As the spring holiday period in Japan comes to an end, people are heading back home from their holiday destinations, congesting expressways and trains.



The Japan Road Traffic Information Center says that as of 8 p.m. on Monday, traffic was backed up for 37 kilometers on inbound lanes of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto expressway near the Maiko Tunnel in Hyogo Prefecture; for 29 kilometers on inbound lanes of the Kan-etsu Expressway near the Kawagoe Interchange in Saitama Prefecture; for 27 kilometers on inbound lanes of the Tomei Expressway near the Yokohama-Aoba Interchange in Kanagawa Prefecture; for 27 kilometers on inbound lanes of the Chuo Expressway near the Kobotoke Tunnel; and for 27 kilometers on inbound lanes of the Nishi-seto expressway near the Innoshima Ohashi bridge in Hiroshima Prefecture.



Congestion is expected to continue on Tuesday, particularly on lanes leading to metropolitan areas.



Trains have also been crowded. Nearly all "Nozomi" bullet trains bound for Tokyo on the Tokaido Line were fully booked on Monday afternoon. Some trains heading for Tokyo on the Tohoku and Joetsu Shinkansen lines were carrying more passengers than the seating capacity.



As for air travel, around 70 percent of seats were booked on domestic flights departing regional airports on Monday. But some flights bound for Tokyo and Osaka were full.



Railway companies and airlines say congestion will peak on Tuesday.