Japan Silver Week

Sun 2009/09/20 10:00 JST
 58
 in Japan
36434 views

Yesterday was the start of 5 consecutive days of public holiday for folks in Japan. The 5 days have been labeled "Silver Week" - the name derived from "Golden Week" which are another bunch of consecutive holidays in the middle of the year. We wont get a Silver Week until 2015 - due to a public holiday falling on a weekend.

Whenever there is a public holiday, we try to avoid going out as most of the time would be spent waiting in queues of people or cars - as you can see from the video below.

This photo was taken at Mc Dees where they are selling value meals for 390 yen for the duration of Silver Week.

When I lived in the US for a short while, I was shocked at the amount of public holidays that they didn't have while we get quite a few dotted throughout the year.
Do you have a decent amount of public holidays in your kingdom?

If you are interested in reading about life in Japan, seeing photos taken daily around Tokyo, like Japanese subculture (anime, manga, figures, Dollfies) then you may want to start delving into the Japan or Figure categories for a start or have a gander at all photo articles.

If you don't have much time now, maybe subscribe to the RSS Feed, Twitter Feed or join the other readers in the FaceBook Page.
Alternatively, you may want to read more about the site.
If you are a regular reader then this message will probably annoy you each time - hide it forever.

This item was posted in the Japan category. You can see more of everything else or subscribe via RSS instead.
日本語で表示する 日本語で表示する
-Japan Probe - News from Japan (Subscribe)
-Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)

  • Fishy
    Fishy in a fish bowl (Registered on 2009/02/05)
    procrastinator

    I can probably count the number of public holidays on one hand. >.<

    Sun 2009/09/20 10:03:19 JST (ID #720220)
    reply to Fishy's comment
    • Danielnoctis
      Danielnoctis (Registered on 2009/09/21)

      Yeah but we get to have a two days weekend. Though more holidays wouldn't hurt.

      Mon 2009/09/21 04:56:44 JST (ID #720693)
      reply to Danielnoctis's comment
  • FatBastard
    FatBastard in over his head (Registered on 2007/11/04)
    Dirty Gentleman
    http://cantstanzya.wordpress.com/

    We have on average one day a month that's a holiday, and a couple of months where there is none at all. Instead, people tend to just call in sick...

    What's 'M power'? *points at poster*

    Sun 2009/09/20 10:04:39 JST (ID #720221)
    reply to FatBastard's comment
  • ben_s
    ben_s in Melbourne, Australia (Registered on 2008/06/23)
    Multimedia Technology Student
    http://thehappyninjadrawn.wordpress.com

    Most of our public holidays occur during the first half of the year, towards the end of the year there are less public holidays.

    Sun 2009/09/20 10:26:31 JST (ID #720229)
    reply to ben_s's comment
    • TAAUBlaster
      TAAUBlaster in The Land Down Under (Registered on 2008/12/31)
      Office admin/Sales Rep

      Queensland has no public holidays after June - untill X-Mas. Wish they were spread out a bit more...

      Sun 2009/09/20 13:53:38 JST (ID #720291)
      reply to TAAUBlaster's comment
  • Heavy
    Heavy in Georgia U.S.A. (Registered on 2009/07/02)
    Exploring worlds and ways of thought

    I was about to shake an angry fist at google but wikipedia saves the day. So that's what Silver Week is about...
    And lots of people not going to be working?

    Sun 2009/09/20 10:34:24 JST (ID #720232)
    reply to Heavy's comment
  • zephi
    zephi in Sydney, Australia (Registered on 2008/04/26)
    student
    http://zephi-san.deviantart.com/

    Most of our public holidays are on either side of the weekends.
    Easter and Christmas is when we have 4 days a week (Fri-Mon).

    Sun 2009/09/20 10:50:28 JST (ID #720237)
    reply to zephi's comment
    • Patti
      Patti in Sydney, Australia (Registered on 2009/04/27)
      Time Traveller/High School Student
      http://thetsundere.wordpress.com/

      Yeah...we actually get quite a few, let's see -
      Australia Day 26th Jan
      Good Friday in April
      Easter Monday in April
      Queens Birthday 8th June
      Then Christmas...
      and probably a few other's which I've forgotten. ^^
      There's also the school holidays for me =D 15 weeks total in 1 year.

      Sun 2009/09/20 14:24:07 JST (ID #720301)
      reply to Patti's comment
  • Equity Private
    Equity Private in University of Notre Dame (Registered on 2009/03/27)
    Student
    http://www.dealbreaker.com

    Is that heavy congestion by Japanese standards or were they talking about something else?

    Sun 2009/09/20 10:54:47 JST (ID #720239)
    reply to Equity Private's comment
  • scwkitty
    scwkitty in Columbus, OH (Registered on 2009/09/20)
    Physics Student
    http://ohayoufromohio.blogspot.com

    I'm never sure about holidays. I'm a home-care nurse so I work whether it's a holiday or not.

    Sun 2009/09/20 11:03:45 JST (ID #720243)
    reply to scwkitty's comment
  • Ratatoskr-tan
    Ratatoskr-tan in SLP, Mexico (Registered on 2009/08/16)
    IT student, jedi, geek

    There's a lot of holydays over here, some of them are more like excuses for not doing anything a few days (I mean anything productive).

    Sun 2009/09/20 11:05:56 JST (ID #720244)
    reply to Ratatoskr-tan's comment
  • FD3S
    FD3S in Kanada (Registered on 2009/04/09)

    Only 1 every month.

    Sun 2009/09/20 11:15:25 JST (ID #720248)
    reply to FD3S's comment
  • coffeebugg
    coffeebugg in coherently lucid (Registered on 2008/05/22)
    Otari Vader, Sith Lord for Hire, will fillet Makoto Itou for free
    http://coffeebugg.blogspot.com/

    Good lord.. Traffic backed up by 30km!.. that's nuts.. then again.. local rush traffic isn't any better here.

    As for public holidays, we've got a few. a couple of them last for a week or so. I'm surprised how we get anything done here with the number of days we have off.

    Sun 2009/09/20 11:43:11 JST (ID #720253)
    reply to coffeebugg's comment
    • reese_hayden
      reese_hayden in metro manila philippines (Registered on 2009/03/24)
      representative and graphic artist

      we can even adjust the holidays so that we will have long weekends^^,

      Sun 2009/09/20 12:53:52 JST (ID #720271)
      reply to reese_hayden's comment
  • 6pack
    6pack (Registered on 2008/03/20)
    browsing the nets
    http://otakuposts.blogspot.com/

    too many holidays here. i think just june and july dont have any holidays here. rest of the months have atleast two days holiday since my country has a lot of religions in it.

    Sun 2009/09/20 12:32:03 JST (ID #720265)
    reply to 6pack's comment
  • silent1134
    silent1134 in Los Angeles, California (Registered on 2007/08/22)
    ???Confused???

    Wish there were more holidays...most of them are scattered or most of them are like during then beginning and end of the year...

    Sun 2009/09/20 13:33:59 JST (ID #720285)
    reply to silent1134's comment
  • Riz
    Riz in インデアナポリス, インデアナ (Registered on 2009/01/02)
    三年せいとオタク

    Wish we had more holidays here in the U.S preferably ones where I can the day off from school. ^^

    Sun 2009/09/20 14:05:52 JST (ID #720292)
    reply to Riz's comment
  • sonicknight
    sonicknight (Registered on 2009/08/27)

    It's always nice to see advertisements from other countries. The creativeness of this one is quite refreshing compared to the McD ads here in the US.

    I don't think there are any 5 day weekends here in the US. The longest is 4 days i think...

    Sun 2009/09/20 14:19:41 JST (ID #720299)
    reply to sonicknight's comment
  • Bakkou
    Bakkou in Australia (Registered on 2009/04/01)
    Student

    We could all do with a few more public holidays I reckon.

    Sun 2009/09/20 14:38:35 JST (ID #720307)
    reply to Bakkou's comment
  • yamada
    yamada in Belait District, Brunei Darussalam (Registered on 2009/02/04)
    studying comp studies, planning to look for part time job
    http://bruneian-otaku.blogspot.com

    err too many holiday here including public holiday TwT

    Sun 2009/09/20 14:54:13 JST (ID #720311)
    reply to yamada's comment
  • Sabekuji Kaneda
    Sabekuji Kaneda in Parañaque, Philippines (Registered on 2008/06/21)
    Mechanical Engineering student
    http://sabekujikaneda.multiply.com/

    Here in the Philippines, there's at least one holiday every month. There are even holidays that last a week! :D

    Sun 2009/09/20 16:25:29 JST (ID #720347)
    reply to Sabekuji Kaneda's comment
  • Smithy
    Smithy in Neo-Venezia (Registered on 2008/05/20)
    ~Undine~
    http://bluebluewave.wordpress.com

    We get several public holidays here so we can't really complain about their amount. Alas as we cover different countries at work of which not all public holidays match, we often have to work during a public holiday here to service one of those other countries that doesn't have a holiday day off.

    That's some long congested traffic but nothing really impressive, it's like that here every single day of the workweek you know. During peek hours it takes me over 45 minutes to travel 12 miles to work due to traffic. ^^;;

    Sun 2009/09/20 16:37:05 JST (ID #720351)
    reply to Smithy's comment
  • Meimi132
    Meimi132 in Stuck in the void between the net life and real life. (Registered on 2007/12/03)
    Student, Otaku, She-Geek(Sheek lol)
    http://meimi132.wordpress.com/

    Same here in the UK, bank holiday monday or bank holiday weekend and you dont wanna try and get out for all the holiday makers and just general people...

    Sun 2009/09/20 16:37:18 JST (ID #720352)
    reply to Meimi132's comment
  • grendizer
    grendizer in Malta (Registered on 2009/06/24)
    Teacher of English
    http://www.freewebs.com/superrobots/

    In the past we had much more holidays in Malta. Besides, whenever a public holiday happened on a weekend we were given another day during the week to compensate for it. Life was quite happy in sunny Malta. But a mediocre person was put in power and the situation here became very sad and gloomy as we lost 10 holidays. As usual in Malta everyone complained and grumbled but no one protested in the streets. And so the mediocre ideas of one person became law! :o(

    Sun 2009/09/20 17:56:44 JST (ID #720409)
    reply to grendizer's comment
  • Kenn
    Kenn in Vancouver, B.C. (Registered on 2008/09/16)
    Student
    http://k625.blogspot.com/

    All of the holidays are scattered throughout the year. None of them are more than a day long though. 7 Public holidays I can think of off the bat. xD

    Sun 2009/09/20 18:18:18 JST (ID #720424)
    reply to Kenn's comment
  • Tami
    Tami in Germany - Düsseldorf (Registered on 2007/12/16)
    IT-Architect, SysAdmin, WebDesign and Coding, Virtualization (VMware + NetApp)
    http://www.milkdrop.de/

    We have a load of holidays...

    Though the jams in this video don't even scare me a bit... the cars at least move!
    The traffic jam i am in everrry morning doesn't move most of the time due a traffic signal making the cars stop all the time and i am stuck in that for 15-20 minutes.
    Usualy i could be at work in 30 minutes but all the traffic jams make the drive 50-60mins, every day.
    It's still faster then going by train though...

    When going home past 4pm the traffic jam can make me take 1,5h for it... so 1h traffic jam, this is still faster then train too... 2h by train usualy, if i miss one 3h.

    On those holidays most of the shops here are closed though. Amusement parks, zoos and such have open though and those are frequently used then.

    Sun 2009/09/20 18:26:24 JST (ID #720427)
    reply to Tami's comment
  • uncreative
    uncreative in Japan (Registered on 2008/08/15)
    Student
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/dramacd/

    I wish I had more plans for Silver Week...

    Sun 2009/09/20 18:32:35 JST (ID #720433)
    reply to uncreative's comment
  • Heigen
    Heigen in Finland (Registered on 2007/11/12)
    Student

    While working ofc it depends on where you are working, but I think only major one is christmas vacation and for summer you have to save your holiday days which becomes like two weeks or something. While in school we have summer, christmas, spring and fall holidays + some 1 day things.

    Sun 2009/09/20 19:41:54 JST (ID #720460)
    reply to Heigen's comment
  • Anondorf
    Anondorf in Granada, Spain (Registered on 2008/09/26)
    (almost) latin teacher, viking-in-training
    http://suexcelencia.wordpress.com

    "If it can be holiday, it must be holiday" that's the motto here. Think we have around a month and a half of do-nothing-just-play-with-your-golden-balls, of course, not counting regional festivities (with only a limited action range, but still holidays ^w^). One nice legacy of being a super-christian country.

    Sun 2009/09/20 19:51:06 JST (ID #720463)
    reply to Anondorf's comment
  • Moemoekyun
    Moemoekyun in otakukingdom (Registered on 2009/07/18)
    http://moemoekyun.wordpress.com

    when the next holiday here anyway ? >_<

    Sun 2009/09/20 20:46:10 JST (ID #720483)
    reply to Moemoekyun's comment
  • Wolferey
    Wolferey in Hamar, Hedmark, Norway (Registered on 2009/01/02)
    Game Developer Student
    http://www.wolferey.net/

    Not really sure how many we have, but we have quite a few in Norway.. like autumn holiday coming up at the beginning of rocktober now ;o)
    I'm also taking a holiday myself tomorrow, gonna be so awesome traveling to tokyo and staying there for two weeks xD Would be cool to meet up with you Danny.. I'm probably gonna be wondering if every stormtrooper I see at Tokyo Game Show is you ;p

    Sun 2009/09/20 20:52:26 JST (ID #720489)
    reply to Wolferey's comment
  • meronramune
    meronramune in Tampa,FL (Registered on 2009/01/05)
    Student
    http://cream77.deviantart.com/

    Theres probably one holiday we get off of work/School a month.Thanksgiving we get a week off where I live.2-3 weeks for x-mas and new year.And Spring break is a week and Easter is the whole week end.Though this year spring break and Easter fall on each other.

    Sun 2009/09/20 21:23:16 JST (ID #720501)
    reply to meronramune's comment
  • imaginebreaker
    imaginebreaker in Academy City (Registered on 2009/07/22)
    Student

    well its good to be out during public holiday cause u know the joy of festival? Just like all other cosplay/anime/games/etc festival~~

    Sun 2009/09/20 21:54:07 JST (ID #720510)
    reply to imaginebreaker's comment
  • Cyberchaos
    Cyberchaos in Australia, Sydney (Registered on 2008/02/17)
    NEET part-time - Technical Support Officer - Network security engineer
    http://burugureibi.blogspot.com/

    i hate travelling out for 'long weekends' - traffic left, traffic right, traffic front, traffic back

    only thing to keep me sane is music - all OSTS and OP/ED singles....^^;

    Sun 2009/09/20 22:17:36 JST (ID #720527)
    reply to Cyberchaos's comment
  • JOWhite
    JOWhite in USA (Registered on 2008/09/25)
    Meteorologist

    seems odd that Silver week ends in the middle of the week

    Sun 2009/09/20 22:49:43 JST (ID #720535)
    reply to JOWhite's comment
    • litokid
      litokid in Toronto, Canada (Registered on 2007/11/25)
      university film student | ecchikid | the Archivist
      http://www.vimeo.com/longhim

      I think it's really just a matter of a public holiday falling on a long weekend - in other words, a 5 day weekend. The Japanese just decided to dub it a special name, what with their penchant for naming everything. Here in Canada it isn't all that uncommon and wouldn't be treated as anything but a long weekend anyway. ^^;

      Mon 2009/09/21 07:06:19 JST (ID #720731)
      reply to litokid's comment
  • kluxorious
    kluxorious in Malaysia (Registered on 2009/07/19)
    animetard and a writer
    http://kluxorious.blogspot.com/

    Oh we have plenty of public holidays in Malaysia. It's awesome.

    Sun 2009/09/20 23:10:12 JST (ID #720551)
    reply to kluxorious's comment
  • Patches
    Patches in Ohio, USA (Registered on 2008/10/20)
    Upcoming College Student and Otaku
    http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/Patches418?ref=profile

    In the USA,ays that we really don't have week long holidays FOR working adults. Sure, you might get off of school for a week of two for winter/Christmas time, and a week for around Easter time, but that's about it. The main holidays that ALMOST everyone is off are Christmas, Easter, New Years Day, and Thanksgiving. However, if you work at a hospital(my motheir does ^^), then you don't work some holidyas but have to work the other ones. Basically, in the USA, if you don't have a government job or a state run job, you won't get a week off from work unless you take a vacation or are laid off >_<

    Mon 2009/09/21 00:34:27 JST (ID #720597)
    reply to Patches's comment
  • Cavalock
    Cavalock in Singapore (Registered on 2008/02/23)
    Editor
    http://cavalock.blogspot.com/

    There is never enough public holidays! end of decision! ;)

    Mon 2009/09/21 00:46:36 JST (ID #720600)
    reply to Cavalock's comment
    • RogueTrooper
      RogueTrooper in Berkshire UK (Registered on 2009/01/06)
      Dental Technician, i make teeth!
      http://antsizedman.blogspot.com/

      Damn straight, in the UK most holiday seem to be in the colder months which is nuts.

      Mon 2009/09/21 02:10:09 JST (ID #720633)
      reply to RogueTrooper's comment
  • silentkey
    silentkey in Singapore (Registered on 2008/01/24)
    Student, Uncle & hopfully a good husband..

    Wow...sliver week...the first time i heard it...the amount of holidays in a row there is astounding...

    Mon 2009/09/21 02:28:25 JST (ID #720639)
    reply to silentkey's comment
  • twinkle moon
    twinkle moon in Malaysia (Registered on 2009/08/05)
    Graphic Designer

    We have lots of holidays, but I want MORE! It's never enough. This week we have 4 consecutive days of holiday from 19th Sept to 22nd Sept. Back to work on the 23rd. Enjoy the long holiday! :)

    Mon 2009/09/21 02:47:40 JST (ID #720647)
    reply to twinkle moon's comment
  • Y10NRDY
    Y10NRDY in USA (Registered on 2009/06/04)
    Comic Shop Owner

    no holidays for me except the big ones. which is to say... the big. ONE?

    Mon 2009/09/21 04:07:08 JST (ID #720671)
    reply to Y10NRDY's comment
  • spazzykoneko
    spazzykoneko in USA (Registered on 2009/04/17)
    Freelance Artist
    http://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=342435

    Working as a full time artist from home you get no holidays l3 ... or make your own <<

    Mon 2009/09/21 12:13:18 JST (ID #720817)
    reply to spazzykoneko's comment
  • Reltair
    Reltair in California, United States (Registered on 2009/06/13)
    College Student, Computer Science Major
    http://www.projectsaber.com

    I could use a holiday right about now...

    Mon 2009/09/21 12:22:58 JST (ID #720823)
    reply to Reltair's comment
  • tiberis1221
    tiberis1221 in Hell's Hole Mexico (Registered on 2008/08/25)
    Student or something like that
    http://myanimelist.net/profile/tiberis1221

    LOL
    No McPower for 5 day's!!!!
    ROFL
    Nice, I'd like to see what would be of mexico with just as little vacation time as Nippon. ^^

    Mon 2009/09/21 12:43:59 JST (ID #720841)
    reply to tiberis1221's comment
  • Sorvani
    Sorvani in Collinsville, IL (Registered on 2009/03/06)
    Network Admin & Programmer
    http://sorvai.blogspot.com

    Most companies in the U.S. offer 6 base holidays to their employees.
    New Year's Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day

    From that base things vary widely from company to company. Other common days can include:
    President's Day, Good Friday, Columbus Day, Friday after Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve, and others.

    Mon 2009/09/21 13:01:36 JST (ID #720849)
    reply to Sorvani's comment
  • Ninjovee
    Ninjovee in your storage closet (Registered on 2009/06/08)
    NEET
    http://tangerinetango.wordpress.com/

    Other than the regular holidays, the current president of our country LOVES declaring holidays (especially if the holiday is actually on a weekend, then there'd be no school/work on Friday/Monday). Before, I liked that system, but now, it's just too much imo.

    Mon 2009/09/21 15:04:56 JST (ID #720883)
    reply to Ninjovee's comment
    • Gonzalo!
      Gonzalo! in Catamarca - Argentina (Registered on 2009/01/28)
      Artistic Freak Photographer ^^;

      Same here... one or two holidays makes them feel like they did something "important" to remember in future governments...

      Mon 2009/09/21 15:56:22 JST (ID #720914)
      reply to Gonzalo!'s comment
  • Koza
    Koza in Sunny Florida (Registered on 2008/08/25)
    Japanese Language Student
    http://bamola.wordpress.com/

    I miss Golden Week and now I want Silver Week. The US needs more holidays...tired of work work work and barely any rest.

    Mon 2009/09/21 15:35:38 JST (ID #720900)
    reply to Koza's comment
  • lightningsabre
    lightningsabre in Vancouver (Registered on 2007/08/30)
    Pseudo-Graphic Designer, 触手 wrangler, H-Man
    http://lightningsabre.blogspot.com/

    Wish we had something more than just 3 day weekends... oh then again I don't get the long weekends off anyway! I do get two weeks off for Christmas and New Year though ^.^

    Tue 2009/09/22 14:53:20 JST (ID #721281)
    reply to lightningsabre's comment
  • G-Unit
    G-Unit in Earth, Asia, Malaysia (Registered on 2007/12/25)
    Student
    http://johndiew0107.wordpress.com/

    We have loads of holidays in Malaysia because it is a multi-races society

    Tue 2009/09/22 16:35:40 JST (ID #721292)
    reply to G-Unit's comment
  • crabdude
    crabdude in Switzerland (Registered on 2008/09/20)
    Student

    I was surprised when I lived in the US at how many Holidays they had! Here there are very few, but i guess for that we get longer breaks! Do I hear Ski break?!! (^_^)

    Fri 2009/09/25 06:23:45 JST (ID #722279)
    reply to crabdude's comment
  • Bella
    Bella in New York (Registered on 2009/01/13)
    Student

    actually, in the US it depends where you live :]

    I live in NY and we get a lot of holidays where I live in particular because there's a high population of jewish people in my area :D so we get all the jewish holidays off and often lots of shops are closed :]

    Fri 2009/09/25 06:52:13 JST (ID #722290)
    reply to Bella's comment
  • agcpictures
    agcpictures in La La Land (Registered on 2009/08/14)
    Screenwriter Wannabe

    5 days in a row?? lol, i get 6 days in the whole year!

    Sun 2009/09/27 17:37:04 JST (ID #723601)
    reply to agcpictures's comment

Currently being read