“I wish this moment could last forever
I wish it would pass slowly.”
The secret to making every day special: Live each moment like a journey, live each day like a journey.

Banana Yoshimoto, a representative Japanese author who needs no formula and always provides a weighty yet warm comfort, has published essays on life and travel.
"A Travelogue That's Not a Trip" is a book that records firsthand experiences of how much thought can be gained from close encounters and how much courage can be gained to move forward when one looks at life through the lens of a traveler.
The novelist's diverse perspectives on living a meaningful daily life as if on a trip, even without going on a trip, are fully captured.


Meeting a beloved friend or an artist we admire, sharing and creating memories with family, and even maturely accepting an unexpected goodbye are moments we encounter frequently on the journey of life.
But even in this, as if you were entering an unfamiliar alley on a trip, if you wake up your sleeping senses, you can see the same scenery as unfamiliar.

"Travelogue, Not Travel" is a collection of 47 articles by Banana Yoshimoto published in various places.
In his afterword, the author stated that he carefully selected his writing with the following in mind: "How can people live more freely, more happily, more at ease, and more humanely? How can people leave this world without regrets?"
Let's go on a special life journey with Banana Yoshimoto.
You will hear new voices in the pets, friends, family, and places you encounter every day.

If there's an elderly person in front of me, I want to help them, and if there's a child, I want to cherish them with the thought, "When I'm older, you guys will be the ones to shape society."
Even if they are not a very pleasant person, if they are a colleague, I want to listen to them, and if they are too noisy, I want to say naturally, “That’s really noisy.”
--- p.37

I'm glad to be alive today.
I'm glad that my family is within arm's reach and smiling.
It's sad to see the day end.
It's not like I've become particularly generous.
They get irritated, angry, and even yell.
But when that's not the case, I try to avoid it altogether.
--- p.41

If there is a cause and improvement is possible, then it can be fixed next time.
Think and act based on your current self, even if it is lacking, rather than a fictional self.

--- p.43

It gives me goosebumps to think about the terrible consequences of not giving my best because I was busy.
Can I get it back even now?
That could be the case.
As long as I live, as many times as I can.
It's not exactly positive thinking.
It's just a fact.

--- p.46

I, too, am envious of you for being a successful novelist, having a good husband, and even having children.
I often hear people say, 'You don't know how I feel,' and when that happens, I want to say something right then and there.
'Even if it's just for three days, try this life!'
--- p.68

If you think about it, there are countless amazing people around me who are like that, and you wonder how they could be like that.
Sparing no time and effort, not neglecting even the smallest details, he builds his own world in his own way, reaches a place where he can see distant and far-off scenery, and then returns to his fellow countrymen to tell them about that distant scenery.

--- p.164

I can't express in words how happy, grateful and energetic that everyday thing is.
It may seem like a very ordinary opinion, but everyday life is truly wonderful and irreplaceable.
This world is filled with trivial and miscellaneous tasks that never end no matter how much you move your body.
Learning to fully enjoy it is the purpose of life.

--- p.246

This kind of writing is quite difficult.
Because it could be interpreted as denying a life without children.
But after experiencing it, my thoughts are as follows.
Giving birth and raising a child is an experience of being tattered and worn out from standing face down in the mud, gasping for breath with something clenched in your mouth, and yet there's no guarantee that something won't break.
So, I think it would be better if I could just let it pass without experiencing it, and I think that feeling of being rewarded for that strange effort, which seems both rewarding and not rewarding, can definitely be felt in other things as well, so in a way, I think it's the same.
--- p.274~275

I arrogantly thought that I was the one who had to create my own life.
But then I realized for the first time, including the time I was waiting for the baby to be born.
That in life, every moment of every day has its waves.
If you ignore the waves and just keep pushing forward on your own, you won't be able to read them.

--- p.286~287

For example, even if a person dies, or their body cannot move as they wish, or they are raped or murdered, there is something strong in this world that never disappears.
Something like a mother's unconditional strong heart right now.
This kind of unknown and illogical force has always moved humanity.

--- p.315