Shogatsu in Japan 2027: What Closes and the Data You Need
Over Shogatsu Japan closes in layers: banks, museums and family restaurants go quiet, shrines and convenience stores never do. Here is the day-by-day picture for 2026-27, and the data plan that carries you through it.
Quick answer: Over New Year 2026-27, closures in Japan spread from 29 December to 4 January and run deepest from 1 to 3 January: most shops shut on 1 January, banks and some ATMs close on several days, museums close for days at a time, and small family restaurants take a break. Shrines and temples never close, convenience stores, fast-food chains and hotel restaurants stay open, and department stores reopen from 2 January with fukubukuro lucky bags. Install a travel eSIM at home, because this is the week you check every opening and every train on your phone.
Key takeaways
- Deepest closures: 1 to 3 January 2027. Most businesses are back on Monday 4 January.
- Travel peaks: leaving the cities 29 to 31 December, and coming back 2 to 4 January, with 3 January expected to be the worst.
- Withdraw cash by 30 December. Banks and some ATMs close on one or more days over the break.
- Shrine queues are long: an hour is common at the big shrines, and one regular waited two and a half hours at Meiji Jingu around midnight.
- Data matters more this week, not less: cafe Wi-Fi closes with the cafe, and holiday timetables differ from what you planned.
It is 11pm on 31 December and you are in a queue that started at the torii gate of Meiji Jingu. Your partner went to find hot amazake from a stall, the crowd has swallowed them, and the cafe whose Wi-Fi you used all afternoon has its shutters down until 4 January. Shogatsu is the most atmospheric week of the Japanese year, and the week your phone has to work on its own.
If you are flying in for New Year, the simplest fix is done before you pack: buy a Japan eSIM on fizen.io, install it at home on Wi-Fi, and turn it on when you land at Haneda, Narita or Kansai. The holiday timetable, the open ramen counter and the friend lost in the crowd are then one tap away.
What closes in Japan over New Year 2026-27, day by day?
| Date | What happens | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 29 to Thu 31 Dec | Offices close; people leave the big cities | Trains and planes out of Tokyo are packed; book seats early |
| Thu 31 Dec, evening | Toshikoshi soba, temple bells at midnight | Some urban lines run late, but less than before the pandemic |
| Fri 1 Jan | Shops mostly closed; hatsumode at every shrine | Convenience stores, fast food and hotel restaurants open |
| Sat 2 Jan | Department stores reopen with lucky bags | Queues from early morning; popular bags sell out fast |
| Sun 3 Jan | The big return trip home | Expected to be the busiest travel day of the break |
| Mon 4 Jan | Most businesses back at work | Some museums and small restaurants reopen later |
Museums and gardens set their own calendars, so check each venue. Kyoto's Nijo Castle, for example, closed its Ninomaru Palace from 1 to 3 January last winter. Temples and shrines never close, and they are where the week happens.
Why does your phone do more work over Shogatsu?
- Holiday timetables. Lines switch to Sunday and holiday timetables, and late-night services on New Year's Eve vary by company. A route app with live data beats a screenshot made in November.
- Finding what is open. Listed opening hours often ignore the holiday. Check the place's own page or message it before you walk.
- Finding each other. A crowd of hundreds of thousands at one shrine is where families split up. Share live locations before you join the queue.
- Paying for the train. Suica on an iPhone lives in Apple Wallet, and topping it up needs a connection.
Keep your home SIM on for bank and airline codes, with its data roaming off, and let the eSIM carry the data.
What people who have done it say
- Landing on New Year's Eve is doable. In a December 2025 thread, a family arriving at Haneda at 9pm was told the Keikyu line runs through to Asakusa in about 45 minutes without a transfer, on the holiday timetable.
- Expect long queues at midnight. A Tokyo tour operator in the same thread queued about two and a half hours at Meiji Jingu, arriving at 10:30pm and reaching the front around 1am.
- Senso-ji runs one way. A Tokyo regular advised entering from the Kaminarimon gate and using a restroom before joining the line, because it is long and slow.
- Watch the Skytree at midnight. A local poster suggested Asakusa or Kuramae for the moment the tower's lights change into the new year.
- One line each lets a family split. On the japan-guide forum, a parent said eSIMs let the family separate and still find each other; a pocket Wi-Fi suits only a group that stays together.
How much data do you need for New Year in Japan, and which plan?
| Your New Year trip | Rough use | Size that survives it |
|---|---|---|
| 5 days in Tokyo, maps and messages | About 1 GB a day | 10 GB, 7 days |
| 10 days, Tokyo and Kyoto with day trips | About 1 to 1.5 GB a day | 20 GB, 15 days |
| Video calls home, uploads, a tablet on hotspot | 2 GB a day or more | Unlimited, 10 or 15 days |
These are our estimates. One option, read from the Fizen catalogue on 2 November 2026: Japan country plans run on KDDI or SoftBank, depending on the plan, on 4G and 5G. Fixed plans come in 1, 3, 5, 10 and 20 GB with windows from 3 to 30 days, and slow to 384 kbps once the data is used, enough for messages but not maps. Unlimited plans run from 3 to 30 days at up to 10 Mbps, which handles maps, ride apps and video calls. Check the eSIM tab in the app or fizen.io/esim for current plans.
On most plans the validity window starts when the eSIM first connects, not when you buy, so buy in December without wasting days. Most Fizen eSIMs cannot be topped up, and more data means a new eSIM, so size it for the whole trip. If something fails on Fizen's side, a real person answers in the in-app chat, and a verified fault gets a free 1-for-1 replacement for the length of the trip. Changed plans? An unused, not-yet-installed eSIM can usually be taken back; eligibility depends on the plan, check Package details or ask chat.
The honest alternative: airport SIM counters and pocket Wi-Fi rentals at Haneda, Narita and Kansai. A router works for a group that never separates; it fails the moment you split at a shrine. Paying in USDT? Buy the same plans in the Fizen app. Fizen is building the stablecoin neobank for people on the move: a wallet you own and travel data in one app.
Frequently asked questions
What is closed in Japan on New Year's Day?
Most shops, banks, museums and small restaurants. Convenience stores, fast-food chains, hotel restaurants, shrines and temples stay open.
How long is the New Year holiday in Japan?
Closures run from about 29 December to 3 January. In 2027 most businesses return on Monday 4 January.
When do department stores reopen after New Year?
Many reopen on 2 January with fukubukuro lucky-bag sales. Some open on 1 January; check each store.
Do trains run all night on New Year's Eve in Tokyo?
Some urban lines and lines serving big shrines run late or overnight, but many companies have cut this back. Check your line in late December.
Can I buy a Japan eSIM in December for a January trip?
Yes. On most plans the days start when the eSIM first connects in Japan, so install it at home and switch it on after landing.
Spend Shogatsu online, not hunting Wi-Fi
A Japan eSIM installed at home: holiday timetables, open restaurants and family locations on your phone from the arrival hall. Pay by card via Stripe (international Visa or Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay), or with USDT on Solana or BNB Chain in the Fizen app. New in the app: a US$10 eSIM credit is waiting in the eSIM tab for new users, taken off the bill automatically at checkout (up to 30% of each plan), no code needed.
Terms and conditions
- Information only. This article is information only, not an offer or sale, and not financial, legal or travel advice. Opening hours, schedules and phone settings change; check before you rely on them. Plan details were read from the Fizen catalogue on 2 November 2026; check Package details before you buy.
- For readers in the United States. This is information only, not an offer or sale, and not advice. Fizen products and services are not offered to US Persons.
- Data-only. Travel eSIM plans are data-only and do not include a Japanese phone number or SMS. Keep your home SIM active for calls, SMS and bank codes.
- Independent. Fizen is not affiliated with KDDI, SoftBank, Keikyu, JR, Meiji Jingu, Senso-ji or Tripadvisor.
Sources
- japan-guide.com, Visiting Japan during New Year (updated 26 November 2025, with 2026-27 travel peak)
- japan-guide.com, Shogatsu (New Year)
- JNTO, countdowns, hatsuuri and hatsumode guide (2019, practical notes)
- Tripadvisor Tokyo forum, NYE Tokyo travel (December 2025)
- japan-guide.com forum, Pocket WiFi much better than eSIM? (December 2025 to January 2026)
- Fizen Docs, eSIM FAQ (validity, top-up, hotspot)
- Fizen Docs, 1:1 Trip Guarantee and refunds
Closure pattern and travel peaks checked 2 November 2026 (japan-guide.com, updated November 2025); forum threads December 2025 to January 2026; Fizen catalogue read 2 November 2026.
