Golden Weeking

Today, as you probably know, it is April 26th. That may not mean much to you, but it certainly means something to me. And what it means is this:

Golden Week is coming.

Very soon, in fact. It will arrive in TWO DAYS. That's right, you heard me. Two. Days. If today is Thursday, then Golden Week will be here on what day? Come on now, say it with me. Saturday.

Good job.

You get a Gold Star!

What is Golden Week, you ask? Golden Week is a short period of time in which there are several national holidays. Essentially, this results in a week during which the entire country goes on vacation. This year, Golden week consists of two successive long weekends, one being a 3 day long weekend and the other being a 4 day long weekend.

But this is not necessarily the fantastic, wonderful gift that you might expect it to be. Plane, train, bus, and hotel prices sky rocket. A trip that might only cost you $300 at any other time of year will now cost you at least twice that amount. And you may not even be able to make the trip in the first place. Why? Because hotels at popular destinations may have already been entirely booked up for six months to a year in advance.

Yes, really. In fact, this happened to me. A few friends and I were planning to go to Yakushima for the second part of golden week. It's an incredibly gorgeous island that is famed for its nature, its obscenely old trees, its incredible hikes, and its mind-bending beauty. It is so beautiful, in fact, that Hayao Miyazaki based the forest setting of his famous movie, Princess Mononoke, on the island.

Unfortunately, despite looking a full two months in advance, my friends and I could not find a single place to lodge ourselves. Sadness. :(

Yeah, that sucked. But we all ended up making new plans, so it's okay. And now, Golden week is just around the corner. In fact, it begins tomorrow for me. When school gets out I will head down to the city to see my friend put on what will certainly be a super awesome DJ set. From there, it's Ise, Osaka, and later Fukuoka. Should be a good time.

What about you? If you live in Japan, what are your plans for Golden Week? If you don't live in Japan, what WOULD you do given a free week to travel?

~Jeffles