The number of domestic travelers during the Golden Week holiday period reached 62.8 million, down 4.7 percent from last year, the National Police Agency said Wednesday.
The poor turnout was attributed to unpredictable weather during the holiday period, which started April 25 and ended Tuesday.
After adding up the number of visitors to major tourist spots and holiday events throughout the country, the NPA said the number of travelers was 3.06 million fewer than last year.
The Hakata Dontaku festival in Fukuoka Prefecture attracted 2 million people. It was the most popular destination for domestic tourists for the 13th straight year and since the NPA started counting the number of Golden Week travelers in 1986.
Other popular destinations included the Hiroshima Flower Festival, which drew 1.41 million tourists, Yokohama's Landmark Tower, with 1.38 million people, and the Tako-age Matsuri (Kite Flying Festival) in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, with 760,000 visitors.
About 175,400 people spent the holidays climbing mountains, up 11,900 from Golden Week last year. A total of 73 accidents involving climbers were reported during the period, including 21 people who were killed and four people who are listed as missing, according to the agency.