Hong Kong and Japan

[Watis]

Off to see the sights of Japan and Hong Kong in the near future and wondered whether anyone had any up to date advice based on recent visits to these places.

Such as:

- things to see and do.

- things not to do!

- etiquette dos and don'ts.

TIA,

Watis

[YeeWo]

Haven't been to Japan since 1998, going back in May '19 which should be great. Been to and through Hongkong regularly for 20+ years, suggestions: -
- Where are you staying in HK? We usually stay in Shatin in the New Territories, as you get a decent sized room for a reasonable cost plus the journey to/fm HKG airport is easy and cheap by Bus. Excellent Metro system from Shatin to Central in <20 Minutes. Royal Park Hotel is decent!
- Low Cost/Free things to do : Dai Pai Dong (traditional open air food stalls, some still exist on HK Island and in Sham Shui Po), Noon Day Gun - Causeway Bay, Temple St Night Market, Star Ferry - TST to Central <£1 world class Harbour Views, War Graves (if it's your thing, lots of interesting Commonwealth history), Symphony of Lights (the Harbour Light Show at Night), The Peak (take a Tram up for the views). HSBC Building - get photos of The Lions and walk underneath Norman Foster's iconic building.
- Things that'll cost money : Shopping > HK is an excellent place to buy physical Gold, Hangseng Bank in Central sell it over the counter. Wristwatches - Rolex/Tudor (10-15% cheaper than elsewhere, probably more AD's per sq mile than anywhere else on earth), Mandarin Oriental for a meal, Day Trip to Macau (Hydrofoil from HK Island) - make sure you watch Bond "The Man with The Golden Gun" to get you in the mindset, Tailored Suits pricey these days but excellent quality.
- https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/british ... cular.html Please pop into The Dickens Bar while you can!
Hope the above helps. Hongkong is like London/New York if you're bored there, you're bored of life........Enjoy!

[Lootman]

To my mind, there are not a lot of "sights" in either place. Both are surprisingly modern places - many Asian cities look exactly like American cities, architecturally. But don't get me wrong - I love both places. I worked in Hong Kong for a while, and try and visit Japan every year.

It's about the people, the culture and the food, in both places. You can have a wonderful time just wandering around.

Most people stay in Hong Kong for about 3 days. It's really all you need. The countryside around is nice enough but that's not why you go there. Eating and shopping are the main recreations. Take the funicular to the peak for the view.

Japan is surprisingly large - Nagasaki is 800 is miles from Tokyo and yet both are in the south of the country. My favourite place is Kyoto and it is with many others too. That means it is crowded but also that many people speak English, restaurants have menus in English, and so on. That's important when the written language is completely alien. Nagasaki has a great setting - similar in some ways to San Francisco, Vancouver, Sydney.

In Tokyo, stay in Shinjuku. It's just nuts. All those themed bars and cafes you have seen on TV are there.

The JR rail pass is bought before you leave the UK and gets you everywhere fast, so the distances aren't excessive. Again, in terms of scenery and landscape Japan can be pretty but not why you go there - there are more impressive mountains in Europe and North America. But I can spend hours in Kyoto's food market, and do.

Japan does have a lot of old temples, especially Kyoto, although to be honest after a few temples I find them to be samey.

Neither place is cheap but if you are used to London prices then you won't be shocked. It is only recently that Japan has become affordable because of the weak currency.

And if you love sushi, as I do, there is no place better. Just point to whatever you like the look of, or grab it from the belt as it goes by

And Japanese people are impossibly nice, helpful, polite, friendly and civil. And honest - there is virtually no crime there.

[Dod101]

In HK do not take the funicular (Peak Tram) at least not unless you take an organised tour which will cost you a fortune. Otherwise you will most likely have a very long queue to contend with. Take a taxi or a bus to the top and walk down (especially if you are going over the winter months).

I appreciate Shatin has no doubt changed since I last visited it (although I was in HK in March this year) but I would not recommend staying there. Better by far on HK Island close by an MTR Station. You can get the MTR from the airport to Central HK Island for the equivalent of about £17 return in 25 minutes and trains leave every 10 minutes. Clean and comfortable. Then a taxi to your hotel although there are complementary buses to hotels. MIne was slow and went all round the houses before reaching my hotel.

Otherwise as Lootman says, it is mostly shopping and eating but use the MTR. It is cheap, quick and comfortable.

I would take a nice cheap ferry to one of HK's offshore islands. Lantau (not the airport side) is attractive enough but so is Chung Chau and they all have good seafood restaurants.

My experience of Japan is so long ago as to be useless for you.

Dod

[Lootman]

In HK do not take the funicular (Peak Tram) at least not unless you take an organised tour which will cost you a fortune. Otherwise you will most likely have a very long queue to contend with. Take a taxi or a bus to the top and walk down (especially if you are going over the winter months).

Now you mention it, on one of the 2 occasions I went up there I did take a cab, because of the queues. The other time it was OK though. Guess it depends when you go. I took the buses a lot in HK - double deckers and you pay as you get off, not as you get on.

A useful form of transportation in HK is building elevators. In some places you can enter a building, take the lift to the 10th floor, and then walk out the back of the building. There is a street in the mid-Peak area somewhere with moving escalators - handy as it is where a lot of the bars are.

In Japan, Nara is a nice day trip from Kyoto by train. There are a number of world heritage sites, all conveniently laid out in parkland. It's a very pleasant place to stroll around.

If you like automotive stuff, Nagoya is the place, home of Toyota. You can do English-language tours of one of the factories - the highlight is the robot welding line. They are free but you have to book ahead on-line. Toyota City is a bit of a pig to get to though. There is also a Toyota museum in Nagoya itself - Mister Toyado started out building spinning looms.

[Clitheroekid]

If I were going I'd certainly want to cross this spiffy new bridge, if only to say I'd done it!

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/ ... index.html

I believe Macau's well worth a visit, so kill two birds with one stone.

[Dod101]

I know little of the 40 mile bridge but it does sound interesting. It goes from HK to Zhuhjai to Macau. I am a great scholar of the new nomenclature.

It maybe worth trying out but for me I would take the hydrofoil. Macau? I do not know but the praya grande I think has been long since filled in and that will change the whole appearance.

Dod

[Dod101]

. It goes from HK to Zhuhjai to Macau. I am a great scholar of the new nomenclature.

Stupid thing to say and then spell the place wrong! The bridge actually goes from HK to Zhuhai and to Macau. 55k long across the Pearl River Delta.

Dod

[TahiPanasDua]

We're going to Hong Kong on Monday for 3 weeks, staying in a flat generously provided by a friend. She owns a couple of dozen of them and keeps this one empty solely to play mah-jong with her mates. I kid you not!!!!! It's another world!!!!!!

As former long term residents we know what we will be doing. The main activity will be eating and not just scrumptious Cantonese food. It is safe to say that it is nearly impossible to have a bad meal. Ask your hotel to recommend a nearby dim sum restaurant. You can't go wrong. Dim sum is usually only eaten in the morning or for lunch. Wonderful!

For something different, try one of our favourite restaurants. It's Malaysian. Take the underground to HKU station. The restaurant is next to one of the entrances. Ask for the Hotel Jen, it's restaurant is Café Malacca. The Singapore Laksa and Fried Mee are delicious.

One trip we will make sounds more complicated than it really is. Take the underground to Tung Chung underground station and walk to the nearby ferry terminal. Take the ferry to Tai O village making sure to sit on the upper deck. The views are fabulous. At Tai O, wander round this quaint fishing village, viewing the stuff on sale at the market stalls. Choose any of the many Chinese restaurants for a delicious lunch. Then travel back to Hong Kong doing everything in reverse. We will take the bus back to Tung Chung station from Tai O. It passes through several villages along the coast. Gorgeous.

Good luck.

TP2

[BrummieDave]

Or eat here: https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Restauran ... _Kong.html

Ignore the fact that the restaurant's own website no longer seems to function, it is still open and is still brilliant. Quite simply one of the best meals I've ever had, and one of the most difficult restaurants to find. The door is literally underneath, as in vertically below, the midtown escalator just below Caine Road. You'll laugh when you find the door, and inside marvel at the artwork, and then savour the food. It's a real find.

It's actually called 'The Monogamous Chinese'. You won't be disappointed. If you 'Google' that name, you'll see a photo in 'Images' of where the front door is.

[DiamondEcho]

Off to see the sights of Japan and Hong Kong in the near future and wondered whether anyone had any up to date advice based on recent visits to these places.
Such as:
- things to see and do.
- things not to do!
- etiquette dos and don'ts.
TIA Watis

I used to live in Tokyo in the early 90s, and again in the mid-90's. I've also visited as a tourist about 3 times since then, most recently perhaps 3 years ago. It is a wonderful yet perhaps disorientating place for those just landed. So busy, so crowded, and hard for a westerner to navigate [understanding the way they name or often don't name streets].

Don't let that put you off though. They are extremely hospitable people, though equally shy. They have great pride and often speak quite passable English but are terrified of somehow offending by saying the wrong thing. So I'd suggest if discussing anything with a local in English be very constructive and positive about it, and their help.

Tokyo is amazing, you could spend weeks there just doing new stuff every day, it's like 'Blade-runner' come to life (it was supposedly modelled on the Shinjuku district). Kyoto is the opposite, eqully fascinating but you visit for the the temples and the 'Zen feel' of the place. Hard to say more without knowing when you're off and for how long.

p.s Lot's more can be said. DON'T stress about etiquette, they know you're a visitor, don't get THEIR social rules; and you know what they almost vicariously enjoy seeing visitors breaking rules that they cannot. Just don't push that of course, not that you would. For lunch at least, go to major supermarkets and order food over the counters, sushi, yakitori [fried chicken skewers etc]. They're set up for such with chairs + tables etc on the shop-floor right adjacent, and such a lunch will cost waaaaay less than having every lunch out in a restaurant. Such food will be as good if not better than served in a local eatery. It's not a cheap place, but there are such ways of trimming off a decent part of the extremes.

pps. Tripadvisor is your friend.

[Dod101]

We're going to Hong Kong on Monday for 3 weeks, staying in a flat generously provided by a friend. She owns a couple of dozen of them and keeps this one empty solely to play mah-jong with her mates. I kid you not!!!!! It's another world!!!!!

Three weeks living in HK even at this time of year (the best time to go I think) is a long while to be in a relatively small over crowded and noisy place like HK however well you know it, especially if you are not working. You must have a very wealthy friend and for most of us that is hardly typical.

Still, the idea of visiting the off shore islands and the seafood restaurants is a good one.

Dod

[TahiPanasDua]

Three weeks living in HK even at this time of year (the best time to go I think) is a long while to be in a relatively small over crowded and noisy place like HK however well you know it, especially if you are not working. You must have a very wealthy friend and for most of us that is hardly typical.

Still, the idea of visiting the off shore islands and the seafood restaurants is a good one.

Dod

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I was recommending anyone visit Hong Kong for 3 weeks and that part of my post may have been misleading. As suggested above, 3 or 4 days are enough for most people. Apart from anything else, some claim it to be the most expensive place in the world. Also the overcrowding and pollution are turn offs for everyone.

However, we personally don't find 3 weeks to be excessive. We lived there for 29 years, including 7 in retirement and consider it a second home. We still have friends, club memberships and great walks to look forward to. I do realize that this is of no relevance to the OP's original question.

Can't wait.

TP2

[Dod101]

TP2
I worked there for 23 years and then had another 3 visiting on business so like you know it well. I am still an Absent Member of a couple of clubs and visited again in March this year for the first time for some years. Transport is cheap and efficient and if you have accommodation it need not be expensive but of course the exchange rate is against us at the moment.

But no in that part of the world for three weeks, I would not want to spend it in HK, even although I have got quite a few Chinese (and European) friends resident there.

Anyway have a good trip.

Dod

[jaizan]

Japan is a very nice place to visit.

You kind of have to spend a few days in Tokyo. Have a look around Shinjuku, Shibuya, various temples etc
Kyoto must be visited, for all of the temples. Also, whilst you are at it, go to Nara.

Other places worth considering, include Nikko, Kamakura, Hiroshima plus probably loads of others that I have not visited.

There are also lots of nice mountain walks around, if that's your kind of scene. The top of mount Fuji will probably have snow on it by now, but there will be plenty of other options below 2000m.

[djbenedict]

Re: Japan, I've only visited once but I would love to go back. One thing I did and would highly recommend is to visit Tsumago or Magome and hike from one to the other (not a strenuous hike, 2 or 3 hours' walk through nice countryside). I stayed in a ryokan in Magome for a night and hiked to Tsumago the next day. These are very pretty small villages, busy during the day with tourists, but if you stay the night you will have the place almost to yourself which is very atmospheric.

[DiamondEcho]

Nice to see these suggestions re: Japan. Yes, it's a [cliched] 'place of extremes' from the 'Bladerunner urbanity' of Shinjuku/Roppongi etc, to the traditions of out of town ryokan [local/very trad small hotels]. I still say don't worry about how JPnese expect us to behave too much at all, they do get us don't expect us to get their social code, and civil people are treated civilly + they do seem to get our our 'small-island/long history mentality' . I envy you, we'd return to JP tomorrow, esp if the trip was funded

[MaraMan]

Not much to add really, I have visited Japan on dozens of occasions for business and holiday. I would recommend a day or two in Hiroshima, its a nice city and of course the museum is a must see. I personally wouldn't bother with Nagoya or Osaka, but definitely spend a few days in Kyoto. The gardens and temples are amazing and there are many to see. Kamakura is on the outskirts of Tokyo and well worth a day trip, the trains there are good (as they are everywhere in Japan). You can hire a bike for the day to get around and I would recommend this. I would also recommend the Tsukiji - the Tokyo fish market, but I believe that this being moved and may now be closed.

Assuming you arrive in Tokyo take the exective coach from Narita or Haneda into the city, its MUCH cheaper, and easier, than taxis. I mostly stayed at the Royal Park Hotel which is right by TCAT (Tokyo City Air Terminal, but known as TCAT, which is where the buses terminate) and this makes travel in and out of the city a cinch. The coaches run very regularly and are always on time. The Royal Park is a good and relatively inexpensive hotel in Nihonbashi. I would suggest a visit to Asakusa for the restaurants and Akiharbara for electronics shops. Even if you don't buy anything they are an experience not be missed.

My main tip is don't expect taxi drivers to know where they are going. ALWAYS take a map to show them, or a telephone number of where you are going, or get the hotel to tell them exactly where you are going. The Taxis are clean and smart, but useless at finding where you want to go (Addresses in Tokyo are anything but logical, for example no. 10 in a street may be some distance away from no.11 - perversely they were numbered in the order they were built). Also tipping is neither wanted or expected, so don't try, they will only be embarrassed. The tube system is pretty good and unlike my earlier visits, have instructions in English.

The Japan Rail pass is excellent value but must be purchased before arrival in Japan. The Shinkansen Trains are something that must be experienced if you can.

As for Hong Kong, I have been there a few times. Don't see what the attraction is to be honest. 2 or 3 days max is all you need. The train in from the airport is fast and efficient. My experience of the famous made to measure suits was awful. Poorly made and not as cheap as you might expect. I went to a tailor that was recommended by several locals, so didn't just pick one at random (there are a lot).

Have a great trip

MM

[Clitheroekid]

Also tipping is neither wanted or expected, so don't try, they will only be embarrassed.

A bit like London then!

[Lootman]

Assuming you arrive in Tokyo take the exective coach from Narita or Haneda into the city, its MUCH cheaper, and easier, than taxis.

IMO the cheapest and easiest way to get in from the airports is by train.

Especially if you have a JR Rail Pass, as many tourists do, then you can use that on the Narita Express (an hour or so to Tokyo Station. Haneda is even easier - take the monorail, again covered by the JR pass. It ends at a station on the circular Yamamote Line, again covered by the JR pass, so you can get anywhere.