Traveling with the Heart Through Books

I find myself thinking that I want to go to New Zealand.

For me, living in Nagoya, New Zealand has always felt like a very distant place.

New Zealand is where my younger sister studied abroad for about a year when she was in high school, and it is also where she lives now that she is an adult.

My favorite group visited New Zealand and turned their experience into content, which has also made me feel like I want to visit the places they went to someday.

I have always been someone who longed to go to far-off places.
I have traveled abroad several times.
I have even traveled to distant countries like Turkey, Egypt, and Italy.
I love World Heritage sites, and I have always wanted to visit Greece and Machu Picchu someday.

But for me right now, traveling abroad is not realistic.

Because of time.
Because of physical stamina.
Because of things at home.
Because of work.
And the 'fear of going outside' that has remained within me since the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, going outside felt like a bad thing to do.
I shouldn't go out, get infected, and bring it home.
I shouldn't pass it on to my family or the people around me.

Even though the world has slowly returned to normal since COVID-19 was reclassified as a Class 5 disease, the consciousness of 'I must not get infected' still remains within me.

Nowadays, even Tokyo feels far away.

Since the pandemic, the only places I have traveled outside the prefecture are Takayama for work and Osaka because I wanted to see Monet's paintings.

I do have a desire to go to many places.
But even if I make plans in advance, I feel anxious about how my physical condition will be on that day.

Now that traveling far has become difficult, what has always been by my side?

It was books.

Even when I went out normally, I always had a book with me.
I kept something I could read in my spare time in my bag.

Perhaps I am addicted to the printed word.
Reading something every day was just too natural for me.

That might be why I never really stopped to think about how important books were to me.

While choosing books to place on a shared bookshelf, I realized once again that books were important to me.

And now, I enjoy activities related to books.

Placing books on a shared bookshelf.
Choosing books.
Imagining that someone might pick up that book.
Learning about book clubs and book events.
Visiting bookstores.
Writing words in a notebook.

I encountered the shared bookshelf at Nagoya University and started getting involved with the shared bookshelf at Meijo University as well.

I also went to the library in the neighboring ward and to Rubio, a bookstore that also has a shared bookshelf, and during Golden Week, I went to BOOK BOOK, a book event in the Kita Ward.

The event had venues scattered all over the Kita Ward, and I enjoyed cycling around to visit them over two days.
Exploring unknown streets while looking at a map was a great adventure, and I encountered many books and Zines.

For me, Kita Ward is just the neighboring ward, but I had only ever been to the areas around Ozone, Heian-dori, and Kamiiida.

I was happy to be able to discover various shops through this book event.

Even in a neighboring ward, there is definitely the joy of encountering unknown places.

Right now, I am enjoying exploring shops in Kita Ward.

There are still many bookstores I want to visit within the city and the prefecture.
Next month, I plan to visit a bookstore I'm curious about in conjunction with a book event.

I'm sure there have been various book events in the past, I just didn't know about them.
But now, it has become easier to catch information.
Perhaps encountering the shared bookshelf has tuned my antenna for books.

Even without going far, I can feel the happiness that fills my heart close to my daily life.

Encountering books at bookstores, shared bookshelves, libraries, and events.
Time spent talking about books.
And reading books or writing in cafes.

Big trips like traveling abroad or going to Tokyo are a bit far for me right now.

But I have books.

Traveling with the heart through books.

I hope I can go to New Zealand someday.
I don't have to let go of that longing.

But for now, I don't have to push myself to go far away.

When I am reading a book, I feel like I can transcend time and the world.
Into worlds of fantasy, past eras, and futures yet unseen.

And there are worlds I still don't know even in places close enough to reach by bicycle.

Something that has been by my side since I was a child,
Something that, even as many things changed, stayed close but not too close, and was always there as a matter of course.

For me, that was books.

And now, those books are once again leading me, little by little, into the outside world.

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