The mistakes I made to visit Japan for the first time

Japan has always been at the top of a bucket.

So, my friend and I booked a trip at the last minute for the end of March, hoping to start the beginning Cherry blossom season While we discovered Tokyo, Kyoto and the hot city of Shima Onsen.

The journey was full of amazing food, excessive people, and the tourist attractions that I would never forget. It was almost perfect, but I made some errors while planning.

Emphasizing dinner reservations

As a food writer, I would like to search in restaurants when planning a trip. I dive into reviews, food blogs, and sympathetic tiktok.

It was not long before the algorithm was discovered, suddenly overwhelmed me with the videos full of suggestions. I also tried to move in all different reservation systems – Tabelog! Tablecheck! Omakase! – I found myself getting more and more stress. In the end, I just reserved one of the Omakase – very Good sushi.

And you know what? Almost every meal we ate was still great.

With a lot of great foods in every corner of Tokyo and Kyoto, it was easy to embrace automatic travel. When we felt hungry, I, my friend and my friend only pulled Google maps and see what seemed to be a promising around us, and we often find stains loved by the locals instead of packed because of the popular Tiktok.

This led to our favorite meals on the trip, including a delicious lunch in ISSHIN DAIKANYAMA and the incredible Shabu Shabu experience in Wagyu Sukiyaki Kyota Chikaraya Pontocho- Best dinner on our 10-day trip.

Fill out the detection of clothes

I traveled to Tokyo after a week in Sydney at one of the best wedding parties for my friends, so I fill out a lot of summer dresses for hot weather in Australia and daily beach visits.

I knew that I wouldn’t wear it much in Japan, as the winter was only approaching. But when a tour guide told me that the local residents tend to wear more conservative clothes and rarely choose the groups that show their shoulders or Decitage, I felt more place with my clothes cabinet.

She left tops without a belt in the luggage and covered up spaghetti dresses with a jacket throughout the trip. If you had more research in advance, you would have brought more options with sleeves to make sure I have passed culture and customs.

Spend only two days in Kyoto

While we were walking in the Jeon area in Kyoto at sunset, I knew immediately that I would fall in love with the city.

All my favorite meals from our Japanese trip were in Kyoto. I still dream of a totally crunchy red, tonkatsu shrimp that I spent in Katsukura tonkatsu Sanjo and the thin wagyu cooked in sugar and soy sauce at the Shabu Shabu dinner above.

There were also many wonderful tourist attractions that I would never forget, such as walking under thousands of orange Torii gates in Fushimi Inari (go at 7 am to overcome the crowds) and relax in the gardens in NIJō Castle.

We had a crowded path, but I loved an additional day to estimate Kyoto like a local. The city seemed to be humiliating with a relaxed atmosphere. I wanted to wander and check some of the many listening bars in the city. We visited one where the owner was also the waiter and DJ, as they replaced the vinyl as he put the mood and asked everyone about their lives while feeding our chips.

Buy a physical PASMO card instead of adding it to Apple Wallet

My friend and I often installed on the subway systems in Tokyo and Kyoto, where we explored different neighborhoods during our trip, so we used Pasmo cards to pay for our prices. While my friend Pasmo added to his Apple wallet before arriving in Tokyo, I bought a material card before the first subway flight.

The card was not removing to pay the price of each trip, but I ran out of money on the way to the Arashiyama Bamboo Forest in Kyoto. Instead of being able to add money to Pasmo via Apple Wallet, I had to join a long group of people who were trying to wear their cards on the only device at the station.

Ryokan reserve very far from one of our main centers

I knew that I wanted to spend at least one night of our trip at Ryokan Hotel, a Japanese -style traditional hostel, which is usually characterized by rooms with a tannami, Foton beds and hot baths known as ONSNS.

We had a great experience in Cashio RiokaneWhich I booked due to the recommendation of a friend. But in my enthusiasm (Jet was late after flying to Australia), I haven’t done enough research on how we got to Shima Onsen from Kyoto. Due to the lack of direct trains between the two cities, we had to take a two -hour lead train to Tokyo before getting a four -hour bus. Sorry!

I still love the experience of such a beautiful Ryokan and I will cherish my memories of relaxation in special outdoor sexes surrounded by mountains. But if you plan to spend less than two weeks in Japan, I recommend choosing Ryokan near the main cities you want to explore or between them.