Breaking News TEST 1
17:59 JST, January 19, 2025
Train stations and airports across the nation were packed with people heading home for the year-end and New Year’s holidays on Saturday, the first of potentially nine consecutive days off.
Families and overseas tourists were among the travelers waiting in long lines with large suitcases on the Shinkansen platform at JR Tokyo Station in the morning.
“I want to show my parents how much my children have grown up,” said a 42-year-old man in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, who was returning with his family to his parents’ home in Takaoka, Toyama Prefecture.
A 50-year-old man in Tokyo who was heading to his family home in Aomori Prefecture, said, “My parents have bad backs and legs, so I want to help them remove the snow from the roof.”
According to East Japan Railway Co., as of 10 a.m. Saturday, non-reserved cars on the Hokuriku Shinkansen bound for Kanazawa from Tokyo operated with a passenger capacity of up to 120%. On the Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen lines, the capacity was between 80% and 90% for non-reserved cars.
