Long weekends in Japan, 2026
In 2026, holidays give Japan8 runs of at least three consecutive days off, the longest lasting 5 days. Below they are listed in calendar order, followed by the bridge days that stretch a short break into a long one.
Every long weekend, in date order
| Starts | Ends | Days off | Because of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sat 10 Jan | Mon 12 Jan | 3 days | Coming of Age Day |
| Sat 21 Feb | Mon 23 Feb | 3 days | The Emperor's Birthday |
| Fri 20 Mar | Sun 22 Mar | 3 days | Vernal Equinox Day |
| Sat 2 May | Wed 6 May | 5 days | Greenery Day, Children's Day, Constitution Memorial Day |
| Sat 18 Jul | Mon 20 Jul | 3 days | Marine Day |
| Sat 19 Sep | Mon 21 Sep | 3 days | Respect for the Aged Day |
| Sat 10 Oct | Mon 12 Oct | 3 days | Sports Day |
| Sat 21 Nov | Mon 23 Nov | 3 days | Labour Thanksgiving Day |
Bridge days
A bridge day is a lone working day sitting between a holiday and the weekend. Book that one day as leave and the time off joins up into four days or more. Offices tend to be quiet on these dates even though nobody is officially off.
| Date | Weekday | Next to |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Jan 2026 | Friday | New Year's Day |
| 10 Aug 2026 | Monday | Mountain Day |
| 22 Sep 2026 | Tuesday | Respect for the Aged Day |
| 2 Nov 2026 | Monday | Culture Day |
The cheapest leave of the year: spending 4days of annual leave on the bridges above gives you 4 breaks of at least four days. Expect colleagues to have the same idea, so request these early.
How we find them
Each day of 2026 is marked as a working day or a day off, using Japan's weekend pattern and its nationwide holidays. Consecutive days off are joined into runs; a run of three days or more that includes at least one holiday counts as a long weekend. A plain two-day weekend never qualifies.
Regional holidays are not part of this calculation. If your region has its own dates, you may get extra long weekends that do not appear in the national list.
Back to the Japan2026 holiday calendar or check working days between two dates.