After spending a month in Japan, I believe I have discovered some of the best ways to avoid letting yourself enjoy your trip. If you follow all of the things I’ve listed in this guide, you can ensure a boring trip.
Don’t Try New Things
This is one of the most effective ways to ensure your trip isn’t memorable. If you stick to doing only things you know you like and not adventuring out, you will be able to make sure your trip stays boring. A good example of how not to follow this is by avoiding new foods. Just stick to just eating what you always eat. Then you don’t have to worry about finding new foods you may enjoy. Unfortunately, I have tried foods I never would have. This has led me to be more and more open to trying new foods.
The same also applies to experiences. I went to a baseball game here in Japan, even though I never liked games back home. Now, I really enjoy going, and I’ve started to become more open to things I normally would stick to not doing. By making these choices, I now have to deal with the result of a greater appreciation and curiosity of different cultures.
Don’t Talk to Strangers
In terms of immersing yourself in a culture, this is the best way to avoid it. If you don’t talk to strangers, then you can ensure yourself a boring trip. Why try to meet new people when you already know people back home you can talk to? I have also broken this rule, which has led me to develop friendships with people I never would have met otherwise. Even without knowing much Japanese, I was still able to talk to new people. This has helped me further develop a deeper understanding of Japanese culture and what life is like for people who were born and raised here.
Since I learn more about the surrounding culture from the people I meet, I deal with the ramifications of enjoying and immersing myself in the culture more, If you choose to break this rule, just make sure you are in a public place that is safe where others are around.
Take the Quickest Way Back to Where You’re Staying
When you are finished with the activities you are doing for the day, get back to where you are staying as quickly as you can. Don’t allow yourself to explore the surrounding areas. Why wonder around when you got your room to go back to? Exploring may lead you to find something unique and create special memories. If you have free time, make sure you spend it in your room, maybe just scrolling on your phone.
I have made the mistake of taking the long way back to somewhere, which led me to take in the scenery and beauty of Japan I wouldn’t have seen if I quickly got back to my room. I have spent many nights roaming till the early hours of the morning and taking everything in, which has led to the terrible consequence of being a little bit more tired the next day.
Make Sure Everything is Perfect
Your trip has to be perfect. Don’t allow any sort of mistakes or wasted time. If you have an itinerary, stick to it 100% of the time. If things don’t go as planned, become upset about it and allow it to ruin your day. Even if things are out of your control, this should still affect you. If people are in the way of your picture, get annoyed and let yourself fall into a bad mood.
If you choose to embrace the imperfections of the trip, you’ll have to deal with the repercussions, like having a more positive and fun trip. My trip back from Kyoto went pretty badly. I was in a bus accident at two in the morning and had to sit for four hours waiting for a new bus to arrive. This led me to get back later than planned and be very tired. But I chose to have a positive outlook, which later led to an aftermath of me having a great rest of the day.
Summary
If you want to have a miserable trip, follow all the tips I gave. But if you want to have a positive and amazing experience, do the complete opposite. Try new things, talk to strangers, take the long way back, and embrace the imperfections. When you go to a new country, you will be faced with different things that will seem scary at first. When I went through the discomfort, I reminded myself that it would be worth it and that I could grow by doing it. I recommend that you push through your discomfort and enjoy the amazing things Japan—or other countries you may visit—have to offer.
Henry Larson, Arizona State University, is studying abroad in Japan with TEAN.
