Things I didn't try early on: Ryokan stays

This is one of my biggest "ugh...you fumbled it" things in Japan. When I first lived here, I would often opt for hotel chains rather than going to a ryokan when I traveled. Obviously there are some perks to hotels (proximity to stations a lot of the time, cheap prices for business hotels), and I thought that every ryokan was going to have futon bedding, and I'd almost always rather a Western-style bed. 

In saying that, it took me way too long to get on the ryokan train, and I'm mad about it for a few reasons. One of them is that you don't even need to necessarily sleep on a futon, as a lot of them have Western-style beds. Not all, of course (and I've done plenty of futon nights, too), but quite a few.

Also, the food at ryokan just impresses me every time. I've had so many top notch meals, but one of my favorites was at Konansou in Yamanashi. They had the yummiest beef and even made a meat pie for me (I was pregnant at the time and wasn't keen on raw fish). Props to them for the amazing service!