Photo/Illutration Passengers wait in line to enter a train on the Tokaido Shinkansen Line at JR Tokyo Station on May 3. (Wataru Sekita)

Bon holiday train bookings are up by more than half this year compared with the same period in 2022, as people in Japan travel again following the removal of COVID-19 restrictions.

On July 27, the six Japan Railway passenger companies said reservations on Shinkansen and regular lines during the August 10-17 period increased 53 percent from the previous year.

At 2.7 million seats, the figure is 92 percent of the 2018 level, before the pandemic began to put a clamp on travelers’ movements.

Not only is demand recovering steadily, more people are taking long-distance trips, analysis by the companies showed. 

Congestion will hit a peak on Aug. 11 for outbound trains, which include those heading out of Tokyo.

The peak for inbound trains is on Aug. 15. However, holidaymakers’ return travel tends to be spread out, and trains are expected to be busy from Aug. 13 to 16.

Reservations on the Tohoku Shinkansen are seeing a 51 percent increase over the previous year. The Hayabusa trains departing Tokyo for Shin-Aomori Station on Aug. 11 are almost fully booked.

The Tokaido Shinkansen has recorded an increase of 53 percent. A record 471 trains will operate on the line on Aug. 10. The Nozomi and Hikari trains departing Tokyo for Kansai and beyond on Aug. 11 are almost fully booked.

Meanwhile, JR West bookings are almost back to pre-pandemic levels on the Hokuriku Shinkansen. It will operate at 95 percent of its 2018 level. 

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