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New Year in Japan 2026–27: holidays, closures and busy trains

New Year's Day, Friday 1 January 2027, is the only national holiday, but banks close from 31 December to 3 January and many sights close for several days. JR Central makes every Nozomi reserved-seat only from 25 December 2026 to 5 January 2027.

Updated

3days off in a row from 1 January 2027
12days when every Nozomi is reserved-only
350,000passengers on the busiest day last winter

Banks closed 4 days

Day by day, 25 December 2026 to 5 January 2027

New Year's Day is a Friday, so 3 days are off in a row from 1 to 3 January.

Holidays, bank closures and reserved-only Nozomi days around New Year 2026–27
DateDayHolidayBanksNozomi trains
25 December 2026FridayNot a holidayOpenReserved seats only
26 December 2026SaturdayWeekendClosedReserved seats only
27 December 2026SundayWeekendClosedReserved seats only
28 December 2026MondayNot a holidayOpenReserved seats only
29 December 2026TuesdayNot a holidayOpenReserved seats only
30 December 2026WednesdayNot a holidayOpenReserved seats only
31 December 2026ThursdayNot a holidayClosedReserved seats only
1 January 2027FridayNew Year's DayClosedReserved seats only
2 January 2027SaturdayWeekendClosedReserved seats only
3 January 2027SundayWeekendClosedReserved seats only
4 January 2027MondayNot a holidayOpenReserved seats only
5 January 2027TuesdayNot a holidayOpenReserved seats only

Sources: Cabinet Office (holidays) · Enforcement Order of the Banking Act, Article 5 (banks) · JR Central and JR West (Nozomi)

What closes over New Year

Each place sets its own dates. These are the year-end closures on each operator's page.

Year-end and New Year closures (each operator's own page)
PlaceUsually closedOn a public holidayYear-end and New Year
BanksSaturdays, Sundays and public holidaysClosed31 December – 3 January
Tokyo National MuseumMondaysOpen on a Monday holiday, closed the next day26–31 December 2026
National Museum of Western ArtMondaysOpen on a Monday holiday, closed the next day28 December – 1 January
Kyoto National MuseumMondaysOpen on a Monday holiday, closed the next dayClosed over the year-end and New Year holidays
Shinjuku Gyoen National GardenMondaysClosed the next weekday instead29 December – 3 January
Imperial Palace toursSundays and MondaysNo tours (unless the holiday is a Saturday)28 December – 4 January

Tokyo National Museum is open until 25 December 2026, but from 22 to 25 December only the Horyu-ji Treasures Gallery and the Kuroda Memorial Hall are open. It has not yet set its hours for 1 January 2027.

When the Shinkansen was busiest last New Year

JR Central carried 4,415,000 passengers on the Tokaido Shinkansen in the 10 days from 26 December 2025 to 4 January 2026.

Total passengers
4,415,000
Days counted
10 days
Busiest from Tokyo
302,000 · Sat 27 Dec
Busiest to Tokyo
350,000 · Sun 4 Jan

Passengers on the busiest day in each direction (Tokaido Shinkansen)

2025–26 — leaving Tokyo, Sat 27 December302,000
2025–26 — heading to Tokyo, Sun 4 January350,000
2024–25 — leaving Tokyo, Sat 28 December290,000
2024–25 — heading to Tokyo, Sat 4 January313,000

Source: JR Central — Year-end and New Year 2025–26: passenger results (5 January 2026)

Tohoku, Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen (JR East)

Peak day leaving Tokyo
Tuesday 30 December 2025: about 158,000 reserved seats booked by 15 December
Peak day heading to Tokyo
Saturday 3 January 2026: about 160,000 reserved seats booked by 15 December
Almost fully booked
27–30 December 2025 leaving Tokyo (except at night) and 2–4 January 2026 heading to Tokyo, on the Hayabusa, Komachi, Yamabiko, Kagayaki and Hakutaka
Days with extra seats
Thursday 25 December 2025 · Thursday 1 January 2026 · Monday 5 January 2026

Source: JR East — Year-end and New Year 2025–26: reserved-seat bookings (16 December 2025)

Reserved-only Nozomi days this winter

The year-end period is followed by the Coming of Age Day weekend.

Every Nozomi is reserved-seat only on these days. Passengers with an unreserved ticket cannot take a seat on a Nozomi. Hikari, Kodama, Mizuho and Sakura trains keep their unreserved cars.

Days when every Nozomi on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen is reserved-seat only (JR Central and JR West, fiscal 2026)
PeriodDatesDays
Year-end and New Year25 December 2026 – 5 January 202712 days
Coming of Age Day weekend9–11 January 20273 days

Source: JR Central and JR West — Days when every Nozomi is reserved-seat only, fiscal 2026 (21 May 2026)

Frequently asked questions

Is New Year's Day a public holiday in Japan?

Yes. 1 January is New Year's Day, the only national holiday at New Year. In 2027 it is a Friday, so 1 to 3 January are three days off in a row.

Are banks open over New Year in Japan?

No. Banks close from 31 December to 3 January, as well as on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.

When is the Shinkansen busiest at New Year?

Last winter the Tokaido Shinkansen was busiest leaving Tokyo on Saturday 27 December 2025 (302,000 passengers) and heading back on Sunday 4 January 2026 (350,000 passengers).

Are there unreserved seats on the Shinkansen at New Year?

Not on the Nozomi. From 25 December 2026 to 5 January 2027 every Nozomi on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen is reserved-seat only. Hikari and Kodama trains keep their unreserved cars.

Which museums close over New Year?

Tokyo National Museum closes 26–31 December 2026, the National Museum of Western Art 28 December – 1 January and Shinjuku Gyoen 29 December – 3 January. Imperial Palace tours stop from 28 December to 4 January.

Related items

Sources for this page

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Compiled by Japan Japan !! · Updated October 2, 2026