TOKYO -- The return rush of people who spent the year-end and New Year holidays in their hometowns and other travel destinations has begun, and shinkansen bullet trains and expressways into Tokyo were severely crowded on Jan. 3.

With weekends bookending the usual holiday period this season, some people are enjoying a nine-day break through Jan. 5. Railway and airline companies reported that reservations for inbound trains and flights will peak on Saturday, Jan. 4.

JR Tokyo Station was bustling with families carrying large bags, and long lines formed at ticket counters staffed by station employees on the afternoon of Jan. 3.

Shinya Matsuoka, a 56-year-old company worker returning to his home in Sagamihara, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Kagawa Prefecture, said, "It was the usual homecoming, but I had a great time at my parents' house."

Hirotaka Saito, a 54-year-old company worker who spent four days at his home in Tokyo from New Year's Eve and was returning to his work assignment in Hiroshima, commented, "I was able to meet my parents and siblings, and it's been a great start to the year."

Almost all the Tokaido Shinkansen Line's Nozomi bullet trains heading to Tokyo were full on Jan. 3, except for early morning trains. Even more congestion is expected on Jan. 4.

Traffic jams also occurred at numerous places on expressways' Tokyo-bound lanes, with cars lined up for over 20 kilometers on the Tohoku, Chuo and Kan-Etsu expressways among other routes on the evening of Jan. 3.

(Japanese original by Ayano Tanaka and Shota Harumashi, Tokyo City News Department)