A mass exodus of people visiting their hometowns for family reunions and elsewhere over the New Year holiday season peaked in Japan on Dec. 29, with Tokyo Station and other major terminals crowded with passengers despite fears over the omicron variant of the coronavirus lingering on.

       At Tokyo Station, the hordes of passengers represented a sight quite different from last season, where it was almost empty due to people refraining from traveling amidst the spread of the coronavirus. This year, many people were seen visiting PCR test centers before returning to their hometowns due to concerns over the omicron variant.

       Shinkansen bullet train platforms at Tokyo Station were jammed with passengers from the morning on that day. A 56-year-old office worker from Narashino, Chiba Prefecture, was heading for Okayama in western Japan, where his mother in her 80s lives.

       "I refrained from going back to my parent's home last year. This time again I was worried until the last minute," he told the Mainichi Shimbun.

       Young children are reunited with their grandfather for the first time in a long while, at JR Akita Station in northern Japan on Dec. 29, 2021. (Mainichi/Hiroshi Takano)

       According to JR companies, the occupancy rate for non-reserved seats on the Tokaido, Yamagata, Joetsu and Hokuriku Shinkansen lines departing from Tokyo Station topped 100% on many trains by 4 p.m. on Dec. 29. The corresponding figure for last year on the same day was less than 50% by 4 p.m., with some even dipping below 10%.

       At a PCR test center set up at a building near JR Shimbashi Station in Tokyo's Minato Ward, an endless stream of people was seen visiting the facility to get tested for the coronavirus. A 48-year-old office worker from the capital's Shinagawa Ward was on his way to his hometown in Gunma Prefecture, where his father in his 70s lives.

       "The situation requires caution as infections in Tokyo are on the rise again. I'll depart after waiting for my test results," he commented.

       Meanwhile, the departure lobby for international flights at Narita Airport in Chiba Prefecture was almost empty on Dec. 29, due in part to the enhanced border control measures by the Japanese government to prevent the entry of the omicron variant. The booking rate for overall international flights over the year-end and New Year period stood at 13% for Japan Airlines and 10% for All Nippon Airways compared to the same season in 2019, before the coronavirus broke out in Japan.

       (Japanese original by Shohei Kato and Kazuo Yanagisawa, Tokyo Bureau, and Tadakazu Nakamura, Narita Bureau)

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