Travelers on New Year's holidays flood planes, trains in Japan

Already settled in at our destination leaving earlier than the masses and will return after. Empty highways, arghh to be able to decide your own time schedule and base it on common sense and crown avoidance.

Excellent stuff. Let's hope this China surge does not put an end to this (near) normality.

Stay safe.

9th wave incoming. We passed through Tokyo Station yesterday returning from a trip to Tohoku and it was packed.

What about automobiles?

I rode the shinkansen up to Aomori this past weekend and I was the only one in the car. It was delightful.

Don’t worry about auto mobiles, they will be stuck as they are every year on poorly designed expressways you have to applaud the name it’s hardly an expressway. Watch the news tomorrow and the big story will be how cars are moving at increments of centre meters. Then the annual packed trains. You would wonder why this happens every year for decades. Stupidity and a lack of planning comes to mind. But maybe it’s a cultural acceptance of having personal time involves being uncomfortable as a balance for not being at the office.

I’d rather wait to travel until after the New Year. There will be less people.

I want no part of that madness during the holidays. I'd rather stay at home.

I love Japan. Nobody actually travels for Xmas. Left before Xmas and returned Tuesday. Narita was not particularly crowded and the flight was dirt cheap. I feel sorry these people who actually plan their vacations around national holidays and then complain about the crowds!

I bookend these stupid state-designated travel periods. I left a week ago and return in mid january. I'm flying internationally for free on points.

Japanese employers need to be a lot less sadistic.

for international travelers everyone will be unmasked as soon as they step out of the plane

Yeah, Okinawa for xmas, and now in Niseko. Back to Tokyo on the 1st, when travel is bareable.

It's okay. The government negotiated with the virus and it isn't going to increase infections exponentially when people pack trains and airports during the holiday season... so long as flights from China are barred for the exact same thing the people are celebrating here (being able to travel freely despite the surge in infections).

The government negotiated with the virus and it isn't going to increase infections exponentially when people pack trains and airports during the holiday season

The negotiation was not successful. Today, Japan made world no. 1 in weekly COVID deaths!

Same garbage different year.

Let people take vacations spread out during the year, not all at the same time.

How hard is that to do?

Apparently it’s impossible to change because it’s “tradition.”

Safe travels everybody. Worried about COVID?

Check the healing and preventive powers of turmeric, cloves, and star anise. And Neem and Tulsi. I am in old age, have traveled many times by plane and was in crowds during the pandemic and thank God never had the COVID or even regular colds that I can remember.

for international travelers everyone will be unmasked as soon as they step out of the plane

Yep, spreading covid they picked up in Japan to other countries.

I wish Europe would be as strict as the Japanese have suddenly decided to be with the Chinese.

Let the Chinese come for holiday and we will go into intolerance level again. Don't complain when daily needs especially medication become unaffordable.

Heading to Okinawa for a few days next week with my dear partner. Double plus need a little break, especially after my recent accident. Avoiding the crowds I hope, heading out on the fourth.

"In spite of the coronavirus pandemic, I'm glad there is a feeling in the air that makes it easier to travel and go back to one's hometown," the 74-year-old said.

Follow the crowd--everything will be fine.

Just don't go traversing the world and spread new variants.

I counted 3 people not wearing masks. How about you?

The Chinese is headed that way my advice if you haven’t purchased cold medicine you better do it now because they will leave the shelves bare after their covation

There's a lot of talk about contagion etc, and unfortunately, a lot of this has come from one particular source based in Canada:

The Overseas Chinese sadly listen to "Miles Guo", who promotes a lot of the Anti-Vax stuff we read about, as well as a lot of the anti-CCP stuff and other deep state/conspiracy theories. He even has his own Crypto exchange - Himalaya, in which he offers "H-Coins" to his followers, as he says it will replace the Yuan when the CCP Falls.... Ho Hum... you can see his followers protesting now and then against the CCP waving their blue and yellow starred flags... money those protestors have sent back to Guo & ( believe it or not.... Steve Bannon!)

Mr Guo has had numerous other "scam-like" ventures which have failed, and he blames those failures upon CCP parties... however, he continually appears to evade prosecution within the West - hiding in Canada which seems to be helping him for now.

Personally, I hope the CCP fails, though I have severe doubts over the authenticity of this individual towards that eventuality - he's simply appears to be capitalising upon a grief that many have, in order to line his own pockets.

What the North Koreans have shown us, is that a small drone can evade defenses and travel long distances.

Imagine what a large number of such small drones could do, in terms of supplying arms to insurgents. Guns/explosives to order and delivered the next day to your doorstep unnoticed/unintercepted...