Japan's Golden Week, a string of four national holidays in only seven days, has been extended to ten days this year, turning it truly golden for Hawaii's tourism business which has seen a 40% increase in bookings from Japan.
The extension came about because of two major events for Japan's royal family; Emperor Akihito will abdicate on April 30th and his son Naruhito will be installed as emperor the next day; both days are added holidays.
Because so many want to make the trip, there are reports that many visitors are paying 30 to 40 percent premiums, and some have reported fares of up to $5,000 for an economy class seat. The bump is welcome news for Hawaii, which suffered a drop in Japanese visitors last year in the wake of eruptions that closed most of Volcanoes National Park for weeks, and a two week closure of Osaka's airport by a typhoon.
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