Golden Week 2027 Dates in Japan: Public Holidays, Closures and How to Plan Around Them

Golden Week 2027 in Japan runs from Thursday 29 April to Wednesday 5 May, with four national holidays: Showa Day (29 April), Constitution Memorial Day (3 May), Greenery Day (4 May) and Children's Day (5 May). Friday 30 April is a normal working day, so most people get a five-day break from Saturday 1 May to Wednesday 5 May, and anyone who takes 30 April off gets seven days in a row.

If you manage people in Japan or rely on Japanese clients, suppliers or partners, treat 29 April and 1–5 May as the dates to plan around, and 30 April and 6 May as the days most likely to be quiet in practice.

What are the Golden Week 2027 dates and weekdays?

The dates below come from the Cabinet Office's official list of national holidays for 2027 (Reiwa 9). The meanings are the ones written into Article 2 of the Act on National Holidays.

Date	Weekday	Holiday	Japanese name	What it marks
29 April 2027	Thursday	Showa Day	昭和の日 (Shōwa no hi)	Looking back on the Showa era, a time of upheaval and recovery
30 April 2027	Friday	Working day	–	–
1 May 2027	Saturday	Weekend	–	–
2 May 2027	Sunday	Weekend	–	–
3 May 2027	Monday	Constitution Memorial Day	憲法記念日 (Kenpō kinenbi)	The coming into force of the Constitution of Japan
4 May 2027	Tuesday	Greenery Day	みどりの日 (Midori no hi)	Getting close to nature and being grateful for it
5 May 2027	Wednesday	Children's Day	こどもの日 (Kodomo no hi)	The wellbeing of children, and gratitude to mothers
6 May 2027	Thursday	Working day	–	–

The 2027 calendar has no extra substitute holiday around Golden Week. The only substitute holiday Japan has in 2027 is Monday 22 March, because Vernal Equinox Day (21 March) falls on a Sunday.

How do substitute holidays work in Japan?

The rules for extra days off are in Article 3 of the Act on National Holidays (国民の祝日に関する法律):

• Substitute holiday (振替休日). When a national holiday falls on a Sunday, the nearest following day that is not itself a national holiday becomes a day off. In 2019, Children's Day fell on a Sunday, so Monday 6 May became a holiday.
• Sandwiched day. A weekday that has a national holiday on both the day before and the day after also becomes a day off.

Neither rule adds a day in 2027. Showa Day falls on a Thursday, and 3, 4 and 5 May fall Monday to Wednesday, so no holiday lands on a Sunday.

Is Japan closed during Golden Week?

On the national holidays themselves, plan on Japan being off. The Tokyo Stock Exchange closes on Saturdays, Sundays and national holidays. In 2027 the cash market is shut on 29 April and 3–5 May, and open on Friday 30 April.

Private companies are a different story. Whether an office opens on 30 April or 6 May is up to each employer, and there is no single national answer. Golden Week is one of Japan's three busiest holiday seasons. Trains, airports and tourist spots get very crowded, and accommodation in tourist areas can be booked out well in advance. For 2027, travel out of the big cities is expected to peak on 1 May, with the return rush on 4 and 5 May.

What this means for a distributed team:

• Get urgent answers by Wednesday 28 April. It is the last working day before Showa Day.
• Treat 30 April as a "maybe" day. It is a normal working day, but one day of leave turns it into a seven-day break.
• Don't plan launches, audits or contract deadlines for 29 April to 6 May if they need a sign-off from someone in Japan.
• Expect a backlog on 6–7 May. The first two working days back are rarely the time to ask for quick turnarounds.

Why do so many people take 30 April off?

In 2027 one day of paid leave turns Golden Week into seven days off in a row. Japanese employers also have their own reasons to encourage it.

Since April 2019, employers must make sure that every worker entitled to 10 or more days of annual paid leave actually takes at least 5 days a year. Japan also has a planned leave system (計画的付与). Under a labour-management agreement, an employer can schedule the days of an employee's annual leave beyond those first 5 days. Bridge days such as 30 April are a natural fit for this, so an office may be closed that day under a company-wide plan rather than because of individual requests.

If you work with a Japanese company, ask early whether 30 April and 6 May are company-wide leave days.

How should a manager plan around Golden Week 2027?

1. Put the dates in everyone's calendar now

Add 29 April and 3–5 May as holidays for your Japan-based staff, and mark 30 April as a likely low-capacity day. A shared team leave calendar helps people in other offices see the gap without asking.

2. Ask Japanese staff for their leave early

Accommodation in tourist areas can be booked out well in advance, so your team will plan long before May. Ask in January or February who plans to take 30 April or 6 May. Then you know your real capacity for the week.

3. Agree cover across time zones

If your team spans Europe, the US and Japan, decide who covers urgent Japanese customer issues from 29 April to 5 May. Check your other offices' public holidays for the same week too. A shared view of every office's holidays stops two offices assuming the other one is working.

4. Shift deadlines, don't just extend them

Move anything that needs a Japanese sign-off to before 28 April or after 10 May. A deadline of "end of the first week of May" usually means a rushed 6 May for the Japan team.

5. Plan the return week

Expect slower replies on 6–7 May while people catch up. If you hold a regular cross-office meeting, move it to the following week.

6. Think about a blackout or a quiet period for your own team

If your non-Japanese team has to hold the fort during the break, a blackout period can stop too many people being away at once in the wrong office.

Tracking Golden Week in a leave tool

In Absenca, each office has its own public holidays, work week, time zone and leave year. A Tokyo office gets Japan's holidays, including Golden Week, while your other office keeps its own. The free plan covers up to 10 people in 1 office, and Pro adds a second office (see pricing).

For another holiday that empties offices for a week or more, see Ferragosto and the European August.

FAQ

When is Golden Week 2027?

From Thursday 29 April (Showa Day) to Wednesday 5 May 2027 (Children's Day). The national holidays are 29 April and 3, 4 and 5 May. Friday 30 April is a working day.

Is there a substitute holiday in Golden Week 2027?

No. A substitute holiday only happens when a national holiday falls on a Sunday, and none of the Golden Week holidays do in 2027. The only substitute holiday in 2027 is Monday 22 March.

Is the Tokyo stock exchange closed during Golden Week?

The Tokyo Stock Exchange is closed on 29 April and 3–5 May 2027, and it opens on Friday 30 April. For any business you deal with, check its own calendar for the in-between days.

How many days off do people get for Golden Week 2027?

Five days in a row (1–5 May) without using leave. Seven days (29 April – 5 May) with one day of paid leave on 30 April.

Do I need to give staff in Japan Golden Week off?

The four days are national holidays, so plan on them being off. Whether someone works on a public holiday is set by their employment terms, so check the contract and work rules for your Japan staff.

Holiday dates and labour rules are as of 2026. Rules can change, so check the Cabinet Office holiday list and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for the current position.