Japan Tourists Shun Hawaii as Golden Week Travel Falls on Quake

Machiko Takemura, a housewife in Kawasaki City, near Tokyo, booked a Golden Week holiday to Hawaii on March 11, hours before an earthquake rocked Japan.

“When we saw the full effects of the disaster, we canceled it,” said Takemura, 30, who planned to visit the U.S. state with her husband and baby son during Golden Week, a run of four Japanese holidays in a week, beginning tomorrow. “The future seemed very uncertain.”