Don't Complain About Traffic News! The Adult Way to Turn the Homecoming Rush into Ultimate Entertainment with Detours and Local Gourmet｜Traffic Avoidance Tips｜Backroad Driving｜Family Service｜The Real Thrill of Travel｜Obon Homecoming｜

Whenever you turn on the TV, there's that familiar scene. They send up helicopters to film the lines of red taillights on the highway from above, talking about Obon holidays or U-turn rushes. The electronic signs heartlessly display the words "XX km traffic jam."

Every time I see that kind of news, I think to myself: "Can't we finally stop broadcasting that same old despair?"

Nowadays, if you open your smartphone, car navigation and map apps tell you at a glance where it's congested. There's no need to waste TV airtime to remind drivers across the country that "you are currently in hell."

If they're going to report it, I wish they'd provide information that shows a way forward—not just lamenting the length of the jam, but saying things like, "If you get off at the next interchange, you can avoid the traffic," or "There's a delicious restaurant on the local road."

It's also a regular occurrence to see a weary-looking father in an interview saying, "Well, I'm exhausted..." but I want to tell him that he shouldn't have jumped into that wave of congestion at the same time as everyone else in the first place. Getting stuck in traffic and feeling tired from driving are futures that even an elementary school student could predict just by looking at a calendar.

If you knew it was coming and jumped in anyway, it's too self-serving to play the victim and say you're "exhausted" once it actually happens.

If you're going to spend the same amount of time and effort anyway, it's a much better return on life to convert the weight of your foot pressing the accelerator into a different kind of enjoyment rather than just consuming it as a penance.

When I go somewhere, I basically like to drive on local roads. I turn the steering wheel as I please and encounter interesting things and delicious food in places I drop by on a whim. That is the real thrill of travel.

Even so, sometimes you get swallowed by an unavoidable wave of traffic. But,that is the perfect chance to add a spice called a "detour."

Let's say goodbye to glaring at the clock while frustrated in a line of traffic and stifling repeated yawns. Dare to get off the highway and steer onto the local roads.

For example, it's great when you're driving with your grandchildren. Suppose you have your daughter, her husband, and your grandchild in the car and you hit an unpredictable traffic jam. At that moment, I call out to my son-in-law in the passenger seat: "Hey, look up somewhere on your phone around here that has something tasty even a kid would eat."

And on the way to the interesting local spot we found, I ask my grandchild in the passenger seat: "Hey, should we try going in here?"

My daughter hears that and says, "My dad is always like this (laughs)," and even though she's exasperated, the car is suddenly filled with laughter. The tension in my shoulders as I grip the wheel melts away, and any fatigue from driving is blown away somewhere. It's the moment when the car is filled with the ultimate extract: the smiles of my family.

Furthermore, we might pop into an unknown local supermarket or roadside station for a bathroom break. We all grab baskets and scour the store like we're on a treasure hunt, saying, "Only things you can't buy anywhere else or things we've never seen before!" A simple detour suddenly turns into a thrilling game.

Encounters and unexpected happenings are born precisely because things don't go according to plan. Depending on how you find the fun in them, the flavor of your trip changes 180 degrees.

Will you just endure the traffic as a trial? Or,will you add the broth called a detour and turn it into the best memory with your own hands?

A driver isn't just a robot whose job is to transport a car to a destination. It's about drawing out the smiles of your family, laughing off even unexpected troubles, and savoring every bit of the journey.

Whether you're heading home for the Obon holidays or going somewhere far away, you'll surely get tired if you keep gripping the wheel. But please, safety first. Turn even the traffic into your own "travel broth," stock up on plenty of incredibly fun driving memories, and show me your healthy, smiling faces again safely.

—So, you guys,how are you going to make your family laugh in this line of traffic?