Obon Holiday Return Rush Begins in Japan, Highway Traffic Peaks
Listen to the story
Many people in Japan are on holiday for Obon. Obon is a summer holiday. People go to see family.
Now the holiday is ending. People are going back home. This is called the return rush.
Today, many cars are on the highway. The highway is very busy. Cars are going in the up direction. This means cars are going back to big cities.
On one highway, called the Kanetsu Expressway, the traffic jam is 35 kilometers long. That is very long!
Today is the worst day for highway traffic. But trains and planes will be different.
Bullet trains and planes will be very busy from August 15. Many people will travel on that day.
Obon is an important time in Japan. Families visit their hometowns. After the holiday, everyone travels back at the same time. This makes roads, trains, and airports very crowded.
Vocabulary7 words
- Obon
- a summer holiday in Japan; people visit family
- return rush
- when many people travel home at the same time
- highway
- a big road for cars
- up direction
- going toward big cities
- Kanetsu Expressway
- the name of a highway in Japan
- traffic jam
- when cars cannot move because there are too many
- bullet trains
- very fast trains in Japan
Quiz
Answer key
1. The Obon return rush is starting 2. 35 kilometers 3. True
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Many people in Japan are on holiday for _____. Obon is a summer holiday. People go to see family.
Now the holiday is ending. People are going back home. This is called the _____.
Today, many cars are on the _____. The highway is very busy. Cars are going in the _____. This means cars are going back to big cities.
On one highway, called the _____, the traffic jam is _____ kilometers long. That is very long!
Today is the worst day for highway traffic. But trains and planes will be different.
_____ and planes will be very busy from August _____. Many people will travel on that day.
Obon is an important time in Japan. Families visit their hometowns. After the holiday, everyone travels back at the same time. This makes roads, trains, and airports very _____.