A long, leisurely sojourn at a tropical beach resort, listening to the waves and counting seagulls ... is only a pipe dream for most workers in Japan as the New Year's holiday period draws near.

A recent survey by market research firm Macromill Inc. shows that many Japanese can afford only a five-day holiday over New Year's, though they wish they could take seven days off. And they will mostly likely stay at home, catching up on their sleep.

Of the 3,341 people with jobs who responded to the online survey, 28.9 percent replied that they wanted to take seven days off, followed by 23.9 percent who said they longed for 10 days away from work and 11.6 percent who hoped for a five-day holiday.