Lovely morning.When I was a university student, I travelled every holiday with a backpack when I travelled alone and with a suitcase when I travelled with friends. During my travels, there was always something different to experience in each place, and I enjoyed meeting people from all walks of life. But the virus that has spread around the world has robbed the world of the experience of travelling and the dreams of students who want to study abroad and learn about all kinds of things.
Of course, we can open our computers or mobile phones, click on the place we want to go, and we can go to many places on the screen. Even before the coronas, online museums, for example, had set up platforms all over the world to allow us to enjoy a wide range of paintings and artworks. Last year, in response to the global outbreak of the virus, the Louvre decided to make its artworks available online for free, opening an official website and even making all of its works available for download. A map of the museum is included on the site, so visitors can check out each of the exhibition rooms and feel as if they are touring the Louvre themselves. It is also easy to search and browse for works of art that one would like to see, and to access the various pieces that have been classified according to category.
However, if I am actually able to travel freely again, I would like to actually place myself there and enjoy the various works of art. No matter how advanced the imaging technology is and how many 3D experiences are available, it is still impossible to beat the human senses. Something that can be felt with the whole body cannot be fully conveyed from the screen. The colours of the work, the thickness and combination of the colours, the shape, the faint cracks, and the atmosphere of the museum itself, which is already art, can only be felt when you go there. Of course, it is also a wonderful experience to dream about the day when we can visit a museum while enjoying various works of art at home.
Many museums overseas are free, so when I had time, I would spend the whole day in them, or just gazing at a single work of art. I would like to spend such a luxurious use of time again. Nowadays, you can go to any country in the world as long as you click, and you can enjoy ‘travel’ on a screen, but you can only experience the aroma of a place and the warmth you feel in that country if you go there. The photos you see on the screen and the photos you take there, of course you can’t capture everything you see, but it’s a different feeling to take a photo of the scenery you see and cut it out yourself.
Of course, there are many places in Japan that I have never visited before, even if they are not overseas. I feel like I’m really missing that feeling of stepping into a place I’ve never been before, and I really crave it. If this situation is resolved and the world becomes a place where everyone feels safe, I would like to travel freely again somewhere.