Japan Travelers Flock Back Home After New Year’s Travels

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:09 JST, January 4, 2026

The Tomei Expressway in Kanagawa Prefecture, seen here near the Ebina Service Area, is packed with cars heading toward Tokyo on Saturday. Many people returned to major cities on the day after spending the year-end and New Year holidays in their hometowns or at tourist destinations, clogging trains, highways and other transportation links. As of 5:30 p.m., congestion stretched for 27 kilometers on the Tohoku Expressway, according to the Japan Road Traffic Information Center.