I'm relatively new to Visual Novels too. And coming from open world games like Skyrim, I know what you mean. BUT, remember that a VN is a weird combination of Book, meets Movie - in that you set the pace (book) and there are visual and sounds to enhance the story (movie).
I think this is why some people prefer to say *read* a VN, instead of *play* a VN.
I'd say that wishing you could spend a day just wandering around and talking to the characters is an indicator that the story and characters are solid enough to draw you in - which is great! Right?
:)
If you are enjoying this medium, I can recommend more free VNs that you might like. Some with choices and others without. A great one (that is a 10 min read) is "Ripples by Saki Visual" (google that, it comes right up.