a couple of simple changes and costs around 2000 yen each way. Use the Navitime app to find the quickest connections at the time and day you’re traveling.

If you haven’t come across Navitime yet, it’s the easiest way to plan your train trips in Japan. Check out our full post on it here.

Traditional Sights

The Meiji Shrine near Harajuku has its Spring Festival showcasing various Japanese traditional arts.

And watch out for the Carp Streamers (koinobori). They fly all over the place and celebrate Children’s Day (once known as Boy’s Day) which happens on May 5th.

Each fish represents a member of the family.

The Pride Parade

The LGBTQ Pride Parade also happens in Tokyo around Golden Week.

Top Tip For Foodies: You might also find some specific sweets being sold around Golden Week. Again these are mostly to celebrate Children’s Day – look out for a special bun-shaped mochi filled with red rice bean paste called Kashiwa-mochi and special three-colour mochi – pink, green, and white balls all on the same skewer.

Live Music

If you’re into music, Golden Week is also a really good time to find bands playing as people are more likely to let loose in the week so more bands play.

Shimokitazawa is a good area to find bands and gigs. Livehouse is the catch-all name for a gig venue.

Baseball

Most baseball teams also at least one game during Golden Week.

I’ve heard varying reports about how easy it is to get a ticket for a game in Tokyo during Golden Week so, just to be sure, book in advance.

You can buy tickets for games at the Tokyo Dome here.

How Busy Is Tokyo During Golden Week?

In the most touristy places and shopping malls, it’s much busier, but I found the city itself to be quieter. The below picture is of Harajuku on a Saturday morning.

To give you an idea, all of the above pictures (except the Shinkansen and the Ghibli sign) were actually taken during Golden Week in Tokyo.

The payoff was that I found hotel prices to be much cheaper.

And as I said, don’t worry about restaurants or shops being closed – while I did get unstuck trying to go to a specific place on some days, there was always something else open nearby.

So there you have it, my guide to what to do during Golden Week in Tokyo and what to expect from it. Hopefully, you’ve realized it’s all going to be okay – with a little bit of planning. Now, have an awesome time.