Tokyo & Hong Kong

InterestedK

Hi all,

Looking for some recommendations on things to see and do in both Tokyo and Hong Kong.

We wouldn't be into museums, but enjoy all other sightseeing and activities.

We are unsure as to how long to spend in each location, as not entirely sure how much there is to do in each place, but they both just look very appealing. Based on how much there is to see and do, we'll then know how long we'll need in each.

We will definetly be going to Tokyo, but Hong Kong is up in the air, so if there are any recommendations of other countries to visit that are no more than 3 hours from Tokyo, that would be great. We've already done Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia

Is public transport good in each place?

Any hints and tips at all are greatly appreciated!

Thank you!

mx5ire

Hi

I can only comment on HK as i have not yet managed to get to Japan, so....

As you cannot fly direct to Tokyo from here, you will need to stop at least once, either in the middle east, or London or CDG etc, or HK. To me HK makes a lot of sense, and wins each time. I hate CDG, LHR etc, so as you can fly Cathay Pacific direct to HK from Dublin, i would do it. We used it again for a holiday in China last month, great service. Its gets you into HK in the early morning, so go straight to hotel, have a 2 hour nap, get up and get an afternoon / evening looking around and maybe stay a second night after that.

I would stay in Kowloon maybe (the mainland) rather than HK island, hotels might be a little cheaper, and unless you want expensive and wine dressy bars, i thought that Kowloon was better for 'normal' food and drink etc. The Sheraton HK Towers in Tsim Sha Tsui area is very very central, couple of minutes walk to the famous Star ferry across the bay to HK island, and the TST Promenade where you see all the famous photos of HK. Also its on the corner of Nathan Road, the main shopping and entertainment street where you can find anything that you want. Lots of walking distance restaurants and shopping.

Do an open top bus night tour, its really good, and go up Victoria peak for amazing views, Temple street night market, the Big Budda (on Lantau i think), or do an evening cruise on victoria harbour. Nightlife would be busy, but i think overall a a couple of nights would be ok. I wouldn't do more than 3 nights, i dont think that there is enough to do if you wont do museums or Disney. Actually Disney is a really good 1 day visit if you fancy it. HK is expensive, much more so than Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Saigon.

Public transport (underground) is very good and very user friendly.

Tokyo tower is worth a look.
Serious views of the city.
Imperial palace is a must.
Akihabara and Shinjuku too,how long have you got?
I'd try and get out of Tokyo for a day or two at least!

InterestedK

mx5ire wrote: »

Hi

I can only comment on HK as i have not yet managed to get to Japan, so....

As you cannot fly direct to Tokyo from here, you will need to stop at least once, either in the middle east, or London or CDG etc, or HK. To me HK makes a lot of sense, and wins each time. I hate CDG, LHR etc, so as you can fly Cathay Pacific direct to HK from Dublin, i would do it. We used it again for a holiday in China last month, great service. Its gets you into HK in the early morning, so go straight to hotel, have a 2 hour nap, get up and get an afternoon / evening looking around and maybe stay a second night after that.

I would stay in Kowloon maybe (the mainland) rather than HK island, hotels might be a little cheaper, and unless you want expensive and wine dressy bars, i thought that Kowloon was better for 'normal' food and drink etc. The Sheraton HK Towers in Tsim Sha Tsui area is very very central, couple of minutes walk to the famous Star ferry across the bay to HK island, and the TST Promenade where you see all the famous photos of HK. Also its on the corner of Nathan Road, the main shopping and entertainment street where you can find anything that you want. Lots of walking distance restaurants and shopping.

Do an open top bus night tour, its really good, and go up Victoria peak for amazing views, Temple street night market, the Big Budda (on Lantau i think), or do an evening cruise on victoria harbour. Nightlife would be busy, but i think overall a a couple of nights would be ok. I wouldn't do more than 3 nights, i dont think that there is enough to do if you wont do museums or Disney. Actually Disney is a really good 1 day visit if you fancy it. HK is expensive, much more so than Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Saigon.

Public transport (underground) is very good and very user friendly.

Thanks mx5. Definitely planning on flying direct to HK. Thanks for those tips.

We'll do Disney, which is pretty much a day, but it looks like what you've said we wouldn't need more than 3 days in Tokyo.

We are of course willing to go outside Tokyo to Hiroshima etc., just trying to build an itinerary at the moment of things to see and do in Japan.

InterestedK

BrownFinger wrote: »

Tokyo tower is worth a look.
Serious views of the city.
Imperial palace is a must.
Akihabara and Shinjuku too,how long have you got?
I'd try and get out of Tokyo for a day or two at least!

Thanks Brownfinger.

We haven't planned dates yet, so depending on what we're told on this thread, we could spend a week in Tokyo, Hiroshima etc etc!

We see sights pretty quickly and don't spend much time at them, so we can cram quite a bit into a short period of time, but we don't want it rushed either.

mx5ire

InterestedK wrote: »

Thanks mx5. Definitely planning on flying direct to HK. Thanks for those tips.

We'll do Disney, which is pretty much a day, but it looks like what you've said we wouldn't need more than 3 days in Tokyo.

We are of course willing to go outside Tokyo to Hiroshima etc., just trying to build an itinerary at the moment of things to see and do in Japan.

Just to clarify, when i said 3 days, i meant HK, not Tokyo ! Disney is basically a full day, the park is not huge and easily accessible by train from Kowloon or HK island. So depending on flight times, you might get away with 2 nights in Hk, so just pick a 3rd night to ensure enough coverage.

I havent been to Japan yet, but we did a lot of detailed planning last year, but then picked China. Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka too with a few brief stops in between was what we looked at. Two or three days in each and the train between them

We went to Disney in Tokyo,
Its good,the Japanese are MAD for disney and all dress up in funny outfits.
week in tokyo is too long IMO.
Hakone is just a short trip outside tokyo if you want to see something outside the city.
I recommend the Hakone loop with a stay in a an traditional onsen!

dwayneshintzy

Are you interested in anything outdoorsy?

Hong Kong has some great trails and hikes.

rossie1977

As far as Hong Kong goes Victoria peak and stay till after dark, Tian Tan Buddha, Avenue of Stars and a public ferry across Victoria harbour.. There are tours but the ordinary ferry is great in itself, every few minutes and extremely cheap.

Public transportation is excellent in Hong Kong. Some parts of the northern city (Kowloon/New Territories) you would need to use buses to access as distances between metro stations becomes greater.

If you have time a side trip to Macau is recommended. It's a ferry trip from HK. It's really two cities. Macau a normal city with a few midsized casinos and Cotai Strip a reclaimed area with gigantic entertainment resorts like the strip in Las Vegas.

Antar Bolaeisk

This was pretty cool in Tokyo https://borderless.teamlab.art/gallery

cefh17

We're just today back from a trip to Japan having stayed in Tokyo for 5/6 days of the total 14. Absolutely loved it. I would agree with the other poster for the Teamlabs Borderless, museums wouldn't interest me but it was a great way to spend a few hours definitely. Depending on how long you're in Tokyo it might be worth picking up a wifi hotspot (can pick up/drop off at the airport) it was a life saver going from place to place on the Subway.. which was an experience in itself! Definitely get a Pasmo/Suica and top up enough to do you and refund the rest at the airport

The main things we did were visiting Shibuya Crossing/Harajuku/Akihabara/Imperial Palace/Some shrines. I think three days would be enough to hit the main stuff, 4 if including Disney.

Marcusm

InterestedK wrote: »

Thanks mx5. Definitely planning on flying direct to HK. Thanks for those tips.

We'll do Disney, which is pretty much a day, but it looks like what you've said we wouldn't need more than 3 days in Tokyo.

We are of course willing to go outside Tokyo to Hiroshima etc., just trying to build an itinerary at the moment of things to see and do in Japan.

Tokyo is much more of an alien experience than HK. There is also much more to see. There are two Disneys in Tokyo if that’s what floats your boat. The HK Disney was much derided when it opened (lived there at the time). No idea if it has been expanded. Kowloon side is good but personally i’m An Island man as far as HK is concerned. For a completely different experience head over to Stanley on the south side of the island or to Sai Kung on the mainland side.

Nicetrustedcup

I been to both over the past year.

Tokyo for 10 days was amazing so much to do there and never got board just wondering around you never know what you might find or see and it's a crazy place.

While Hong Kong was grand like great for shopping but after 10 days there I was like its grand went to marcu andChina as well for the day.

Go to China for the day if your in Hong Kong you get the tube and it takes like 45 mins and then 2 hours or so to get your visa on the border to China and your in for knockoff heaven ha.

But both amazing places and I return back to Ireland going I am board here ha