Holidaymakers rushed to return home Sunday, with flights into Tokyo's Haneda airport fully booked and a record number of travelers expected at Narita, airline and airport officials said.
The number of people returning home via Narita peaked Sunday, with a record 55,700 travelers who spent the New Year's holidays abroad expected to arrive at the airport, according to the Narita Airport Authority.
An estimated 20,600 returning travelers were expected to arrive Sunday at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture.
The figure is about 1,300 less than on the same day last year, apparently reflecting concerns about SARS.
Reserved seats on the Tokaido-Sanyo, Tohoku, Joetsu and Nagano bullet train lines bound for Tokyo were close to full, railway officials said.
There were few expressway traffic jams in the morning, except on the Tomei Expressway between Tokyo and Nagoya where traffic was backed up for about 20 km at the Fujikawa service area in Shizuoka Prefecture.
Tokyo-bound lanes on the Meishin Expressway were backed up for about 18 km at the Ichinomiya interchange in Aichi Prefecture at around 6 p.m.