One big thing that I struggled hard with traveling was knowing that there was probably a possibility that I would not return back to the country for a while. Because of this, I wanted to make sure that I could make the most out of any trip. I focused more on optimizing how I traveled so I can both enjoy all the things I wanted to see and also be able to have enough time to enjoy all the activities I planned.
Break your days down into sections.
Mornings
I like to always start my mornings early. This will all be dependent on how you like to travel, but a good time to be up and ready in my opinion is between 9:00-11:00 AM but YMMV. Plan for the weather and then try to get in an early morning snack.
Start by locating your first destination on google maps and heading to the train station. Even if you miss the train, they run so frequently that you can just hop on the next one. One thing that I like to do is use Wanderlog or Google maps to give you a rough estimate on how long your travel time will be. Wanderlog does a good job with this since you can select public transportation as your main mode of transportation. I have felt that this is fairly accurate with distance and time tracking.
Start your day with some early morning shopping at the following locations. It will get busier as the day goes on, so if you’re like me, you will want to avoid crowds as much as possible. This is especially true for places like Korea and Japan where tourism in certain areas is so high, it can get overwhelming. Bright and early keeps the crowds away.
Afternoons
If you haven’t already, I would be trying to find a place to stop for lunch. Be on the lookout as you are doing your activities throughout the day so you can gauge what you are in the mood for. Treat this as your extended break time, to let your feet relax a bit and destress before you get back to shopping/activities. Spend most of this time to decompress. I would even recommend going back to the hotel and laying around or sitting down at a park bench and just watching people pass by. Theres so much to do and if you try to do it all, you will for sure burn yourself out from going too fast and not being able to enjoy your vacation for what it is.
Evenings
Plan to do the rest of your shopping / site seeing around this time. I’m also looking at different options for dinner as this is typically my biggest meal. I will also plan to see how tired I am around this time so I can plan either late night activities or how much shopping I need to do before I head back to the hotel. One big thing that we felt like we did a bad job about was seeing something we were on the fence about and saying we will come back for it later. Most of the times you never go back just because it is a hassle to travel back to X location, so I would recommend spending the extra minute and getting what you wanted so you don’t have to feel bad about leaving it behind.
It can get pretty annoying carrying around all of your goodies you’ve bought throughout the day. I would plan either bringing a backpack or a trip back to your hotel, so you don’t have arm cramps.
Don’t get too hung up on food choices
Unless you come into the trip knowing that you want to visit a specific restaurant, always be eyeing food as your doing your acitivities. This will help you gauge what you are in the mood for and so when it comes time and your belly is feeling empty, you’ll have a better idea of what you might want. Always pay attention to reviews and not just pick something just to pick something, otherwise you might feel like you wasted both your time and money and could have potentially tried something else.
Understanding what you want out of the trip
For me, I felt like I could never enjoy my trips unless I actually planned it out enough where I could fit in everything I wanted to see. These simple basic things helps align most of your days and gives you the structure that allows you to build an amazing itinerary.
