Apr 26 (Japan Times) - Coronavirus fears left the nation's normally jam-packed bullet trains and expressways deserted on the first day of Golden Week on Saturday as the pace of infections showed little sign of slowing.
Many of the shinkansen leaving Tokyo Station Saturday were over 90 percent empty, railways said. Golden Week, a string of several closely timed national holidays, is traditionally one of the busiest times of year for the tourism industry.
"The train is empty as if one whole car is reserved just for me," said a 43-year-old woman who was boarding at Tokyo Station to go to Nagoya to see her parents.
"I work in the finance industry and Golden Week is almost the only time I can go back home," she said.
One Yamagata shinkansen linking Tokyo with cities in the northeast departed Saturday morning with no one on board, East Japan Railway Co. (JR East) said.
On the road, meanwhile, the Ebina rest area on the Tomei Expressway in western Tokyo was nearly empty, an eerie scene reflecting the lack of expressway congestion across the country.
Airlines have also drastically reduced services, canceling 88 percent of domestic flights and 97 percent of international flights for the normally lucrative period.
Enoshima beach in Kanagawa Prefecture was also quiet on Saturday. The sight of off-limits signs and police cars patrolling the area contrasted sharply with last weekend, when crowds of surfers were enjoying themselves.
