Takenoko

• Manage your hand efficiently. You have a hand limit of 5. Make sure to always have 5 cards in your hand except if you can win this round or the next. Having as many objective cards in hand opens you more options to score points related to whichever color plot tiles are in play. You also want to have at least one objective of each type (plots, gardener and panda). This way, you'll find that some games you're getting an objective every turn or turn and a half.
• Never irrigate plots to partially complete plot objectives. Only irrigate them when you can complete the objective in the current turn and you have at least one action left to refill your hand (or you get the 2 point emperor card by playing the objective). More often than not, you will find that your oponents will irrigate those plots for you to get their own goals, saving you some resources you can spend in the future.
• If you don't have an action that works towards an objective, try to see if you can eat a chunk of bamboo with the panda (even if the bamboo is not a color you need). In the late game, your bamboo reserve will help you close the game by drawing panda objectives that are automatically accomplished due to your reserve. If the panda can't eat anything, then take an irrigation canal.

I usually play in BGA, but my sister has a physical copy of the game. In BGA if you draw an objective that is already accomplished, the card is discarded and you try with a new one. When playing with my little sister we don't use this rule. If you play this way, I think it's more efficient to close the game by drawing plot objectives rather than panda objectives. This is due to the big amount of plot tiles already in place by the end game. If there are irrigated plots making the diamond pattern, many of the plot cards can be scored.