Booking.com Announces Popular Travel Destinations for Golden Week 2026! Highlighting Unique Accommodations Recommended for Experiential Stays with Children, Backed by Japanese Travelers' Strong Preference for Domestic and Family Travel
Booking.com released a trend report for Golden Week 2026 based on search data, revealing that Japanese travelers strongly prefer domestic family trips to theme parks and nature, and introduced unique experiential accommodations.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 22, 2026 at 22:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 23, 2026 at 00:02 (2h 2m after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 23, 2026 at 06:31 (6h 29m after Collected)
[April 22, 2026]
Under its corporate mission of "making it easier for everyone to experience the world," Booking.com, one of the world's largest digital travel platforms offering a wide variety of accommodations, travel experiences, flights, and rental cars, has announced popular travel destinations and trends for the upcoming Golden Week (GW) long holiday in 2026. This is based on search data* by Japanese travelers on Booking.com for the GW period (search target period: check-in reservations from April 29 to May 10, 2026) and 2026 travel trends.
Popular Travel Destinations for GW 2026
According to Booking.com's latest data*, the top 5 most popular domestic travel destinations for Japanese travelers during the 2026 GW period are led by "Tokyo," followed by "Osaka," "Kyoto," "Fukuoka," and "Sapporo," showing a prominence of major cities. On the other hand, a unique characteristic this year is that outside the top rankings, areas such as "Chiba," "Hakuba (Nagano Prefecture)," and "Kutchan (Hokkaido)" have seen significant year-on-year demand growth.
In a 2026 travel trend survey** conducted by Booking.com targeting 32,800 travelers across 34 countries and regions, the top leisure trips planned by Japanese travelers included "Trips to theme parks" (Japan: 36%, Global: 24%), "Trips to enjoy nature (e.g., outdoors, national parks, lakes, stargazing)" (Japan: 35%, Global: 33%), and "Trips visiting cultural tourist spots (e.g., historical buildings, museums)" (Japan: 33%, Global: 29%), all of which exceeded the global average. These trends are also reflected in this year's GW destinations, showing a high interest in areas where people can enjoy theme parks, abundant nature, and cultural facilities.
Furthermore, in the search data* for overseas travel destinations during the GW period, "Seoul (South Korea)" ranked 1st and "Taipei (Taiwan)" ranked 2nd, continuing from the previous year, demonstrating the persistent popularity of short-haul Asian destinations easily accessible from Japan. In addition, "Da Nang (Vietnam)" in 5th place moved up from 9th last year, showing an increase in attention. Outside the top rankings, "Melbourne (Australia)," "Hoi An (Vietnam)," and "Tainan (Taiwan)" have significantly grown in demand compared to the previous year.
Japanese Travelers with a Strong Preference for Domestic and Family Travel
As a trend among Japanese travelers in 2026, the travel trend survey** conducted by Booking.com showed that approximately two-thirds (67%) of the total respondents answered that they "prefer domestic travel," far exceeding the global average of 50%. The top reasons cited were "Domestic travel is easy to plan" (Japan: 58%, Global: 44%), "Traveling in one's own country brings a sense of security" (Japan: 55%, Global: 37%), and "Prefer traveling in a familiar environment" (Japan: 52%, Global: 33%).
Additionally, 50% of the respondents answered "Family (spouse or children)" as their travel companions, indicating that half of Japanese travelers plan to go on family trips in 2026. These results highlight the deeply rooted popularity of domestic and family travel among Japanese travelers.
Therefore, in this press release, considering the 2026 travel trends and popular GW destinations, we introduce unique accommodations in Japan recommended for GW family trips that can be enjoyed by both children and adults.
Accommodations Recommended for Experiential Stays with Children
Booking.com is expanding its offerings not only in hotels and ryokans but also in the "Home" category of accommodations, such as apartments, vacation rentals, villas, holiday homes, and B&Bs. Why not take this opportunity to have a unique accommodation experience different from the usual?
■ Asakusa Kokono Club Hotel (Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo)
https://www.booking.com/hotel/jp/qian-cao-jiu-ju-le-bu-dong-jing-du-tai-dong-qu.ja.html
A hotel integrated with a theater and restaurant under the concept of "Enjoying by watching, eating, and staying." It is highly recommended for family trips as a base for an "urban experiential stay" where you can touch upon Edo culture and the charm of the downtown area while enjoying a stroll through Asakusa.
■ The Park Front Hotel at Universal Studios Japan (Osaka City, Osaka)
https://www.booking.com/hotel/jp/the-park-front-hotel.ja.html
An official hotel located right in front of the main gate of Universal Studios Japan. Based on the concept of "A trip to America transcending space and time," the facility...
Under its corporate mission of "making it easier for everyone to experience the world," Booking.com, one of the world's largest digital travel platforms offering a wide variety of accommodations, travel experiences, flights, and rental cars, has announced popular travel destinations and trends for the upcoming Golden Week (GW) long holiday in 2026. This is based on search data* by Japanese travelers on Booking.com for the GW period (search target period: check-in reservations from April 29 to May 10, 2026) and 2026 travel trends.
Popular Travel Destinations for GW 2026
According to Booking.com's latest data*, the top 5 most popular domestic travel destinations for Japanese travelers during the 2026 GW period are led by "Tokyo," followed by "Osaka," "Kyoto," "Fukuoka," and "Sapporo," showing a prominence of major cities. On the other hand, a unique characteristic this year is that outside the top rankings, areas such as "Chiba," "Hakuba (Nagano Prefecture)," and "Kutchan (Hokkaido)" have seen significant year-on-year demand growth.
In a 2026 travel trend survey** conducted by Booking.com targeting 32,800 travelers across 34 countries and regions, the top leisure trips planned by Japanese travelers included "Trips to theme parks" (Japan: 36%, Global: 24%), "Trips to enjoy nature (e.g., outdoors, national parks, lakes, stargazing)" (Japan: 35%, Global: 33%), and "Trips visiting cultural tourist spots (e.g., historical buildings, museums)" (Japan: 33%, Global: 29%), all of which exceeded the global average. These trends are also reflected in this year's GW destinations, showing a high interest in areas where people can enjoy theme parks, abundant nature, and cultural facilities.
Furthermore, in the search data* for overseas travel destinations during the GW period, "Seoul (South Korea)" ranked 1st and "Taipei (Taiwan)" ranked 2nd, continuing from the previous year, demonstrating the persistent popularity of short-haul Asian destinations easily accessible from Japan. In addition, "Da Nang (Vietnam)" in 5th place moved up from 9th last year, showing an increase in attention. Outside the top rankings, "Melbourne (Australia)," "Hoi An (Vietnam)," and "Tainan (Taiwan)" have significantly grown in demand compared to the previous year.
Japanese Travelers with a Strong Preference for Domestic and Family Travel
As a trend among Japanese travelers in 2026, the travel trend survey** conducted by Booking.com showed that approximately two-thirds (67%) of the total respondents answered that they "prefer domestic travel," far exceeding the global average of 50%. The top reasons cited were "Domestic travel is easy to plan" (Japan: 58%, Global: 44%), "Traveling in one's own country brings a sense of security" (Japan: 55%, Global: 37%), and "Prefer traveling in a familiar environment" (Japan: 52%, Global: 33%).
Additionally, 50% of the respondents answered "Family (spouse or children)" as their travel companions, indicating that half of Japanese travelers plan to go on family trips in 2026. These results highlight the deeply rooted popularity of domestic and family travel among Japanese travelers.
Therefore, in this press release, considering the 2026 travel trends and popular GW destinations, we introduce unique accommodations in Japan recommended for GW family trips that can be enjoyed by both children and adults.
Accommodations Recommended for Experiential Stays with Children
Booking.com is expanding its offerings not only in hotels and ryokans but also in the "Home" category of accommodations, such as apartments, vacation rentals, villas, holiday homes, and B&Bs. Why not take this opportunity to have a unique accommodation experience different from the usual?
■ Asakusa Kokono Club Hotel (Asakusa, Taito-ku, Tokyo)
https://www.booking.com/hotel/jp/qian-cao-jiu-ju-le-bu-dong-jing-du-tai-dong-qu.ja.html
A hotel integrated with a theater and restaurant under the concept of "Enjoying by watching, eating, and staying." It is highly recommended for family trips as a base for an "urban experiential stay" where you can touch upon Edo culture and the charm of the downtown area while enjoying a stroll through Asakusa.
■ The Park Front Hotel at Universal Studios Japan (Osaka City, Osaka)
https://www.booking.com/hotel/jp/the-park-front-hotel.ja.html
An official hotel located right in front of the main gate of Universal Studios Japan. Based on the concept of "A trip to America transcending space and time," the facility...