Traffic is seen on the Tomei Expressway in Yokohama on Saturday. Photo: KYODO
national

Fewer people traveling during Golden Week amid virus spike

36 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© KYODO

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

36 Comments
Login to comment

It's been raining every day with more forecast, so that might be keeping more people at home than any of the messaging.

17 ( +17 / -0 )

What is the purpose of your SOE if people still travel?

15 ( +25 / -10 )

My beach town has been flooded by out-of-prefecturers. Here to fish and surf.

10 ( +10 / -0 )

No mention of the number of travellers at the airports considering Japan has 29 airports that handle domestic flights. It's easy to cancel shinkansen tickets even on the day of departure. The cancellation fee is free or just 500 yen. But the strapped for cash airline industry has no plan to refund non-refundable airline tickets that many people purchased before the spike. And keep in mind, people love to pack restaurants in the daytime during golden week.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Aaah, but they are traveling and moving about, and the virus with them. 人流, the flow of people is what the docs were trying to control....oh well. Let's see what the numbers look like after GW. Either way, come hell or high water, the olympics is the next big event after this.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Written like a good bit of propaganda.

9 ( +10 / -1 )

Fewer people traveling during Golden Week amid virus spike

They must talk like this to try and stop people from traveling. From what I see, it’s business as usual.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

Is the pandemic virus transferred through " HUMAN TOUCH" or "HUMAN BODY FLUIDS" from a infected person and most important is the virus transmitted through air ?

Yes, it is transmitted through all the avenues you listed plus aerosol.

With so many people still being infected despite wearing mask I suspect alot of people get infected through touch and there are hundreds of things we touch in public that are not sterilized. Don't overly rely on what experts say, use your own discretion.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

"I will always be careful about the risk of infection," the 71-year-old said, adding she took a virus test ahead of her trip that came back negative.

This! Seems many people think that if they line up for a private test (non-socially distanced) by going deep into Tokyo by public transport, then it comes up negative, they can travel around and all will be good.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Another government propaganda to showcase to the world that the number of cases will start to drop. No transparency whatsoever by this jgov.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga has called on people to stay home as much as possible and avoid nonessential outings.

And these same people are asked to pack like sardines in trains to work to help J-inc make money.

Despite the houses being small and tight it is conveniently assumed that the virus doesn't spread at home, workplace or at schools. If you believe what the experts or mass media say without questioning the narrative, you are doing so at your own peril,

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Meanwhile. The selfish people continue to do what they like.

Selfish of all those people with secure jobs and no loss to income to ask everyone else to abide by their "standards", even when this emergency is anything but.

5 ( +9 / -4 )

Plenty of outsiders down here in Miyazaki. Many surfers drive down from Osaka and Kobe. There was a recent cluster up in Hyuga among surfers after they had dinner with a surfer from Osaka.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Fewer? It should be nobody.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

You can just tell that this article is from Kyodo News. In their eyes, the government has done nothing wrong.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

I think it was the case yesterday, not sure if there was a link with the bad weather because today on the other hand highway are super crowded around Tokyo this morning in the direction of Kanagawa / Chiba and Saitama.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The emergency through May 11 entails stronger measures than before including requiring restaurants serving alcohol to close, with fines for noncompliance.

The ever changing culprits responsible for the spread of the virus in Japan. Gyms, livehouses, eateries and the new kid on the block is alcohol.

3 ( +5 / -2 )

Fewer people traveling during Golden Week amid virus spike. Japan Railway trains departing from Tokyo on Saturday, including bullet trains, only 15 percent of some 530,000 reserved seats available in total had been sold.

This is actual figure of people traveling without GoToTravel program. So who's responsibility for people who really travel during GoToTravel period and increase infection rate?

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2021/01/22/national/go-to-travel-infections/

2 ( +6 / -4 )

So it is not Ok for a Japanese to travel, but it is ok for foreigner to come to Japan?

No, it would be not OK for anybody to travel without testing and isolation before and after the travel, something that is obviously much easier to ignore in local travel when compared with international one.

This whole thing is a big sham and those who are still advocating for people to be shut ins and locked in their homes should be ashamed of themselves.

It is not a sham, experts have the data and experience to say that social measures do work in preventing spreading, and nobody has said that you have to shut in your house, but that keeping those measures (and not traveling at the moment of a state of emergency) definitely have a role in keeping the numbers low.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Up to 500,000 SEATED people PER day going OUT from Tokyo ALONE on one day alone (shocked emoji face)

I noticed they reduced seat numbers from previous years, but still, that's a huge number moving in and out of one city during a pandemic.

And these things are running day in and day out, outside of GW as well. And that's just the trains! (Two or three shocked emoji faces in a row).

Japan is providing the ultimate conditions for this virus to spread around the country as quickly and efficiently as possible.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

It's distressing from those who have observed the precautions and done their best to help prevent the spread of the virus. Even missing funerals of loved ones.

Meanwhile. The selfish people continue to do what they like.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

Didn't JT just have an article stating the exact opposite?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

No, during all the pandemic months I’ve seldom before seen such crowded streets and massive car traffic.... But maybe you are right when only considering less money with the mass of people just leads to less sold long distance train or flight tickets and then falsely concluded that fewer people are traveling.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

This is Good News. The government has really dropped the ball, but most of the people are doing the right thing.

-3 ( +6 / -9 )

But for Japan Railway trains departing from Tokyo on Saturday, including bullet trains, only 15 percent of some 530,000 reserved seats available in total had been sold

cars don’t need trains to go out for some holiday and you don’t need to travel insanely far

-4 ( +5 / -9 )

This article contradicts yesterday's one. Anyway, I'm currently traveling and the place I'm at is full of cars with non-local plates, including yours truly, I guess pleople decided to ditch trains and the annoying mask rules.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

Traveling now is fantastic for social distancing. Still constant heigene a must but this is fantastic. We are thankful for all those that stayed at home to play with the kids and take care of the family.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

How is " Covid -19" actually transferred among humans is still a unsolved mystery.I live in Mumbai and at present the " Covid 19" pandemic has hit India like a Tsunami claiming the lives of people from various strata's of society.Is the pandemic virus transferred through " HUMAN TOUCH" or "HUMAN BODY FLUIDS" from a infected person and most important is the virus transmitted through air ?

-7 ( +3 / -10 )

I've been out and about and sure haven't noticed any reduced numbers. And good on them. It's been beautiful and mostly sunny (few spouts of rain). This whole 3rd state of emergency is a big joke and the people know it. So they are openly defying it. I say good.

This whole thing is a big sham and those who are still advocating for people to be shut ins and locked in their homes should be ashamed of themselves.

Get your vaccine when it's available but until then live your life. Don't let the "nanny state" people have their way.

-11 ( +2 / -13 )

I’m enjoying the oceans and eating whale jerky in Chiba for golden week. Good to know Tokyo peeps are staying home

-25 ( +6 / -31 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites