Errors that I made by visiting Japan for the first time

Japan has always been at the top of my bucket of buckets.

So, my boyfriend and I booked a last -minute trip for the end of March, hoping to take the start of Cherry Flower Season As we explore Tokyo, Kyoto and the hot city of Shima Onsen.

The trip was full of incredible food, the nicest people and sites that I will never forget. It was almost perfect, but I made some mistakes during planning.

Stressful dinner reservations

As a food editor, I like to search for restaurants when planning a trip. I plunge into criticism, culinary blogs and occasional tiktok.

It was not long before the algorithm turned on, suddenly flooding my FYP with videos full of suggestions. As I tried to navigate all the different booking systems – Tabelog! Tablecheck! Omakase! – I found myself becoming more and more stressed. In the end, I only made one reservation for an Omakase experience – the very Good Yuu sushi.

And what do you know? Almost every meal we ate was always fantastic.

With so much good food at all corner of Tokyo and Kyoto, it was easy to kiss spontaneous travel. When we were hungry, my boyfriend and I were simply Google cards and saw what seemed promising around us, often finding places loved by residents rather than packaged because of a popular tiktok.

This led to our favorite travel meals, including a delicious lunch at Isshin Daikanyama and an incredible experience of Shabu Shabu in Wagyu Sukiyaki Kyoto Chikarayama Pontocho – The best dinner of our 10 -day trip.

Packaging revealing outfits

I flew to Tokyo after a week -long trip to Sydney for one of my best friend’s weddings, so I had packed many summer dresses for Australia hot weather and daily visits to the beach.

I knew that I would not wear them often in Japan, where winter was only ending. But when a guide told me that the inhabitants tend to dress in a more conservative way and rarely for outfits that expose their shoulders or their offsing, I felt even more in its place with my wardrobe.

I left my tops without suspenders in the luggage and I covered my spaghetti milk dresses with a jacket throughout the trip. If I had done more research in advance, I would have brought more options with sleeves to make sure that I was attentive to culture and its customs.

Spending only two full days in Kyoto

As we crossed the Kyoto Gion district at sunset, I immediately knew that I would fall in love with the city.

All my favorite meals on our trip to Japan were in Kyoto. I always dream of pork and perfectly crisp shrimps that I had at Katsukura Tonkatsu Sanjo and the tender Wagyu cooked in sugar and soy sauce during our aforementioned shabu shabu dinner.

There were also so many magnificent views that I will never forget, like walking under thousands of Orange Torii doors in Fushimi Inari (go to 7 am to beat the crowd) and relax in the gardens of the Château de Nijō.

We had an excited route, but I would have loved an additional day to enjoy Kyoto like a room. The city seemed to hum with a relaxed atmosphere. I wanted to walk around and discover some of the many bars to listen to the city. We visited one where the owner was also the bartender and the DJ, exchanging vinyls when he put the mood and questioned everyone about his life while feeding us tokens.

Buy a physical physical card instead of adding it to the Apple wallet

My boyfriend and I frequently rolled on Tokyo and Kyoto metro systems when we explored different districts during our trip, so we used Pasmo cards to pay our prices. While my boyfriend had added Pasmo to her apple wallet before arriving in Tokyo, I bought a physical card before our first metro trip.

Taking out the card to pay for each trip was not a big problem, but I lacked money on the way to the bamboo forest of Arashiyama in Kyoto. Instead of being able to add money to my paste via the Apple wallet, I had to reach a long line of people who were trying to recharge their cards in the only machine of the station.

Reserve a Ryokan too far from one of our main hubs

I knew that I wanted to spend at least one night of our trip to a Ryokan, a traditional Japanese style inn which generally offers rooms with tatami floor mats, futon beds and hot springs called Onsens.

We had a great experience in Kashiway Ryokan, which I reserved due to the recommendation of a friend. But in my excitement (and the jet lag after flying for Australia), I did not do enough research on how we would arrive at Shima Onsen de Kyoto. As there were no direct trains between the two cities, we had to take the train at high speed of two hours in Tokyo before getting on a four -hour bus. Major Oops!

I have always liked to live such a beautiful Ryokan and I will cherish my memories of relaxation in the private exterior onsens surrounded by mountains. But if you plan to spend less than two weeks in Japan, I would recommend selecting a Ryokan near or between the main cities you want to explore.