Summer vacation is a time when a lot of families take trips together. It's the longest break kids have from school, and this allows them to take long, overnight trips. Many adults also get a break from work during the Bon season in mid-August, making it a very popular time for families to travel together. It's probably the busiest time of the year for those working at sightseeing and recreational areas. Family outings range from visits to a nearby park to overseas excursions. In recent years, many more families are enjoying the great outdoors, going on hiking or camping trips. Beaches, hot springs, and cool mountain resorts also continue to be very popular destinations. Traveling abroad has also become more commonplace, especially since the rise in the value of the yen in recent years. The number of Japanese traveling abroad in 1995 reached 12 million; since the Japanese population is 120 million, this means that 1 in 10 Japanese went overseas. The most popular foreign destinations are the United States (particularly Hawaii), the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and Hong Kong. Japan is an island nation surrounded by the ocean, and traveling abroad means one must cross the seas. As such, foreign travel had long been considered special; unlike Europeans or Americans, Japanese can't just jump in the car to go to another country. Today, though, it's a lot easier to go to foreign countries. It's not unusual anymore for the entire family--kids included--to go abroad. The shape of family outings, it seems, is changing with the times. Photos: (Top) Families enjoy the great out doors (Tokyo Metropolitan Government); (above) airports are full of travelers headed overseas. (Kaori Yamamoto)

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