Japan on April 27th kicked off an unprecedented 10-day holiday, including celebration days for the imperial transition, as airports were packed with record travellers while people queued at teller machines.

4月27日起，日本迎来了史无前例的“10连休”以庆祝一系列的天皇换位仪式。难得的“超级黄金周”也让日本民众的出游意愿大爆发，机场等交通枢纽人满为患，就连ATM取款机前也大排长龙。

Japan usually has a string of public holidays from late April to early May, the so-called “Golden Week.” But this year, with Crown Prince Naruhito’s being crowned the new emperor on May 1st, the government made the entire period from April 27th to May 6th a market holiday.

4月底至5月初的一连串假期在日本国内被称为“黄金周”。但是今年，随着德仁天皇5月1日即位，政府为此专门延长了假期时间，从4月27日至5月6日，整整十天的连休假，让不少人都始料未及。

While many planned to commemorate the national ceremonies across the country, others seized the rare opportunity for a trip at home and overseas. Holidaymakers formed long queues for Shinkansen bullet services at Tokyo station to return home or go sightseeing, while highways were crowded with vehicles in a major exodus from the capital.

当日本各地正忙着庆祝换位仪式之时，大量的民众也利用这次难得的机会安排旅行。大批旅客在东京的新干线车站排起长队，有些选择回到故乡，有些出门远游，高速公路上也堵满了出城的车辆。

The day before the holiday began, many ATMs in Tokyo were temporarily out of service as people rushed to them to financially prepare for the holiday. The reason is that cash is king in Japan and credit cards are much less popular than in other countries so it is common for people to carry around relatively large amounts of yen to pay for day-to-day things.

在十连休开始前一天，就连东京的多个ATM取款机也因为民众蜂拥取款而陷入故障。要知道，日本仍然是一个现金主导的社会，信用卡和电子支付在日本的流行程度较其他国家相比并不高，因此计划出门旅行的游客都会在行前带足现金，用于消费支出。

Not everyone welcomed the long holiday in Japan, however, as some people concerned about a limit to public and medical services while others who had to work over the period complain about childcare.

有人欢喜有人愁，并不是每个人都为长假的到来而欢欣鼓舞。有些人担忧公共服务和医疗服务因为放假而停摆，还有些假期也得上班的民众则要担心自己的孩子无人看管。

For example, the start of the “Reiwa” era was quite hellish for the service industry. Workers in the service sector simply didn’t get time off. Indeed, staff shortages in the country’s tight labor market mean that many are pulling extra-long shifts over the break.

比如，“令和”时代的开局对于服务业来说可谓是一场噩梦。服务业从业人员并不因此能放上长假，相反，本就短缺的劳动力市场为了应对激增的游客，不得不延长员工班次。

For the financial world, the extra long holiday is also disturbing, that a market shutdown could cause disruption and unsettle the yen. Many financial institutions underwent a worrisome holiday as 10 days could mean lots of changes in the global market. After all, a long holiday may sound good, but not the case if it’s real.

对于金融市场来说，超长的假期也令人不安，因为长时间的休市会导致市场不稳定性急剧增加，对日元造成挑战。许多金融机构在这过去的长假中可谓“忧心忡忡”，在10天之中，瞬息万变的全球市场已经发生了巨大的变化，无法迅速应对便意味着丧失机遇。所以这么看来，超长假期看起来似乎很美好，但是在实际生活中，可并不是一件十全十美之事。