Meaning of “GW”

GW is an abstraction for “Golden Week” which means multiple national holidays fall close together, creating an extended holiday period. In Japan, this typically occurs from the end of April to the beginning of May.

The holidays are as follows:
April 29 – Shōwa Day: A national holiday that commemorates the birthday of Emperor Shōwa.
May 3 – Constitution Memorial Day: A holiday to celebrate the enactment of the Japanese Constitution.
May 4 – Greenery Day: Established to honor Emperor Shōwa’s love of nature and to promote environmental awareness.
May 5 – Children’s Day: A day to celebrate children’s health and happiness.

To be honest, most people probably don’t know which holiday is which—I just looked it up myself, haha. For us, holidays are simply days off.
The number of days off during Golden Week varies from year to year, and people often take paid leave to create a longer vacation.
In any case, Golden Week is an important holiday period for Japanese people.

Example Conversation

A: Are you going anywhere for GW?
B: Nah, probably not. I don’t have money, and everywhere’s crowded.
A: Totally. I’m just planning to stay home and watch Netflix too.

A: 今年のGWはどっか行ったりするの？
B: えー、行かないかなー。お金ないし、どこも混んでるし。
A: だよねー。俺も家でネトフリ見て終わる予定。