I have a love-hate relationship with the weather. It blessed my lovely city of Boston with over 20 ft of snow this winter, causing traffic delays, cancelled school days, and back-breaking snow shoveling, two of which are bad and one of which is absolutely wonderful. And when I went to London, despite its reputation as a ridiculously rainy city, it only rained once while I was there.

Yet, on my upcoming trip to Tokyo, it’s set to rain for the entire time I’m there. Seriously.

At times like these, you just want to rip your head back and scream “WHYYYYYYYY” at the heavens. Whether it’s a trip you’ve been looking forward to for ages or a spontaneous thing, bad weather is a real pain in the ass. But you don’t have to let it ruin your trip! Read on to learn how you too can refuse to let a few ill-placed water molecules ruin your great experience.

Don’t lose hope

Yes, the accuracy of weather predicting has increased greatly over the years but it still can be wrong! The forecast might change as the trip approaches, and what looked like a terrible chain of thunderstorms could actually be a mild drizzle.

Do as the locals do

Okay, so what happens when you get there and there really is a chain of thunderstorms? Well, look around. The locals sure aren’t letting the storm stop them from going on with their day. Realize that you are experiencing this new destination exactly how the locals see it, and not some picturesce fabulation. If the weather is not too severe, go out and see what you wanted to see anyway, who cares if you’re a little wet! The Eiffel Tower is just as beautiful in rain as in sunshine.

Buy Appropriate Equipment

This may seem obvious, but I know that even when it rained for three days I forgot that I could buy rain boots and came home with soaking socks three nights in a row. If you’re caught unawares, go out and buy some equipment to make it easier on yourself to do what you wanted to do in the first place. Is it raining? Buy rain ponchos, rain boots, and umbrellas. Snowing? You want thick jackets, snow boots, and a shovel if you have a cabin. Having the right equipment makes bad weather so much more endurable.

Stay Positive

Even when things seem to be at their worst (for example, traveling to Boston for sightseeing and have nature pile 20ft of snow on you) stay positive!  Even if you can go absolutely no where, you’re still having an adventure! One of my favorite memories is when I was at camp and it started pouring absolutely insane amounts of rain, and we all sprinted back to the bus and ended up soaking wet. We all laughed about it with each other the entire way back to our cabins. Even though we didn’t get to enjoy the amusement park we were at, we were still plenty amused. So whatever happens, take it in stride, and remember, if nothing else, you’re still in a foreign place and for us travellers, that’s plenty exciting on it’s own.

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