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Golden Week

Recently, more Japanese national holidays are on Monday so that we can enjoy longer weekends, but actually each of these was on specific day when I was a child. Also, in those days, we had less time off than we have now; now you can take off every Saturday at any school and at some workplaces like government offices. So, I think it's no wonder that this long holiday which starts at the end of April has come to be called "ゴールデン・ウィーク (gooruden wiiku - Golden week)."

An extended vacation

April 29th is 昭和の日 (しょうわのひ - shouwa no hi). When I was a child, this holiday was "天皇誕生日　（てんのうたんじょうび - tennou tanjoubi - the Emperor's birthday). The name of the holiday changed after he passed away. He was called "昭和天皇 (しょうわてんのう - shouwa tennou - "Shouwa" is also the name of the period during which he was emperor); that's why "Shouwa Day" is the name of the holiday now.

Our ゴールデン・ウィーク (Golden week) starts on this holiday, and often this is the first day that we check out on a calendar when we get it just before the start of the new year. Especially if you have big travel plans, you have to prepare lots of things like ホテルの予約（ホテル - hoteru - hotel, よやく - yoyaku - bookings), 航空券（こうくうけん - koukuuken - flight tickets) and so on. You need to do this early, otherwise you can't visit anywhere, or you may have to sleep in your car.

The last day of this long vacation is 子供の日（こどものひ - kodomo no hi - Children's Day) when it's on the 5th of May. But if that day happens to fall on 日曜日（にちようび - nichiyoubi - Sunday) , the next day (月曜日 - げつようび - getsuyoubi - Monday) is also treated as a holiday. This rule is adopted for all holidays, so you have to consult your calendar when making holiday plans.

As a matter of fact, the actual national holidays of ゴールデン・ウィーク (Golden week) are the 29th of April, and the 3rd, 4th and 5th of May. This means that you have to go to school or work the remaining days unless they are 日曜日 (Sunday), but your company may give employees the entire week off.

Busy Times

Here in Hokkaido, though, lots of people have to work hard during ゴールデン・ウィーク (Golden week), since the 花見 (はなみ - cherry blossom viewing) season comes around ゴールデン・ウィーク (Golden week). So many tourists often visit here during that week, and lots of department stores have big バーゲンセール (bargain sales). Of course, lots of events for children are held in many places in Japan, so it's crowded and lively everywhere, and you have to watch out for big traffic jams.

Thus, some people decide not to go anywhere during ゴールデン・ウィーク (Golden week). Not only because it gets so crowded; many things become more expensive, especially hotel reservations and transportation. This longer holiday is also a good opportunity to take a rest. You may enjoy watching movies on DVD, 読書（どくしょ - dokusho - reading), ガーデニング (gardening), 昼寝（ひるね - hirune - taking a nap) and so on.

In any case, lots of people look forward to ゴールデン・ウィーク (Golden week), so you shouldn't ruin it for others. For example, it would be quite rude to invite your 友人（ゆうじん - yuujin - friends) and 親戚（しんせき - shinseki - relatives) to your wedding ceremony during this time. Even though they said "おめでとう。よかったね。" (Omedetou. Yokatta ne. - Congratulations! I'm happy for you!), you might not feel that they were being entirely sincere, because they might also be complaining to someone else about what a terrible time this was for the event, lol.

By the way, we sometimes like to buy お土産　（おみやげ - omiyage - souvenirs) when we travel somewhere. Food (especially sweets) are often welcomed, but of course you can delight your friends if you know what their favorite things are; coffee cups made in a small local factory, ワイン (wain - wine), a wooden sugar pot, 温泉の素 (おんせんのもと - onsen no moto), キーホルダー (kii horudaa - a key ring),　Ｔシャツ（tii shatsu - a T-shirt), etc.. As soon as you get back home, you may tell your friends and family about the souvenirs on the phone.

Notes on Some Words

休日　－きゅうじつ - kyuujitsu - holiday, day off (literally "rest day")
休み　－　やすみ - yasumi - rest, vacation

There are the words 祝日（しゅくじつ - shukujitsu) and 祭日（さいじつ - saijitsu), and you will see them in writing. We also use them in daily conversation, or say "休み" simply.

平日　－　へいじつ - heijitsu - usual day/ordinal day. It indicates any day other than a holiday.

連休　－　れんきゅう - renkyuu - it indicates an extended holiday. For example, when you take off a Tuesday and the following Wednesday, you can say "this Tuesday and Wednesday are 連休 (for me)." Namely, you can use this word whether it's just you taking these days off, or days that everyone has off like national holidays.

温泉の素 - おんせんのもと - onsen no moto "Onsen" refers to "hot spring(s)", which means a bathing place. Lots of Japanese people love taking onsen, and you might think "I wish I could enjoy this also at home!" And lots of onsen places have "温泉の素 (onsen no moto)". When you stop at the souvenir shop of the hotel, you can find something that looks like a tea bag, only larger. There is powder in it, and you dissolve it in hot water in your bathtub. That way; you can enjoy feeling as if you're in an onsen in your bathroom - except that yours might be quite small ;)

By Shizu

Edited by the StudyJapanese.org Team