Did anyone die? Did anyone go to jail?

The mix up dawned on me when I googled directions to the start of our walking tour in Asakusa, Tokyo. We were chuffed with ourselves that we’d booked something a day in advance.

I found out it was a 2-hour walk. From a hotel in the same area — or so I believed.

Uh oh. I’d booked a hotel in Akasaka – not the cooler area of Asakusa.

Similar names. Completely different neighbourhoods, on the opposite sides of this massive city.

This was the last of my stuff-ups in the last week of our 21-day trip to Japan. And I responded to this one completely differently.

----

We expected to have the groovy sights and sounds of Asakusa on our doorstep, be close to a river and a short hop to Kappabashi, famous for its kitchen supplies. We were in the market for new crockery.

We had to adjust to a more central, land-locked area, described as ‘home to corporate offices’ and an ‘entertainment area that has lost its shine’, by our guidebook. (I like a hard copy guidebook. Removes network and wifi issues. Plus, I get to use my highlighters while on holiday!)

----

A friend of mine has a useful phrase when a stuff up is brought to her attention.

‘Did anyone die? Did anyone go to jail?’ The answer is usually ‘no’ — thankfully. The temperature drops immediately. Steps to recover and rectify can be considered and weighed up with a little more distance and less emotion.

There was no sentence – jail or death – for mixing up similar sounding areas in a city we’d never been to before. We also had time to adjust and reset our expectations as I’d uncovered my mistake the night before.

Akasaka turned out to be a great area for us. For us, it still shone.

We had access to four subway lines to get us to areas on our list. There was a yoga studio with an English-speaking teacher and where drop-ins were welcome. Excellent coffee was a five-minute walk from our hotel. The simple diner next door had a wide variety of wine from around the world, a big salad bowl and a friendly owner.

The mix-up also forced us to negotiate Tokyo’s subway within 30 minutes of arriving. We had to get to that walking tour on the other side of town.

----

Akasaka and my reaction to my stuff up both contributed to our recovery from it.

I could have overreacted, beaten myself up and felt negative, like I did in response to one of the other stuff ups I made on our trip. But I think my reaction meant I was more open to what Akasaka offered. I would have only seen its drawbacks if I’d stayed negative. I’d have missed the yoga studio, the coffee and the big salad next door.

Our reaction to stuff ups, on holiday or at work, shapes how we recover from them.

Thanks for reading this far!

Stay (fl)awesome!