Tokyo vs Hong Kong trip (cost, places, train, people)
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Well, in terms of buying stuff and all, Hong Kong is a lot cheaper than Tokyo but in terms of travelling and accommodation, Tokyo is probably cheaper. A lot of people are afraid to go to Japan nowadays since the natural disasters and the hotel and airfare rates have gone down massively as a result. The tour I went to in Japan 4 years ago, has cut its rate by half (same summer season) because no one is really willing to go.
But if you want easy navigation, Hong Kong is definitely the easier. Tokyo is confusing and there isn't much English around (from what I've seen). Hong Kong was once occupied by Great Britain, so there are a lot of English-speaking people.
Taxis are incredibly cheap by Aussie standards, you would go somewhere, be in a traffic jam for ages, finally get to your destination and the bill was $5.
In Australia it costs you $5 just to put your bum on the seat.
I actually paid less for a beer in the pool bar of a 5 star hotel than I would in the front bar of a pub in Australia.
I really, really struggled with the food though...I always thought I liked Asian food but not HK style...I made a huge mistake by not eating at the food markets IMO.
I took my 2 kids on a shoestring - we had an absolute ball and didn't miss out on anything. We got an octopus card each which takes you everywhere, we also had the hair raising experience of being on a public bus driven by a rally driver...very memorable when they're hurtling down cliffs at 80 mph. The locals didn't turn a hair lol.
I've been to both cities, and I found HK to be more affordable and easier to get around as a foreigner. The costs of living in Tokyo are really expensive. It's also hard to find cheap hostels, unlike Hong Kong. As HK is more of an international city, a lot of people can speak English. There are tons of immigrants in HK, so no wonder. As a foreigner, I found it hard to order food and ask for help in Tokyo. Also, HK has much more to offer to a tourist, in terms of attractions, diversity, costs, etc.
Frankly speaking, the costs in both cities are now generally similar due to devaluation of Japanese Yen. Japan has a tax for things but tourists are entitled for a refund.
Budget accomodation are similar in costs. It is easier to find budget accomodation in HK than Japan due to more English in use in cheaper guesthouses.
Middle-priced hotels should also be similar in costs in both Tokyo and HK.
HK is easier for an english speaker than Japan. But that does not mean everybody in HK is very good in English.
Tokyo city trains can be difficult for a tourist with the big crowd. HK trains are usually not very crowded in non peak hours.
Tokyo's transport is very complicated. HK's underground train lines are easy. Basically, there are two main lines and you can forget about the other lines. The red line from Central crossing the harbor passing Kowloon's main areas. And a single blue line across northern HK Island. In Kowloon, the main road is Nathan Road. On Northern HK Island, a single tram line run through the urban areas, with a branch loop to Happy Valley. The tram fare is very cheap. Also there is the Star Ferry across Victoria Harbour which is dirt cheap as well.
You can also visit Mainland China from HK, a visa is requried for most nationalities, or Macau which waived visas for people from developed countries, or a visa can be obtained on arrivals for people from most countries for MOP100. Budget accomodation in Macau are few.
For Tokyo, you can explore some other regions of Japan too. I recommend a trip to Kyoto which can be done on 1-2 days.
Australia is actually more expensive than anywhere in Asia or the Americas.
And that was probably a Public Light Bus.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MsAnnThrope
I found HK to be very affordable.
Taxis are incredibly cheap by Aussie standards, you would go somewhere, be in a traffic jam for ages, finally get to your destination and the bill was $5.
In Australia it costs you $5 just to put your bum on the seat.
I actually paid less for a beer in the pool bar of a 5 star hotel than I would in the front bar of a pub in Australia.
I really, really struggled with the food though...I always thought I liked Asian food but not HK style...I made a huge mistake by not eating at the food markets IMO.
I took my 2 kids on a shoestring - we had an absolute ball and didn't miss out on anything. We got an octopus card each which takes you everywhere, we also had the hair raising experience of being on a public bus driven by a rally driver...very memorable when they're hurtling down cliffs at 80 mph. The locals didn't turn a hair lol.
I have absolutely no interest in visiting HK. Skyscrapers? Big deal. Couldn't care less. Shopping? Come on.. there are better places.
The OP is from Chicago, all I can say is that I found Tokyo to be cheaper than Chicago to visit. Hotels are a lot less expensive and food is great with many inexpensive options (by American standard). I didn't find Tokyo to be particularly expensive at all.
As to language, I can only say thank you and sorry in Japanese and I got around just fine for 8/9 days. Most people in the service business speak some English. For one week, spend a few days in Kyoto. Tokyo isn't worth all that much time.
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