Japan 2026: 10 Dates That Could RUIN Your Trip
Planning a trip to Japan in 2026? Avoid massive crowds and skyrocketing prices by dodging these 10 critical “Red Zone” dates, including the rare 2026 Silver Week and the “Final Boss” New Year shutdown. From Golden Week hacks to Shinkansen reservation secrets, this ultimate Japan travel guide reveals exactly when to book to save thousands and skip the lines.
My second channel: @HappyGaijin
THE 10 DATES:
00:00 Intro: 10 Dates that will ruin your 2026 trip
00:54 Coming of Age Day Weekend
01:26 Emperor’s Birthday Weekend
02:03 Vernal Equinox & Sakura “Triple Threat”
03:14 RED ZONE #1: Golden Week
04:50 Marine Day (Summer Holiday Start)
05:08 RED ZONE #2: Obon Festival Migration
06:01 RARE EVENT: Silver Week 2026
07:12 Sports Day Weekend
07:36 Labor Thanksgiving & Peak Autumn Foliage
08:23 RED ZONE #3: The New Year “Final Boss”
09:56 The Best Time to Visit Japan in 2026
Check out the dates: https://www.ninjasaru.com/post/the-2026-japan-no-go-calendar
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17 Comments
Looks like I will dodge the bullet 🎉
Thank you for the advice! In that case my trip will probably between 24 September and 9 October or between 13 October and 20 November 😁
Well, apparently YouTube doesn't think I like your videos, silly YouTube. Nothing above your index finger for me. I've found that based on my travel patterns, I always run into some holiday, where ever or when ever I go anywhere. You've just got to learn to work around certain dates. This video is great because it will give you major dates country wide, but there can be local holidays. So as this Ninja Monkey guy always says, planing is the key to being a Happy Gaijin for any Japan trip.
Can you do a video of best time to go
booked during golden week, had no idea when I booked it in November. Got great airline ticket fares though. So far I have no found accommodation to be more expensive, it is still cheaper than the Sakura/cherry-blossom weeks in early April. I am really hoping Tokyo will not be too bad during golden week, mixed reviews, some are saying during golden week lots migration out of Tokyo make it a great time to visit, additionally everything is open later during that time.
Yeah loads of places were shut this New Year. On one day trip from Tokyo round the Chiba peninsular all 3 things I planned on seeing were shut or had closed early. Google said they were all open of course….
My next trip will be in the summer, though flights from the UK are really expensive at that time (twice what I've paid in some previous trips eg May).
I will be in Japan in March 2026- I enjoy your info but your March calendar on screen was incorrect
I am already booked for Sakura so you just have to be patient with people. You also forgot Formula 1 racing is also during Sakura (27-29 March). 100,000+ people will be travelling from Nagoya to Suzuka 🏎️🌸 I was there during Golden week last year and it wasn’t too bad. Good advice all round, but if you want to avoid the crowds explore areas away from the popular ones. Japan is beautiful no matter where you go as all areas have something unique. You might just find the next best place to take an instagram photo ❤
Hello everyone
I couldnt even use my japanese bank credit card during new years this year. It said the bank wasnt operating during this time.
We need this guide , I wouldn't do Kyoto as I did 6 years ago it was not bad then but now🤯 🤯
Which of these dates surprised you the most? 🇯🇵 Also, if you’ve traveled to Japan during a major holiday before, let us know your best survival tip in the comments! I’ll be hearting and replying to as many as I can. 👇
Save us!
👍👍
Super helpful!😂
July 1st Quebec moving day. Hell on earth in this province. As for Japan, im ready for war goldenweek us in my first 7 days of 20 i'll be there. Though i'll be in Fukuoka by may4th.
Thanks Nathan for the good information and for finishing with "Go to Japan, when you can go, as its better going there, than not going there" 🙂.
We will be in Tokyo from March 20th to 24th, but I dont worry about it. The hotel is booked since 10 months, we have been in Japan during that time already 4 times and it was always fine. We have seen sakura several times, been to places like Harajuku, Shibuya, Akihabara, Senso-ji temple etc. and dont have any plans to visit things like TeamLab and Harry Potter studios. So I am sure it will be fine again (and much better than beeing on the Izu Peninsula during that time, which was the original plan when I started researching about a year ago).