Japan's summer holiday season started quietly on Saturday, with no congestion at stations and airports after local governments asked residents to avoid traveling to help keep the coronavirus spread from worsening.

Some shinkansen saw only 5 percent of their nonreserved seats filled in the morning with the highest rate limited to 70 percent, compared to well above the 100 percent usually seen on the first day of the Bon holiday period.

"To be honest, I was a little worried because I saw debates (on whether to travel) during this period on TV news programs," said a 49-year-old man who was taking a shinkansen from Osaka to Fukuoka.