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The act of going to different places for pleasure or business, typically involving a journey.
夏休みに海外旅行を計画しています。
I'm planning an overseas trip for summer vacation.
彼は一人で世界一周旅行に出ました。
He went on a round-the-world trip alone.
旅行 can refer to any type of journey, from short domestic trips to long international vacations. It often implies leisure but can also include business travel.
In English, 'travel' is uncountable (general activity) while 'trip' is countable (specific journey). In Japanese, 旅行 is always countable and refers to a specific journey, similar to 'trip'.
Use 旅行 for organized or planned travel (e.g., family vacations, business trips). Use 旅 for more poetic or spontaneous travel (e.g., 旅に出る 'to set out on a journey').
Composed of 旅 (tabi, 'journey/travel') + 行 (kō, 'to go'), literally meaning 'to go on a journey'. The kanji 旅 originally depicted a traveler carrying a flag, while 行 means 'to move forward'.
旅行 is used for both short and long trips, but typically implies a return journey. It's a common noun and often appears in compounds like 旅行会社 (travel agency) or 旅行者 (traveler).