In fj.life.in-japan Declan Murphy <declan_murphy@hotmail.com> wrote:
> I recall Tokyo being unusually pleasant during Obon since so many
> people head "home" or take advantage of the break. The whole of

Absolutely. I "volunteered" to be the token "remain at the company"
guy during Obon (and Shogatsu), and Tokyo's awesome during those
times. The trains are almost private trains, any restaurant/izakaya
that's open, you can walk right in, sit where you want, and not worry
about lines, or "Sorry, we don't speak English" (even when you're
speaking Japanese.)

Plus, the inbound Shinkansen is nearly empty, so getting in is pretty
comfortable.

> Okazaki is pretty much closed today, as is Toyota etc. About a week
> ago I was told that some parts of Japan don't really observe Obon and
> that its business as usual, but the "sources" of the information were
> fairly FOTB. Aichi is unusually conservative and has a rich buddhist
> tradition, is the degree of "observance" more regional than I
> thought???

Kochi only partially shuts down. Dunno about anyplace other than those
two.

I remember that Mito didn't seem to close (I had to run an errand
there), though. I suppose the smaller cities don't come to as relatively
complete a standstill, to take advantage of extra visitors? 

Mike