May 5, 2001
How long ago since we started saying "Golden
Week" in Japan? I remenber when I was
a really little kid, everybody said so that
it must be over 30-40 years ago at least.
According to senior co-league in my office,
people started to call "Golden Week"
after WW II around early 1950's. There were
nothing fun for the people to have but movies
so called "Motion Pictures" that
time. In the end of April and the beginning
of May, there were already 2 to 3 national
holidays that time so that people went to
movie theatre a lot. Then they started saying
"Golden Week". According to him,
there was another one called "Silver
Week" in the beginning of November since
there were 1 or 2 holidays for movie lovers.
But "Silver Week" never become
popular among the people.
When I was working in The United States,
I was able to take vacation anytime basically
and felt so comfortable. But instead, there
were only about 10 days as National Holidays
and there are some difference among companies,
schools and/or government organization etc.
As result, I took enough vacation when I
was not so busy but I could not even take
any extra vacation when I was so busy.
Now I realize that Japanese National Holidays
are total 19 days at least as follows; New
Years 3 Days, Adult Day, Independence Day,
Spring Equinox Day, Green Day, May Day, Constitution
Day, People's Holiday, Children's Day, Ocean
Day, Respect for Aged Person Day, Autumn
Equinox Day, Sports Day, Culture Day, Thanks
Giving Day, Emperor's Birthday and New Year's
Eve. Additionally, summer vacation is usually
5 days off in the middle of August which
everybody can take. These holidays are almost
automatically days off for everybody anyway
except some cases of course.
This year, I was able to take 9 days off
in a row during Golden Week. I tried to spend
my time with family as much as possible.
We went to "Thomas Land" near by
5 Lakes of Mt. Fuji, I did some carpentry
and gardening and so on. I felt it's the
first time to have had such a long straight
holidays since I came back in Japan, back
in 1996. We Japanese should have so many
holidays but why did I feel like that? Probably
it would be the reason why usually people
try to get long vacation at the same time
in Japan so that everywhere could become
so crowdy and I did not feel to take long
vacation during these three seasons, i.e.,
New Year's Eve and New Year's holidays, Golden
Week and Summer Vacation. On the other hands,
we, Japanese don't have easy circumstance
for us to have individual long vacation during
off season.
I would strongly like to emphasize and propose
to everyone including myself that Japanese
people should change our own attitude, way
of thinking and customs which tend to do
same action together with everybody. There
is very little atomosphere to allow people
take long vacation during off season in Japan
specially at work. I will try my very best
to scream, "Yeah! I will take 2 weeks
off from tomorrow, wao!!!"... I wish
I could, but...
Awaiting for your comments.