i need a bit of advice from the japanese dudes on here...

i had originally set out to book my hotel/flights on friday (my day off) for a trip to tokyo that i was going to be doing in late april to early may. now i've read a bunch of places (lonely planet, tokyo underground, JP guide etc) that travelling in 'golden week' is generally not a good idea because of the sudden surge of domestic tourists and alot of things generally being closed.

so, is it better off to postpone my trip by a week or so? i was actually looking forward to spending my 21st there (may 2nd) and going to superfestival but if it means missing that as well as shops being closed and it being even busier than normal, i guess i'll have to.

The trains and planes and hotels get crowded and expensive around this time, but I think most shops are open these days. I wouldn't worry too much about it. And don't forget Bwana and Martin's show at Thrash Out on April 19th!

i think i am gonna postpone it. deadbone just told me about the show at thrashout and mondocoyote was talking to me about supefestival. it would be a huge bummer missing them but i think i'd rather be on the safe side and miss them both/my 21st there than go and turn out that a week of my trip is ruined because of a bunch of golden week related bullshit.

man i reckon it'd be sweet, you might get to see some cool shit that you'd miss the rest of the time. tokyo's gonna be hell busy no matter what time of year it is. also, 21st in toyko would be pretty kick ass! gotta be better than a-town!

dude, a-town is the most exciting place on earth! it has tokyo beat.

so you're gonna miss Superfestival and Bwana and Martin's show at Thrashout cause you're worried about it being too busy and stores being closed?

where are your priorities, my man?

blame all the books and sites i have read about it! even my old japanese teacher said going during that time is balls. i think i am gonna have to play it safe and postpone it...i don't want to get there and have half of my plans/itinerary undoable and holiday wasted because stuff is closed or whatever.

ps yes i realise i'm a stresshead.

haha i understand it and it seems you know a lot more about the situation than me - it's a lot of money and like you said don't wanna have a shit time

plus later means more money saved means more toys!

Golden week is more of holiday for businesses than for shops. Banks will be closed and salarymen have the week off. Some shops might close during the time, but I dont think it would cause any problems.

Not like when I planned my honeymoon in Paris in the second week of August. The whole city was shut!

disclaimer. I will take no responsibility for any inconvienience caused by me getting the facts wrong.

i think i am gonna play it safe and put it off for a week. thanks for the replies guys.

ps deadbone doesn't know it yet, but he is gonna pick me up some stuff at the gargamel show!

Tokyo itself is actually QUIETER than usual in Golden Week
owing to the large number of people who decide to GTFO for a few days.

Both driving and shopping are consequently more pleasurable than usual for the rest of us.
And the AIR is noticably cleaner too!
One measure of this is that we can often see Mt. Fuji from the west side of the city.
(Not normally possible nowadays, except - strangely - in winter).