According to Taiwanese media China Times News, a travel writer based in Kobe who has been traveling all over Japan for more than 10 years recently introduced five representative regrets from "What they regretted most about their trip to Japan," for which over 200 responses were received, through the US news website Business Insider.

When the travel writer asked about "What they regretted most about their trip to Japan" in a Facebook community, over 200 responses were received from among 900,000 members.

Many people responded with "planning their travel itinerary based on popular posts on Instagram and TikTok, rather than their own interests." Despite planning their trip around famous tourist spots like Fushimi Inari Taisha and Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, they ended up having to wake up at 4:30 AM to seek "the perfect photo" along with hundreds of other people.

The second regret was "cramming too much into the itinerary." Many people assume they can visit Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, and Hiroshima in just one week and voiced that they couldn't spend enough time in any city because they tried to visit too many cities in one trip.

The third regret was "underestimating the complexity of Japan's transportation system." Japan is well-known as a country where it's easy to get around thanks to its efficient railway network, but upon arriving at places like Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, which has 200 exits and multiple overlapping underground passages, they realized this isn't always true. Additionally, regarding the JR Pass, which was once a popular option for multi-city travel, many travelers expressed regret over habitually purchasing it without confirming if it would actually save them money, despite significant price increases in recent years.

The fourth regret was "not being mentally prepared for how much walking they would have to do." Almost everyone who commented said they hadn't expected to walk 15,000 to 25,000 steps a day, and therefore their feet ached terribly by evening. Japan has many hills, stairs, and steep shrine approaches, and travelers will encounter them on almost every trip.

The fifth regret was "planning based on expectations rather than reality." Many first-time visitors to Japan dream of visiting during cherry blossom season, but many expressed disappointment that popular spots were crowded with people, prices were high, and the actual situation differed from what they had seen online. (Translation/Editing by Yanagawa)