[kitski]

Sunday, August 12

The annual rush of travelers leaving Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan for the "Bon" midsummer holidays peaked Saturday morning with vacationers jamming roads, railway stations and airports. Almost all flights departing from Tokyo's Haneda airport to destinations around Japan were fully booked, as were planes leaving Narita and Kansai international airports for destinations overseas. According to Narita International Airport Corp, about 53,000 travelers are expected to fly out of the airport, with the return rush projected to peak Aug 18.

At Kansai airport near Osaka, 24,600 travelers are forecast to fly out Saturday, with the day's arriving and departing passengers expecting to reach 40,000, the highest this summer, Kansai International Airport Co said. China, South Korea and Europe are highly popular destinations. Railway officials said the bullet-train occupancy rate reached 200% on the JR Tokaido Shinkansen Line and 150% on the JR Tohoku Shinkansen Line as the first runs left Tokyo Station at 6 a.m.

Meanwhile, road traffic was backed up 65 kilometers from the Fukushima Iizaka interchange on the Tohoku Expressway in Fukushima Prefecture, 50 km from the Shizuoka interchange on the Tomei Expressway in Shizuoka Prefecture, and 43 km from the Takarazuka-higashi tunnel on the Chugoku Expressway in Hyogo Prefecture.