Japan Holiday Calendar — Is This Date a Holiday? Plus Streak Ranking
Instantly check whether any date in 2016 — including New Year's Eve or other notable days — is a Japanese public holiday, including substitute and citizens' holidays — plus the longest holiday streaks and the story behind each one.
| Date | Holiday | Purpose |
|---|
No consecutive holidays of 3+ days in 2016.
2016 Calendar
Jan
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 Closed |
|||||
| 3 Closed |
4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 31 |
Feb
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 |
Mar
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
Apr
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
May
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |
| 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 |
| 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| 29 | 30 | 31 |
Jun
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Jul
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |||||
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 |
| 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| 31 |
Aug
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 |
Sep
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Oct
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 |
| 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
| 30 | 31 |
Nov
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
Dec
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 Closed |
Definition of Public Holidays
Article 1 of the Act on National Holidays states that the Japanese people, who ceaselessly seek freedom and peace, shall designate days on which the nation as a whole celebrates, expresses gratitude, or commemorates, naming these "National Holidays," in order to nurture beautiful customs and build a better society and richer lives.
Substitute Holiday Rules
Article 3 of the same Act states that when a National Holiday falls on a Sunday, the nearest non-holiday day after it becomes a holiday — this is the so-called Substitute Holiday (振替休日). Additionally, a non-holiday sandwiched between two National Holidays on either side also becomes a holiday, which is why years where Respect for the Aged Day and Autumnal Equinox Day are separated by one day result in a 5-day holiday known as Silver Week.
New Year's Eve and the First Three Days
Dec 31 through Jan 3, except for New Year's Day itself, are not official public holidays, but are observed as holidays by banks and most companies. In the calendar below, these days are marked with a gray "Closed" badge.
What Is the Japan Holiday Calendar?
The Japan Holiday Calendar lists every public holiday defined by the Act on National Holidays for a given year, in date order, and also shows them in a month-by-month calendar view. Each holiday is paired with the official purpose written into law when it was established (for example, Children's Day exists to "respect the personality of children and seek their happiness"), so you can see the reasoning behind the date, not just the name.
Japanese holidays are not all fixed dates — Vernal and Autumnal Equinox Day shift each year based on astronomical observation, and several holidays (like Coming of Age Day) move under the "Happy Monday" system to always fall on a particular Monday. That mix makes a plain calendar hard to read at a glance, so this tool applies the Substitute Holiday and Citizens' Holiday rules automatically and lets you switch between the past 10 years and the following year.
How to Use the Japan Holiday Calendar
- Choose the year to view Click a year in the tabs at the top of the page. You can switch between the past 10 years and next year.
- Check the holiday list Each row shows the date, holiday name, and legal purpose. Substitute Holidays and Citizens' Holidays appear as separate rows too.
- Look at the streak ranking Consecutive breaks of 3 days or more — combining weekends, holidays, and the year-end closure (Dec 31, Jan 2–3) — are ranked from longest to shortest.
- Scan the full-year calendar The calendar at the bottom of the page shows how holidays and closures line up month by month, so you can plan trips or shifts at a glance.
Tips for getting more out of it
- "Substitute Holiday" (振替休日) is the system where, when a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday (or the nearest subsequent non-holiday) becomes a holiday instead.
- "Citizens' Holiday" (国民の休日) is the system where a weekday sandwiched between two public holidays also becomes a holiday, which can create the extended Silver Week breaks.
- "Sports Day" was renamed from "Health and Sports Day" (体育の日) in 2020. "Mountain Day" (山の日) is a relatively new public holiday, established in 2016.
- Holiday schedules may change due to amendments to the law. Please check the Cabinet Office's official website for the latest information.
Ways to Use the Japan Holiday Calendar
Plan a trip or a visit home
Spot the best long-weekend candidates in the streak ranking first, then work out travel dates and when to book accommodation.
Build a staffing schedule
Identify which holidays overlap with weekends and which don't across the whole year — useful groundwork for shift planning at shops or clinics.
Check holidays before counting business days
Before setting an invoice or delivery date, confirm the holidays in that period here, then run the actual business-day count with the Business Days Calculator to avoid doing the work twice.
Check a single specific date
If you only need to know whether one particular day is a holiday, rather than browsing a full-year list, the Holiday Checker is the faster route.
Japan Holiday Calendar Glossary
- National Holiday (国民の祝日)
- A holiday designated by the Act on National Holidays. As of 2026, there are 16 such holidays per year, from New Year's Day through Sports Day.
- Substitute Holiday (振替休日)
- When a National Holiday falls on a Sunday, the nearest following non-holiday day becomes a day off instead. This does not apply when a holiday falls on a Saturday.
- Citizens' Holiday (国民の休日)
- A weekday sandwiched between two National Holidays automatically becomes a day off. This happens in years when Respect for the Aged Day and Autumnal Equinox Day are one day apart, producing the 3-day Silver Week break.
- Act on National Holidays
- The Japanese law enacted in 1948 that defines each holiday's type, date, and purpose, along with the Substitute Holiday rule.
- Happy Monday System
- A system that moved Coming of Age Day, Marine Day, Respect for the Aged Day, and Sports Day to a fixed Monday each month, creating 3-day weekends. Introduced in stages during the 2000s.
- Silver Week
- The informal name for the long break centered on Respect for the Aged Day and Autumnal Equinox Day in September. It occurs irregularly, only in years when the Citizens' Holiday rule applies.
FAQ
Side Note — Japan's Public Holidays vs. the World — Many Holidays, Few Paid Vacations Taken
Japan has 16 statutory public holidays per year (since 2007), placing it among the higher counts in developed nations. The US has 11 federal holidays, the UK 8, and France 11. At the same time, Japan's paid vacation take-up rate has consistently ranked among the lowest in developed countries — a gap that public holidays are sometimes said to partially offset.
The "Happy Monday" system, introduced in the early 2000s, moved several holidays — Coming-of-Age Day, Marine Day, Respect for the Aged Day, and Health and Sports Day (now Sports Day) — to Mondays to create more 3-day weekends, with the aim of boosting tourism and consumer spending. As a result, "Health and Sports Day" (October 10), which had commemorated the opening ceremony of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, lost its fixed date.
Among the more recently established holidays is "Mountain Day" (山の日, established 2016). It was created in the spirit of "Marine Day" (海の日, established 1941) as a counterpart for mountains, but the choice of August 11 as the date attracted attention at the time since there was no particular historical reason behind it.