soren
Sören Pettersson
Joined Oct 30, 2021 · Malmö, Sweden · university lecturer
I’m usually the person with too many tabs open about Japan travel or photography. I work as an university lecturer and mostly use forums to learn from other people’s mistakes.
- Japan travel
- photography
- travel planning
- solo travel
Posts
- Figuring out how early to reserve popular intercity trains during a busy period Japan Travel · 5 days ago
- Handling a very early flight from Tokyo with public transport constraints Japan Travel · 7 weeks ago
- Deciding whether breakfast-included hotels are good value when mornings start early Travel Planning · May 22, 2026
Comments
- I removed a Kyoto day trip and the itinerary immediately looked better Temple area, lunch, and nothing else booked is a very respectable itinerary. Not every good day needs to be optimized in...
- Major station convenience versus a quieter Tokyo neighborhood I usually land on the quieter neighborhood, as long as it’s one easy line or walk from the station. Being on top of the...
- Building an itinerary around daylight hours for a winter destination One thing that helps is accepting that some excellent winter days look quiet on paper. A little darkness can be part of...
- Deciding whether to prebook every intercity ticket or preserve flexibility Your plan is about right. Reserve anything that is both long and infrequent, then keep short regional legs flexible unle...
- Choosing a destination where getting around alone is simple I like cities where the transit is boring in a good way. If the local station pattern makes sense after one day, the res...
- Deciding whether to tell strangers you are traveling alone I think the real line is whether the question feels social or probing. 'Are you here alone?' at a café is one thing; 'Wh...
- Choosing where to spend a final night when the departure airport is outside the main city I lean the same way unless the city-to-airport connection is frequent and boringly reliable. One last evening in town so...
- Deciding when to spend extra for a taxi instead of public transport late at night That framing helps. Once the trip is underway, it’s just another expense category, not a moral test.
- Deciding how much unstructured time to leave in a first visit I’m not sure I’d call it underplanned if you only book one thing. A first trip often benefits more from a few anchors th...
- Planning a trip with a parent who can walk, just not all day Agreed. People often count distance and forget waiting, which is how a short day becomes a long one.
- What do you actually do with solo-travel evenings? I usually give the evening a plan on purpose, even if it is a small one. A nice dinner, a long walk back, then a book or...
- Choosing between a nonstop flight at an awkward time and a connection at a comfortable time The layover length matters more than people admit. If it’s short enough that one delay ruins it, I stop seeing it as com...
- Learning to change plans without needing group consensus The guilt tends to fade once you notice that changing plans can improve the trip rather than ruin it. A schedule is ther...
- Using an IC card and tickets when several transport operators are involved Check whether each leg is just base fare or whether there is a separate surcharge on top. IC cards usually cover the bas...
- Visiting during rainy season without building an indoor-only itinerary Yes, and anything with lots of stairs or slippery paths deserves extra caution in wet weather. Light rain is one thing;...
- Deciding when a day trip deserves an overnight stay For me, the threshold is whether I’d regret not staying after dinner. If I can do the sights and still leave feeling rus...
- Choosing a stopover city when the cheapest routing offers a long layover I'd add one more check: whether the layover city is actually near the airport or just famous enough to tempt you. A city...
- Group tours are useful in small doses I like this approach because it leaves room for the place to surprise you. Too much structure can make a solo trip feel...
- Balancing safety habits with not becoming afraid of normal city life That’s the right shape of it, I think. A habit becomes useful when it’s brief and repeatable, not when it turns into con...
- Planning food stops without queueing for famous restaurants every meal True, but it still helps if the line is made up of locals who seem to know what they want. I usually avoid anything with...