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Asia Year-End & Lunar New Year 2027 Crowd Calendar

Updated: 2026-09-23

Asia Year-End & Lunar New Year 2027 Crowd Calendar

As of September 2026, the two worst windows are 25 December 2026 to 5 January 2027, Japan's New Year peak (government offices close 29 December to 3 January), and 4 to 10 February 2027, when Lunar New Year (Saturday 6 February; Sunday 7 February in Korea) puts Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam and mainland China on holiday together. Book trains, dated tickets and Lunar New Year hotels first; China's and Vietnam's official 2027 schedules are still pending.

Holiday Dates by Country, Nov 2026–Feb 2027

All dates were checked against official calendars and operator notices on 23 September 2026.

MarketKey datesWhat closes or fills upBooking tip
JapanNov 21–23 (Labour Thanksgiving weekend); Dec 25–Jan 5; Jan 9–11 (Coming of Age Day, Mon Jan 11); Feb 11 (Thu); Feb 23 (Tue)Government offices shut Dec 29–Jan 3, banks Dec 31–Jan 3; Nozomi shinkansen all-reserved Nov 21–23, Dec 25–Jan 5 and Jan 9–11Reserved seats open at 10:00 JST one month ahead
South KoreaDec 25–27; Jan 1–3; Seollal Feb 6–9 (Feb 9 is a substitute holiday); Feb 27–Mar 1Offices, banks and most businesses close for Seollal; palaces, museums, department stores and amusement parks mostly stay open, but some shut on Seollal day itself (the National Museum of Korea did in 2026)Seollal KTX seats: special online sale in January (2026 pattern)
TaiwanDec 25–27 (Constitution Day); Jan 1–3; Lunar New Year Feb 4–10 (7 days); Feb 27–Mar 1THSR ran 395 extra trains over the 2026 breakIn 2026, THSR released all holiday seats at 00:00 on Jan 16
Hong KongDec 25–26; Jan 1; Feb 6, 8 and 9 (Sun Feb 7 is off anyway)Four-day Lunar New Year break, Feb 6–9Book Feb 5–9 hotel nights early
SingaporeDec 25; Jan 1; Chinese New Year Feb 6–7, with Mon Feb 8 in lieu for most workersThree-day weekend, Feb 6–8Save big attractions for Feb 9 onward
ThailandDec 7 (for Sat Dec 5); Dec 10; Dec 31–Jan 1; Feb 22 (for Makha Bucha)Banks close; Lunar New Year is not a bank holidayDec 31–Jan 3 is a four-day bank weekend
VietnamNov 24 (Tue, Vietnam Culture Day, a new paid day off; any bridge day pending); Jan 1; Tết Feb 6, with a proposed Feb 4–10 break (not yet approved)Hanoi–Ho Chi Minh City Tết trains on sale since Sep 5, 2026Book now; up to 10 tickets per direction per purchase
Mainland ChinaJan 1; Spring Festival Feb 6; Feb 5–8 off by law; full schedule pendingThe 9-day 2026 break saw 17.8 million border crossingsState Council notice expected around November (2026's: Nov 4, 2025)

Every Lunar New Year market is off at once only from Saturday 6 to Monday 8 February; Korea and Hong Kong stay off through Tuesday 9, and Taiwan through Wednesday 10.

Why Korea's Seollal Falls a Day Later

The Year of the Goat starts with a new moon at 15:56 UTC on 6 February 2027 (US Naval Observatory). That is 23:56 in Beijing, Hong Kong, Taipei and Singapore, so the Hong Kong Observatory lists Saturday 6 February as Lunar New Year's Day; in Seoul it is already 00:56 on the 7th, so Korea's official almanac puts Seollal on Sunday 7 February.

Worshippers at Longshan Temple in Taipei
Worshippers at Longshan Temple in TaipeiPhoto: CEphoto, Uwe Aranas (CC BY-SA 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons
  • Taiwan starts early. A 2025 law added the day before Lunar New Year's Eve as a holiday, so its break opens on Thursday 4 February, as would Vietnam's proposed Tết break.
  • Mainland China travels before the holiday. In 2026 the 40-day chunyun travel season began 15 days before Lunar New Year; 2027 dates aren't announced.
  • The return leg is heavy too. China's busiest border-crossing day of the 2026 holiday was 21 February, the fifth day of the new year.

Japan's New Year: What Stays Open

New Year crowds at the torii gate of Meiji Shrine in Tokyo
New Year crowds at the torii gate of Meiji Shrine in TokyoPhoto: おむこさん志望 (CC BY 3.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Christmas isn't a public holiday in Japan, but JR Central and JR West count 25 December to 5 January among their busiest periods. JNTO's New Year advice:

  • Many businesses close for several days, but plenty of convenience stores such as 7-Eleven, FamilyMart and Lawson, and some chain restaurants, stay open 24 hours.
  • Shrines and temples are extremely busy, so go early in the morning.
  • Some services turn reservation-only at peak times, so check the operator's website.

On Nozomi's all-reserved days, a non-reserved ticket means standing in the vestibule; Hikari and Kodama keep their non-reserved cars.

What to Book First, and When

  1. Now: Vietnam's Tết trains, plus flights and hotels for 4–10 February.
  2. About two months ahead: Tokyo Disney Resort tickets, sold online (the ticket booths are closed) for one date and one park, with prices that vary by date; the resort says sales may be suspended depending on park conditions. Christmas-to-New-Year dates open from late October.
  3. One month ahead, 10:00 JST: shinkansen seats, so 21 October for 21 November, 25 November for 25 December and 9 December for 9 January. EX and smartEX also take limited bookings up to a year out.
  4. January: Korail's Seollal sale. In 2026 it was announced on 7 January; seniors and disabled passengers booked on 15–16 January and everyone else on 19–21 January, online only, for trains on 13–18 February.
  5. Before Lunar New Year's Eve: check Taipei 101 observatory hours; on the eve in 2024 it closed at 18:00, with last tickets at 17:15.

The cards below compare current platform prices for Tokyo Disney Resort, Everland, Taipei 101 and Hong Kong Disneyland tickets.

Holiday-Free Windows

  • 25 November – 18 December 2026: no public holidays in any of the eight markets except Thailand's 5–7 December long weekend and 10 December.
  • 12 January – 3 February 2027: nothing on any published calendar.
  • 15–19 and 24–26 February 2027: the gaps between Lunar New Year, Thailand's 22 February, Japan's 23 February and the 27 February–1 March long weekend in Korea and Taiwan.

For Chuseok and China's Golden Week, see our September–October 2026 crowd calendar.

Compare prices for related tickets

FAQ

  • When is Lunar New Year 2027?

    Saturday 6 February 2027 in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Vietnam. Korea's Seollal is Sunday 7 February, because the new moon arrives just after midnight Korea time; its holiday runs 6 to 9 February.

  • What are the busiest dates in Asia between Christmas and Lunar New Year 2027?

    25 December 2026 to 5 January 2027 in Japan, and 4 to 10 February 2027 around Lunar New Year. Only 6 to 8 February has every Lunar New Year market on holiday at once.

  • Is Japan closed over New Year?

    Partly. Government offices close 29 December to 3 January and banks 31 December to 3 January, and many businesses shut for several days, but many convenience stores stay open 24 hours.

  • When do KTX tickets for Seollal 2027 go on sale?

    Not announced yet. For Seollal 2026, Korail sold general tickets online on 19 to 21 January for trains on 13 to 18 February, so expect a January window again.

  • Has China announced its 2027 Spring Festival holiday?

    Not as of 23 September 2026. By law, Lunar New Year's Eve and the first three days (5 to 8 February 2027) are days off; the 2026 schedule came out on 4 November 2025.

  • When should I book Vietnam Tết trains for 2027?

    Now. Vietnam Railways has sold Tết 2027 tickets on the Hanoi–Ho Chi Minh City line to individuals since 5 September 2026, up to 10 per direction per purchase. The holiday itself is still a proposal: 4 to 10 February.

Sources

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