Despite looming concerns over a potential megaquake and an approaching typhoon, the number of passengers traveling on express and limited express trains during Japan’s Bon holiday period surged by 7% compared to the previous year, according to data released on Monday by the six Japan Railways Group companies. Over a 10-day period ending Sunday, approximately 12,236,000 passengers took these trains.
Earlier in the month, the Japan Meteorological Agency had issued an emergency alert about a possible massive earthquake in the Nankai Trough, a tectonically active region off the Pacific coast. Simultaneously, Typhoon Ampil was drawing closer to Japan, leading Central Japan Railway (JR Central) to cancel all Tokaido Shinkansen bullet train services between Tokyo and Nagoya on Friday.
Despite these disruptions, reserved seats on the Tokaido Shinkansen trains bound for Tokyo were near full capacity on both Thursday afternoon and Saturday, as reported by JR Central. “It appears that some passengers modified their travel schedules following our announcement of the train cancellations on Wednesday evening,” noted a JR Central spokesperson.
Meanwhile, air travel also saw a boost. Both Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways recorded higher passenger numbers than last year, for both domestic and international routes. In particular, demand was strong for domestic flights to the Kyushu region and Okinawa Prefecture, as well as international flights to destinations in East and Southeast Asia.