Train stations and airports across Japan are crowded with holidaymakers returning home on Monday, the last day of the spring holiday period.

Central Japan Railway says congestion on shinkansen bullet trains bound for Tokyo is expected to hit the highest level for the holiday period.

Company officials say Nozomi trains on the Tokaido and Sanyo lines are almost full. Booking is required for all seats on the trains during the holiday period.

Many families with large baggage and people seeing them off were seen on a shinkansen platform at Shin-Osaka station.

A boy who lives in a high school dormitory near Tokyo said he returned to his home in Osaka Prefecture for the first time in a month and relaxed. He said he will try to quickly get used to school life after going back there.

At Narita Airport, near Tokyo, an arrival lobby for international flights was busy with families and people carrying bags of souvenirs on Monday morning.

About 46,800 people are expected to arrive at the airport from overseas during the course of the day.

The airport operator says the number of people entering or leaving Japan from the facility during the 11-day period through May 6 is estimated at 835,200. That represents a 1.3-fold increase from a year ago.

Three men, who returned from Bangkok, said they still found things in the Thai capital inexpensive despite the weak yen and enjoyed drinking and eating a lot. They said they will return to work on Tuesday and are worried whether they will be able to get in the right frame of mind.