Ways to Enjoy Travel: Deep or Wide?

Since this year's Golden Week has weekdays sandwiched in between, many people will likely find it difficult to take a long, continuous break. When I was busy, I could only take consecutive time off during Golden Week, Obon, or the New Year holidays. For families with small children, family time is important, and there are circumstances where you have no choice but to go out, no matter how crowded it is. Furthermore, with the increase in inbound tourism and the upcoming Osaka Expo, this period is crowded even with the scattered holidays.

Even so, travel is the perfect way to change your mood and take a step away from daily life. Relaxing at home is not bad, but even if you rest your body, you might not feel completely refreshed.

While destinations are influenced by schedules and budgets, the personality of each traveler emerges there. If anything, I tend to visit the same places. As I visit a place several times, I begin to understand its geographical circumstances. I can go to places I couldn't visit last time, move around more efficiently, and although I can't visit many restaurants at once, once I find a familiar spot, I want to go back. I read somewhere that traveling as if you are living there is the closest concept to my style.

I often travel with specific purposes, such as visiting historical landmarks, listening to live jazz, or searching for delicious food. Being healed by nature or relaxing in a hot spring is also nice. I regularly head to Tokyo and Yokohama, where I spent my youth, to meet friends, reminisce about the past, and see how the cities have changed. Of course, they are also cities with many jazz spots.

There are also trips with clear objectives. Some people enjoy train travel, some travel for marathons or to watch sports, and others pour their passion into visiting Buddhist statues, touring castles, or following their favorite artists on tour. Among them are the enthusiasts who want to conquer all prefectures or increase the number of countries they have visited. Trips where you have a clear idea of what you want to do or see are also attractive.

There are those like me who visit their favorite places repeatedly to pursue the charm of a city deeply, and there are those who travel in search of encounters with new lands, seeking wide and fresh discoveries.

For people living in the modern age, travel is like a vitamin that enriches daily life.

[Reg's Diary: Tabure Ochikubo Zoshi - Friday, May 2nd]