Japan Public Holidays 2026 (Jul-Dec): Banks Close, Konbini Doesn't

Travelers sometimes hit a wall in Japan on a public holiday: the bank is shut, and cash or currency exchange suddenly feels harder than expected.

Banks, post offices, and government offices do close on Japanese national holidays. Convenience stores and restaurants, though, mostly stay open as usual, so a holiday rarely derails a trip on its own.

Here's what's actually happening on Japan's national holidays from July through December 2026: what shuts down, what doesn't, and which long weekends draw the biggest crowds.

For payment options in general, see our guide, How to Pay in Japan. For withdrawing cash specifically, see How to Withdraw Cash in Japan.

Japan's national holidays, July–December 2026

Japan's "national holidays" (kokumin no shukujitsu) add up to 16 a year under the law that defines them. Seven of those fall in the second half of 2026: Marine Day, Mountain Day, Respect for the Aged Day, Autumnal Equinox Day, Sports Day, Culture Day, and Labor Thanksgiving Day.

On top of those seven, the same law creates a "citizens' holiday" whenever a single weekday is sandwiched between two national holidays. In 2026, that happens on September 22, wedged between Respect for the Aged Day and the Autumnal Equinox — bringing the second-half total to eight days off.

Banks, post offices, and government offices close

By law, banks treat national holidays as non-business days, so counter services and anything requiring a teller, currency exchange included, should be handled on a regular business day, not a holiday. Withdrawing cash is a different matter: convenience store and bank ATMs mostly keep running on national holidays, since it's the staffed counters that close, not the machines.

Government offices follow the same pattern. Chiyoda Ward's city office, for one, states on its official site that it's closed on "Saturdays, Sundays, national holidays and other holidays, and the year-end period (December 29 through January 3)." The "other holidays" wording covers days like the September 22 citizens' holiday mentioned earlier. That year-end closure begins within this article's window and runs into early January, covered in its own section below.

As for mail, standard letters and postcards aren't delivered on national holidays, but Japan Post still delivers express mail, registered mail, and parcel services like Yu-Pack on holidays. If you're shipping something time-sensitive, the delivery method you choose matters more than the calendar date.

Shops and restaurants mostly stay open as usual

Unlike banks and government offices, there's no law requiring department stores, convenience stores, or restaurants to close on national holidays. Most stay open as normal, so a holiday alone rarely gets in the way of shopping or eating out.

Museums and small, independently run shops and restaurants are a partial exception to that. Plenty of them post a Monday closing day with a twist: if Monday is a national holiday, they stay open that day and close the following Tuesday instead.

Since most of the remaining 2026 holidays — Marine Day, Respect for the Aged Day, Sports Day, and Labor Thanksgiving Day — fall on a Monday, expect that Tuesday-after pattern to show up more than once before the year is out. If you have a specific museum or small, family-run restaurant on your itinerary, check that venue's own site for its closing days before you go.

Trains and buses run, but sometimes on a holiday schedule

Trains and buses operate on national holidays. In cities, though, many lines run a separate "Saturday/holiday" timetable rather than the weekday one, which can mean fewer departures during what would normally be the morning and evening rush. Check the operator's own timetable for the specific date and line you're using.

The long weekends that get crowded

A single holiday rarely causes a crowd surge — it's the ones that connect to a weekend that do. Watch for these stretches in the second half of 2026:

Saturday, July 18 through Monday, July 20 (Marine Day): a three-day weekend

Saturday, September 19 through Wednesday, September 23 (Autumnal Equinox Day): a five-day stretch, since Respect for the Aged Day, the citizens' holiday, and the Equinox fall back-to-back. Some travel media call this run "Silver Week"

Saturday, October 10 through Monday, October 12 (Sports Day): a three-day weekend

Saturday, November 21 through Monday, November 23 (Labor Thanksgiving Day): a three-day weekend

Culture Day (November 3) doesn't extend into a long weekend this year, since the weekdays on both sides stay ordinary workdays. Mountain Day (August 11) is a bit different — see the next section.

Seats on the shinkansen and long-distance buses, along with tickets to popular attractions, tend to sell out fastest around these stretches, so book as soon as your dates are set. Marine Day's July long weekend often lines up with fireworks and matsuri season — see our guides, Tokyo's Summer Fireworks Festivals and A Guide to Japanese Summer Festivals, if that's part of your trip.

Obon isn't a public holiday either, but plan around it

Obon isn't a national holiday — it's a customary summer break that most companies observe on their own schedule, typically around August 13–16. In 2026, that stretch runs Thursday through Sunday, and only one weekday, August 12, separates it from Mountain Day.

Obon isn't legally a holiday, but it's one of the most congested travel periods of the year on the shinkansen and expressways.

In their 2025 forecasts, JR East and JR Central both named August 9 as the outbound peak, with the return peak spread across August 16–17. NEXCO's 2025 forecast named August 9 and 10 as the busiest outbound days for expressways, and August 11 (Mountain Day itself), 15, and 16 as the busiest return days. The 2026 forecasts hadn't come out yet at the time of writing. If you're traveling in or out of Japan around Obon, check for the announcement and book ahead.

The year-end crush is its own category

The year-end period isn't a national holiday, but it's arguably the most disruptive stretch of the whole July–December window, since it falls right at the end of it.

As covered above, government offices close December 29 through January 3. Department stores follow a similar pattern: in the most recent year-end (2025 into 2026), Isetan Shinjuku, Nihombashi Mitsukoshi, and Shinjuku Takashimaya all trimmed their hours on New Year's Eve and closed on New Year's Day.

Isetan Shinjuku and Nihombashi Mitsukoshi reopened for New Year sales on January 2, while Shinjuku Takashimaya stayed closed until January 3. Convenience stores, by contrast, mostly kept running as usual straight through the holiday.

The shinkansen sees its heaviest crowds of the year during this stretch. For the most recent year-end, JR East's 2025 forecast named December 30 as its outbound peak and January 3 as its return peak. JR Central's forecast named an earlier outbound peak, December 27, with a return peak also on January 3. Forecasts for the 2026-into-2027 year-end hadn't been released as of this writing (JR East published its 2025 forecast on December 16). Japan's rail operators typically publish these in mid-December, so check for the announcement closer to your travel dates and book reserved seats early.

Related practical guides

How to Pay in Japan: cash, IC cards, contactless, and QR payments

How to Withdraw Cash in Japan: using convenience store ATMs with a foreign card

How to Order at a Japanese Restaurant: ticket machines, otoshi, and paying the bill

A Guide to Japanese Summer Festivals: the events that often collide with these long weekends