Tokyo and Hong Trip Ideas and Suggestions

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flyboysp

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Tokyo and Hong Kong Trip Ideas and Suggestions

Me and a friend are planning to visit both these cities and I’dlike any ideas and suggestions of you learned bunch out there of where to go, whatto do and where to stay

We are planning to visit Tokyo for about 6 days in August orSeptember. As of now we are thinking about spending the majority of our time inTokyo and perhaps a day trip to Osaka on the Shinkansen. One thing we have agreed upon is to visit theTokyo tower. Other than that nothing is really set in stone.
While in Tokyo, we’reconsidering staying at the Shinjuku Granbell Hotel, but i would likesuggestions as to other places to stay at. We are willing to share the sameroom to keep costs down. On a side note, how much would you suggest forspending money for Tokyo for the week?

On the way back to Sydney from Tokyo, we are planning aquick 24-26 stopover in Hong Kong, which would see us arriving into Hong Kongat approximately 10pm. We would then fly out the next night at about 11:55pm.During this time, I’m hoping to visit Victoria Peak, and my friend wants to do some shopping near Stanley St. During this visit we will not be using a hotel. What interesting things are there to do Hong Kong from about midnight to themorning? Or is this Hong Kong stop over not a good idea?

Thanks in advance for all ideas and recommendations.
 
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Tokyo
- there are a few trip reports of Tokyo on AFF - they would describe a few locations for accommodation, look for those near the train line for the convenience, prices vary, the JR Yamanote line is very convenient
- Sensoji/Asakusa, departmental store food sections - in Ginza (Mitsukoshi etc)
- If you would like to do a day trip, go to Kyoto (especially if you have never been to Japan/Kyoto), do Osaka another time.
- $ wise depends on you.. you can eat well cheaply for about $20-25 per person per meal or you could go up to $200-250 per person per meal, sorry this is not helpful, but generally I have found it is comparable $$ wise to eating and spending a day in Melbourne CBD (I live in Melbourne CBD and I find eating out is cheaper in Tokyo!)
 
As for Tokyo, it really depends on what kind of experiences you want. You can stay in capsules or even love hotels for the two of you for quite cheaply and you'd also be getting a cultural experience.

Are you wanting to go to Osaka for the Shinkansen experience, or to visit the city in its own right? Osaka is the kitchen of Japan and you could fly GK down to Osaka quite affordably and then spend the rest of your money on eating a little bit of everything you can in Osaka. If you are only going because you want the Shinkansen experience (which is fine too) you could always just take the Shinkansen to somewhere closer, saving you time and money, but still getting to ride the train.

You can really live on a tight budget or an expensive budget in Tokyo. Some nights you can keep food costs down by eating tasty-yet-cheap onigiri, noodles, or donburi from convenience stores. It's quite possible to have delicious meals for a few dollars. Of course, it really just depends on what kinds of experiences you're hoping to take away.
 
Tokyo
- there are a few trip reports of Tokyo on AFF - they would describe a few locations for accommodation, look for those near the train line for the convenience, prices vary, the JR Yamanote line is very convenient
- Sensoji/Asakusa, departmental store food sections - in Ginza (Mitsukoshi etc)
- If you would like to do a day trip, go to Kyoto (especially if you have never been to Japan/Kyoto), do Osaka another time.
- $ wise depends on you.. you can eat well cheaply for about $20-25 per person per meal or you could go up to $200-250 per person per meal, sorry this is not helpful, but generally I have found it is comparable $$ wise to eating and spending a day in Melbourne CBD (I live in Melbourne CBD and I find eating out is cheaper in Tokyo!)
I've had a look through some of those trip reports and my anticipation to visit has increased even more than what it already is.
I'll keep Kyoto in mind, as we will now most likely be doing a Mt Fuji day tour. Assuming we do both, what would a suggested itinerary be?
Chances are is that food wise, we will try to encompass the entire price spectrum. Being a Sydneysider and a frequent visitor to Melbourne foods prices shouldn't be a problem for us then.


As for Tokyo, it really depends on what kind of experiences you want. You can stay in capsules or even love hotels for the two of you for quite cheaply and you'd also be getting a cultural experience.

Are you wanting to go to Osaka for the Shinkansen experience, or to visit the city in its own right? Osaka is the kitchen of Japan and you could fly GK down to Osaka quite affordably and then spend the rest of your money on eating a little bit of everything you can in Osaka. If you are only going because you want the Shinkansen experience (which is fine too) you could always just take the Shinkansen to somewhere closer, saving you time and money, but still getting to ride the train.

You can really live on a tight budget or an expensive budget in Tokyo. Some nights you can keep food costs down by eating tasty-yet-cheap onigiri, noodles, or donburi from convenience stores. It's quite possible to have delicious meals for a few dollars. Of course, it really just depends on what kinds of experiences you're hoping to take away.

Personally for me it's the Shinkansen for the experience, with Osaka just the icing on the cake. However, with Osaka being Japan's Kitchen in your opinion, it's stocks went up a little. We wouldn't consider ourselves foodies, but we do enjoy trying different things.
Would you consider Shinkansen one way, then flying back to Tokyo a good idea?

Thanks for all the ideas and advice guys.
 
Last time I looked, Aug / Sept is summer months when temp is in the mid-high 30s.

You'd better plan for a trip to the mountains to cool down.
 
Personally for me it's the Shinkansen for the experience, with Osaka just the icing on the cake. However, with Osaka being Japan's Kitchen in your opinion, it's stocks went up a little. We wouldn't consider ourselves foodies, but we do enjoy trying different things.
Would you consider Shinkansen one way, then flying back to Tokyo a good idea?

Ooh that could actually be quite fun. You could even time it so that you fly back to Tokyo to connect to your flight home. May be more convenient for you and you get to experience both the plane and the train in Japan.

Last time I looked, Aug / Sept is summer months when temp is in the mid-high 30s.

You'd better plan for a trip to the mountains to cool down.

Oh I didn't look closely enough at your dates flyboysp and just notice now that you're considering Aug or Sept. Summer months in Japan are lovely for fireworks - people have nice fireworks while enjoying festivals so maybe check out the dates here to see if any match up. Another thing that is great in summer, but that may be a little out of your way is the Awa-Odori in Tokushima. You could always fly to TKS and then bus to Osaka and get the Shinkansen back to Tokyo. The festival is a lot of fun, with people dancing the Awa Dance throughout the night. Anyway, I may be getting carried away as you might not have enough time, but something to think about anyway. :)
 
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If you manage not to get too tired, this stopover is great to visit Hong Kong, but personally I would stay for a least 2 whole days and a night because you'll end up spending quite a lot of time getting to and from the airport. Considering you have about 24 hours, up to 4 hours could be spent on transport and things like check-in and boarding, but if you do go to Hong Kong, I recommend using the check in a Hong Kong Station because it makes life so much easier.
Places to visit:
- Shops! Shopping in Hong Kong is quite inexpensive as long as you have HKD because there are many shops which sell famous brands which are manufactured in China. If you go to Stanley St, visit in the afternoon because there are far fewer people and you can probably bargain your way down to a much better price. (Beware the mainland Chinese shoppers!)
- Ocean Park - If you had more time or are willing to spend less time there, I would definitely go to the Ocean Park because the rides there are fantastic, especially when you compare it to Disneyland which is appallingly boring and small, though I guess its meant for children.
- Madame Tussauds (In Victoria Peak) - Again, you might be struggling to fit in too many places in about 20 hours, considering you might want to also visit other places, but Madame Tussauds in Hong Kong is great as well as being the biggest in Asia, but you could always visit the one in Sydney. :p
- The Peak - Make sure you visit Victoria Peak at night, because it is really quite a sight, so long as it isn't raining or foggy...
- If you want to stay awake at night, I suggest you go to the night markets near Kowloon and Jordan, as well as some good night Yum Cha or midnight street food to keep yourself awake :)
 
I did a TR (heaps of photos) for basically the same itinerary.....we went Sept, the weather was warm but nothing OTT.

If you decide on Kyoto, I recommend arranging a car/driver/guide to zip you around the sites. We did a day trip and got to see the main attractions as well as a sensational 8 course lunch.

For Tokyo Skytree make sure you purchase tickets on-line rather than turning up on the day - huge queues!
 
For Tokyo Skytree make sure you purchase tickets on-line rather than turning up on the day - huge queues!

The queues can be very short depending on when you're there. And note that the decks can be closed depending on weather. You can check how busy each day is at this site ... the redder the day the busier :)
 
In HK for short stopover the Regal Airport Hotel is good value and decent size rooms too, its attached to the International (airport), catch fast train to city. If you like excellent breakfast, dinner and free booze 4pm/8pm then consider club floor about AUD$100 extra for 2.
 
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