Photo/Illutration Passengers board a Shinkansen bullet train at Shin-Osaka station in Osaka’s Kita Ward on April 29, the start of the Golden Week holiday period that runs until early May. (Shiro Nishihata)

“I have no business to attend to in Osaka, but I think I’ll just go there (anyway) by train,” author Hyakken Uchida (1889-1971) penned in one of his travel writings titled “Tokubetsu Aho Ressha” shortly after the end of World War II.

He went on to rationalize that precisely because a trip without purpose offered untold benefits, he felt obliged to travel first class.

But having no money for that sort of luxury, he asked a friend for a loan. His reasoning, typically, was that people feel more comfortable about lending money that the borrower doesn’t really need.

The idea of a purposeless trip feels especially tempting to me now, probably because nonessential outings have been taboo for so long.

I have had to either forgo them, or convince myself that they were necessary.

This is the first Golden Week holiday period in three years without such constraints. While minding all necessary precautions against COVID-19, I hope to enjoy verdant nature and visits to tourist spots.

News of 100-plus-percent Shinkansen passenger capacity screams much-awaited holidays.

Unlike Hyakken, who was a dyed-in-the-wool train buff, I imagine people rarely travel for no purpose.

Still, I’d say it is best not to set an overcrowded schedule. That way, you leave yourself open for chance encounters and discoveries.

Osamu Ikeuchi (1940-2019), a scholar of German literature, apparently traveled solo whenever wanderlust struck.

If he heard about a communal bathhouse along the way, he would change his itinerary to visit it.

Interestingly, he once wrote, “Not having any commitment makes people more diligent.”

In “Nippon Hakken-ki” (Japan discovery notes), for instance, he came across a book by a local historian at a souvenir shop and felt as if he had stumbled upon a rare treasure. He had almost finished reading it while waiting for the next bus.

I don’t know if it will be due to “enhanced diligence,” but I would venture that people become more perceptive to the things around them while spending leisurely time on a trip.

That item may be a single painting, or a butterfly.

--The Asahi Shimbun, April 30

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.