NARITA, Chiba Pref. (Kyodo) International and other travelers packed Narita airport on Saturday as arrivals were expected to peak for the New Year's holiday season.
Narita International Airport Corp. expected around 47,800 arrivals on Saturday and is projecting 46,800 more on Sunday, and 43,900 Monday.
Many in Japan apparently opted for South Korea, Guam and other relatively close places to take advantage of the yen's surprising strength against other currencies.
The company, which operates the nation's largest international gateway near Tokyo, said it expects the global economic slump to have dampened holiday travel and passenger traffic by around 10 percent compared with last year.
Kansai International Airport, serving the Osaka metropolitan area, said the "return rush" from abroad had begun and that it expected around 19,800 arrivals on Saturday.
The peak is expected on Sunday, with around 19,900 people, the airport said.
The number of people who boarded and arrived on international flights from Kansai International Airport from Dec. 26 to Wednesday is expected to reach about 400,000, down 3 percent from the same period the previous year, due to the recession.
The top destination from Kansai airport was South Korea, with 39,100 travelers, up 16 percent from the year before, followed by China.
