Holiday Calendar for Japan

From January through December, there are many Japanese holidays and special occasions you can participate in. The following are Japanese national holidays and some of the most important other annual nationwide events. In addition, there are countless local annual festivals

The Japanese are not in the habit of taking long periods of annual leave.
Public holidays in Japan (国民の祝日 kokumin no shukujitsu) were established by the Public Holiday Law (国民の祝日に関する法律 Kokumin no Shukujitsu ni Kansuru Hōritsu) of 1948.
A provision of the law establishes that when a national holiday falls on a Sunday, the next working day shall become a public holiday, known as furikae kyūjitsu (振替休日, literally "transfer holiday"). Additionally, any day that falls between two other national holidays shall also become a holiday, known as kokumin no kyūjitsu (国民の休日, literally "citizens’ holiday").
Although the word matsuri is always translated as ’festival’, some festivals and holidays are more correctly included in the nenchu gyoji or annual events originally observed by the Imperial court.
In addition to the annual holidays listed above, certain events of celebration or mourning related to the imperial family are also treated as national holidays in the year in which they occur.
In 2019, the Emperor is expected to abdicate on April 30, followed by the ascension to the throne of the new Emperor on May 1 and the enthronement ceremony on October 22. As a result, May 1 and October 22 are also expected to become national holidays.