The exodus of people spending the New Year's holidays overseas or outside major metropolitan areas peaked Saturday, filling up seats on bullet trains and congesting roads.
As a wide area of the country was gripped by cold weather, the Meteorological Agency also warned the public to beware of heavy snow and possible disruptions of transportation systems from northern to western Japan, especially in Sea of Japan coastal areas.
On Saturday alone, more than 80,000 people were expected to leave the country from airports in the Tokyo area — 55,200 from Narita airport in Chiba Prefecture and 29,000 from Haneda airport in Ota Ward — according to airport officials.