2026 & 2027 Japanese National Holidays Explained: Dates & Significance

QUICK ANSWER || Japan has 16 national holidays a year, running from New Year’s Day on January 1 to Labor Thanksgiving Day on November 23. In 2026 the calendar adds two extra days off, a substitute holiday on May 6 and a Citizen’s Holiday on September 22, for 18 in total. In 2027 there are 17, with a substitute holiday on March 22.

The busiest holiday periods are Golden Week, Obon and the New Year break, when trains and hotels book up fast.

Below is a list of the Japanese National Holidays you need to know.

Further down, we will also talk about how the Japanese Public Holidays’ significance and how they are celebrated.

Throughout the page we’ve also created a number of images (including the one you can see here) that you can download, share and save.

Let’s learn about the Japanese National Holidays in more detail now!

How Does Japan Celebrate Holidays?

Long Weekends in Japan // 2026 and 2027

When to Avoid Travelling in Japan

Japanese National Holidays // FAQs

JAPANESE NATIONAL HOLIDAYS 2026

Other Holidays and Observed Dates in 2026

JAPANESE NATIONAL HOLIDAYS 2027

Japan has a large number of public holidays. Here is a full list of them from the start of the calendar year.

Other Holidays and Observed Dates in 2027

There are also a number of other holidays that Japan celebrates. These aren’t officially recognised as national holidays, but nonetheless, are celebrated across Japan.

HOW DOES JAPAN CELEBRATE HOLIDAYS?

Here’s a quick rundown on how Japanese people celebrate the big days in the calendar. Some are national holidays when most people get the day off: New Year’s Day, Coming of Age Day, National Foundation Day and the Golden Week holidays. Others, like Setsubun, Valentine’s Day, White Day, Tanabata, Obon and Christmas, are celebrations when most people still go to work.

Before we get to those, here’s what the other national holidays mark:

New Year’s Day

New Year’s Day is officially known as 元日 (がんじつ ganjitsu).

The celebrations on New Year’s Day are commonly referred to as 正月（しょうがつ shogatsu).

Only January 1 is an official national holiday, but government offices close from December 29 to January 3, banks close from December 31 to January 3, and many companies shut for the same week.

The first shrine or temple visit of the year has its own name: 初詣（はつもうで hatsumode).

On this day, people typically dress up and go with families or friends to visit shrines to make wishes for the upcoming year.

These wishes include good health, passing exams, and luck in love.

At the shrines, people will also draw fortunes which are said to determine their luck for the upcoming year, ranging from very bad to very good.

If you draw a bad or very bad luck fortune, you can tie it to a tree branch, which is said to ward away the bad luck.

Coming of Age Day

Coming of Age Day, celebrated at the start of January, is the day where children officially become adults in Japan.

Anyone who has turned 20 years old in the past year participates in a celebration. They dress up, either wearing a kimono (women) or a suit (men) and take lots of pictures to commemorate their entry into adult society.

Japan lowered the legal age of adulthood from 20 to 18 on April 1, 2022. Since then, 18-year-olds can sign contracts such as phone plans or apartment leases without a parent’s consent.

Drinking, smoking and public gambling are still only allowed from 20, though. That’s why many cities still hold their ceremonies for 20-year-olds, and why the day remains such a big milestone.

Setsubun

Setsubun celebrates the arrival of Spring.

On this day, people throw fukumame, or roasted soybeans, out of the front door, and shout “Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” (Devils out! Fortunes in!) before slamming the door.

This practice symbolically purifies the home and banishes bad luck and illness for the next year.

After throwing the fukumame, the participants then eat one fukumame for each year of their life, plus one more for good luck.

National Foundation Day

As the name suggests, National Foundation Day, which takes place on February 11th, celebrates the Foundation of Japan.

On this day, citizens typically have the day off. A parade also takes place, and other festivals may also be held.

Valentine’s Day and White Day

Valentine’s Day and White Day are linked together! Valentine’s Day, as in the rest of the world, takes place on February 14th.

In Japan, February the 14th is a day when women give two kinds of chocolate away. Obligation chocolate, which is typically small and store-bought, and homemade chocolate.

Homemade chocolate is given to significant others and crushes, whereas obligation chocolate is given to friends, coworkers, classmates, etc.

Notice we only mentioned women and not men.

That’s because…

White Day, which takes place a month later, is the reciprocal day where men who have received chocolate from a woman give her a gift in return that comes out to an equal value.

Golden Week

Golden Week (ゴールデンウィーク) is not one day, but a collection of holidays that fall one after another, from Shōwa Day on April 29 to Children’s Day on May 5. You’ll have noticed in the table above three holidays all come directly after each other.

In 2027, Golden Week runs from Thursday, April 29 to Wednesday, May 5. Friday, April 30 is a normal working day, so most people get five days in a row from May 1 to 5, or a full week if they take April 30 off.

• Constitution Memorial Day
• Greenery Day
• Children’s Day

Along with Shōwa Day, these days all make up the Golden Week in Japan.

In Japan, most people travel during Golden Week, often to see friends and family or go on vacation abroad, as the majority of people have paid time off that week. Along with Obon and New Year, it’s one of the three busiest times of the year on the railways.

During all three peak periods, JR Central and JR West run every Nozomi shinkansen between Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka (Hakata) with reserved seats only, so you can’t just turn up with a non-reserved ticket. Hotels in Tokyo, Kyoto and popular resort towns fill up early and charge more, and famous sights get very crowded.

TIP💡 Reserved shinkansen seats usually go on sale one month before departure, so book as soon as they open. Reserve your hotel a few months ahead if your trip overlaps with Golden Week, Obon or New Year.

Silver Week // September’s Rare Holiday Cluster

Silver Week (シルバーウィーク) is the autumn version of Golden Week, and it only happens in some years. In 2026 it ran for five days, from Saturday, September 19 to Wednesday, September 23.

The reason is a rule called the Citizen’s Holiday (国民の休日, kokumin no kyujitsu). Under Japan’s holiday law, an ordinary day sandwiched between two national holidays becomes a day off too. In 2026, Respect for the Aged Day fell on Monday, September 21 and Autumnal Equinox Day on Wednesday, September 23, so Tuesday, September 22 became a bridge holiday.

There’s no Silver Week in 2027. Respect for the Aged Day is Monday, September 20 and the equinox is Thursday, September 23, with two working days in between. You still get a three-day weekend from September 18 to 20.

Long Weekends in Japan // 2026 and 2027

Japan’s Happy Monday System moves four holidays to a Monday: Coming of Age Day, Marine Day, Respect for the Aged Day and Sports Day. Together with substitute holidays, that gives you these long weekends:

Tanabata

Tanabata is celebrated in July and August, and is known in English as the Star Festival.

While the date of the festival takes place varies by region, it celebrates the meeting of Orihime and Hikoboshi.

Orihime and Hikoboshi are a pair of lovers who are separated by the Milky Way and can only meet once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh month of the lunar calendar (hence the name 七夕 (Tanabata) which has the Chinese character for seven in it.

On this day, people write wishes on small pieces of paper and hang them on bamboo, which is often burned or set afloat after the festival.

Obon

Obon is not a national holiday, but it is one of Japan’s biggest travel periods. In most of Japan it runs from about August 13 to 16 (Thursday to Sunday in 2026, Friday to Monday in 2027), while parts of Tokyo and a few other areas hold it in mid-July instead.

Many companies give staff a few days off around Obon, often next to Mountain Day on August 11, so trains and expressways out of the big cities are packed.

Obon is a festival meant to honour the spirits of one’s ancestors.

During this time, people typically wear yukata, go to carnivals, and perform a ritual called 送り火（おくりび; sending fire).

This ritual is meant to send ancestors’ spirits back to their permanent resting place. The 盆踊り（ぼんおどり, or Bon Dance) is also performed to remember and appreciate one’s ancestor’s sacrifices.

Christmas

In Japan, Christmas is very different from how it is celebrated in the West.

DID YOU KNOW | Only about 1% of people in Japan are Christian, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ yearly religious statistics.

Because so few people are Christian, Christmas is essentially a commercial holiday in Japan.

Christmas is seen as similar to Valentine’s Day, with people going on dates with their significant others.

Families will sometimes eat a cake together, and children may receive gifts.

A tree may also be put up. Schools and offices will often have parties.

When to Avoid Travelling in Japan // Peak Periods for 2026 and 2027

Japan is at its busiest when everyone has the same days off. If your dates are flexible, plan around these periods, or book well ahead if you can’t:

Crowds also build around Japan’s two big nature seasons. Cherry blossom season usually peaks from late March to early April in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Autumn leaves peak from around mid-November to early December in those cities. Both shift a little every year, so check the forecasts before you book.

TIP💡 June has no national holidays, which makes it quieter for sightseeing, but it’s also the rainy season in most of Japan.

Hopefully that gives you a solid idea of what holidays are celebrated in Japan and the dates you should be looking out for on your calendar.

If you want to discover why people have to work weekends to make up for public holidays in China, you’ll want to check out our guide to Chinese public holidays here.

Whilst you are at it come and check out Korea’s most important celebrations and finally Vietnam’s big six Public Holidays also.

DID YOU KNOW | You can take Japanese classes in Tokyo with LTL. Come and study Japanese in Japan in small group classes, or create your own individual program. You can even stay with one of our homestay families in Tokyo to boost your skills further.

Drop us a message if you fancy getting involved.

JAPANESE NATIONAL HOLIDAYS // FAQs

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