The rush of travelers returning home after spending Japan's Bon summer holidays out of town peaked Sunday, with expressways, railways and airports congested across the country.
Traffic was backed up about 21 km on the Tokyo-bound lanes of the Tomei Expressway in Shizuoka Prefecture, southwest of Tokyo, in the afternoon after the inbound lanes reopened at midnight Saturday following the completion of repair work on an earthquake-hit section.
Part of the expressway's shoulder in Shizuoka collapsed due to a strong quake that hit the prefecture and surrounding areas Tuesday. The outbound lanes reopened midnight Wednesday but repair work on the inbound lanes was delayed.
Traffic was also jammed for 37 km on the Tohoku Expressway in Miyagi Prefecture and 26 km on the Chugoku Expressway in Osaka Prefecture.
Reserved seats on Tokyo-bound shinkansen bullet trains were almost full and the occupancy rate reached 160 percent for cars with unreserved seats on one of the Tohoku lines in the evening.
Domestic flights to Tokyo's Haneda airport were also packed. All Tokyo-bound flights of Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways were fully booked in the afternoon, according to the two airlines.
