Before I visited Estonia, I heard that Estonia is known as a digital society but I couldn’t imagine how people interact with it. I was wondering whether the connection between people and people, people and nature would lose in the digitalized society.
After arriving in Estonia, I was surprised that Wi-Fi is available almost everywhere. However, not everything was digitalized. At the children’s hobby school, literature center, and museums, digital devices were purposely eliminated, and people create their works with free ideas. On the other hand, many of the administration services, such as e-Residency and elections, were online. I felt that digitalization in Estonia appeared invisible rather than visible, and it enables people to connect easily and be actively involved.
I was impressed that people in Estonia value or have faith in nature. When I asked about nature, most people proudly talked about it, and I could see that they have special feelings that cannot be expressed in simple words and actions. Speaking of nature, the sauna in the forest was amazing. The fire was out when I experienced the steam sauna, and my knit cap got black with soot when I visited the smoke sauna. These small happenings made my memories more unforgettable, and I’d like to visit there and try them again. At the same time, I realized that I haven’t known about nature in my country. From this experience, I’d like to be aware of the uniqueness of Japanese nature in my daily life.
Photo: The way from the hiking course to Palupõhja Nature School. I cannot forget this quiet, straight path.