hazimete iku mati de miti ni mayotta node, keisatukan ni kikimasita.

Because Japanese puts a clause that describes a noun before the noun.

So 初めて行く町 means:

• a town [I go to / am visiting for the first time]

In English, the describing part usually comes after the noun: a town I was visiting for the first time.

Japanese does not need words like that, which, or where here.

This is a very common question. In Japanese, the tense inside a noun-modifying clause does not always match English tense directly.

• 行く町 = the town I go to / am going to / am visiting
• 行った町 = the town I went to

Here, 初めて行く町 describes the town as the place the speaker was visiting for the first time at that point in the story. English often uses was visiting, but Japanese commonly uses the plain non-past form 行く in this kind of modifier.

So it is not a mistake. It is natural Japanese grammar.

初めて means for the first time, and here it modifies 行く.

So:

• 初めて行く町 = a town I go to for the first time

It does not mean the first town.

If you wanted to say the first town, you would need a different expression, such as 最初の町, depending on context.

Because 初めて is being used adverbially here, modifying the verb 行く.

• 初めて行く町 = a town I visit for the first time
• 初めての町 = a town that is new to me / my first time in it

Both patterns exist, but they are slightly different.

In this sentence, 初めて is attached to the action 行く, not directly to the noun 町.

Here, で marks the place where an event happens.

So:

• 町で道に迷った = got lost in the town

The getting lost happened in that town, so で is used.

This is the same basic use as in sentences like:

• 学校で勉強する = study at school
• 公園で遊ぶ = play in the park

Because 道に迷う is the standard expression for to lose one’s way / get lost.

So:

• 道に迷う = get lost

The particle に is part of this pattern. It is not a direct object marked by を.

In this sentence, the two particles are doing different jobs:

• 町で = where the event happened
• 道に迷った = lost one’s way

So even though both parts may feel location-related in English, the Japanese grammar is different.

ので means because / since.

So:

• 道に迷ったので、警察官に聞きました。
• Because I got lost, I asked a police officer.

Compared with から, ので often sounds a little softer, more explanatory, and sometimes more formal or polite.

Very roughly:

• から = because, so
• ので = since, because

Both can often be translated the same way, but ので tends to sound less blunt.

With 聞く meaning to ask, the person you ask is marked by に.

• 先生に聞く = ask the teacher
• 友だちに聞く = ask a friend
• 警察官に聞く = ask a police officer

The thing you ask about is often marked by を:

• 道を聞く = ask the way / ask for directions
• 名前を聞く = ask someone’s name

So a fuller version could be:

• 警察官に道を聞きました。

Yes, probably.

Japanese often leaves out information that is obvious from context. Here, after saying I got lost, the listener can easily understand that the speaker asked for directions.

So the omitted thing is probably something like:

• 道を
• 道順を
• 行き方を
• 場所を

That is why 警察官に聞きました naturally means I asked a police officer for help / directions in this context.

Because Japanese often omits the subject when it is obvious.

In this sentence, it is clear that the person who got lost and asked the police officer is the speaker, so I is understood automatically.

A fuller version could be:

• 私は初めて行く町で道に迷ったので、警察官に聞きました。

But in natural Japanese, leaving out 私は is very normal.

Yes, it could.

There is a small nuance difference:

• 初めての町 = a town that is new to me / a town I am in for the first time
• 初めて行く町 = a town I am going to or visiting for the first time

So 初めての町で道に迷ったので… would also sound natural.

The version with 行く puts a little more focus on the act of going to that town for the first time.

No. Normally, Japanese is written without spaces like this:

• 初めて行く町で道に迷ったので、警察官に聞きました。

The spaces are usually added in textbooks or learning materials to make the sentence easier to read for beginners.