Extra patrols and checkpoints for Golden Week as holiday travel spikes
- JR Central is treating Golden Week 2026 as a peak-congestion period from April 24 to May 6, while Nagano Prefecture says Karuizawa can draw 100,000 to 200,000 visitors a day. - On the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen, all Nozomi seats are reserved during the holiday rush, and JR Central says travelers without reservations may have to stand in passageways. - Japan is also steering arrivals to the government’s Visit Japan Web entry system, which uses a 2D code for immigration and customs as inbound travel stays high. (services.digital.go.jp)
Japan’s Golden Week rush is bringing tighter crowd control to tourist hubs and stricter booking rules on the country’s busiest train corridor. (global.jr-central.co.jp) (pref.nagano.lg.jp) JR Central says all seats on Nozomi trains on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen are reserved during major peak periods, including April 24 to May 6, 2026. Travelers without reserved-seat tickets can still board in some cases, but may have to stand in the passageway. (global.jr-central.co.jp 1) (global.jr-central.co.jp 2) That matters because Nozomi is the fastest and most popular link between Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka, the core Golden Week travel route for both domestic travelers and foreign visitors. JR Central says reservations can be made as early as one year ahead through its online system. (global.jr-central.co.jp 1) (global.jr-central.co.jp 2) In Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture’s police say the resort town’s resident population is about 20,000, but Golden Week and summer days can bring 100,000 to 200,000 tourists. The same police page says annual visitor volume is about 8.6 million. (pref.nagano.lg.jp) Those numbers help explain the extra police visibility travelers often see around Karuizawa Station, shopping areas and major roads during long holidays, even when local authorities do not issue a separate national advisory. Nagano police list Karuizawa as an international resort area with year-round visitor traffic. (pref.nagano.lg.jp) For foreign arrivals, Japan’s Digital Agency is continuing to route entry procedures through Visit Japan Web. The service lets travelers register passport details, trip information, and immigration and customs declarations before arrival, then show a 2D code at the border. (services.digital.go.jp) Visit Japan Web also ties into tax-free shopping, which requires passport information to be registered in advance, according to the government guide. The same guide says travelers can scan a passport with a camera or enter the information manually. (services.digital.go.jp) Japan National Tourism Organization said March 2026 visitor arrivals reached 3,618,900, a sign that inbound demand remains high heading into the holiday week. That leaves trains, resort towns and airport processing under heavier pressure than they face in quieter months. (jnto.go.jp) For travelers, the practical effect is simple: reserve intercity trains early, expect queues at major resorts, and have border paperwork ready before departure. Golden Week starts in a few days, but the squeeze is already showing up in the booking rules. (global.jr-central.co.jp) (services.digital.go.jp)
