I was wondering if anyone here has been to Hong Kong/Japan. I'm going there in July. Any recommendations for a noob going there for the first time? What kind of weather in early July? Places to stay, sites to see, things to eat, etc.?

Staying in Hong Kong for a week, then to Tokyo for another week.

Thanks!

 

GO TO KOREA!!!!

 

haha, it'll be muggy, warm, humid, monsoon weather... expect to take lots of showers, and make sure you take enough money to Japan, you'll get muuuuuch more for your money in Hong Kong than in Japan...

 

you should go to bookstore and get a frommers guide or lonley planet - a week at each destination is plenty of time to see major landmarks and touristy things, if it's your first time i highley suggest the books first!

as DJsang said - it's warm and muggy...FUN!

 

The hotels in Hong Kong are truly opulent. we had good experiences in following hotels: Peninsula, Island Shangri-La, Grand Hyatt. Of the three, Peninsula is probably the most historical and luxurious. Grand Hyatt is newer and probably has the best view of the picturesque Hong Kong harbor. Each of these hotels provide limo service from the airport for a very reasonable fee. For example, during our stays, Shangri-La sent antique Rolls-Royce Limo and Grand Hyatt sent recent model Mercedes Limo. Definitely worth the money.

Each of the hotels have day tours designed for the first time visitors and it is a good way to get an overview of Hong Kong. You can ask the tour guide for more info. However, for us, the real reason to visit Hong Kong is for their fantastic Cantonese Cuisine. Each of the hotels mentioned above have great restaurants and room service that provide unbelievable quality dishes. Don't forget to try Dim-Sum for breakfast or lunch.

Have fun!

 

i was just there two weeks ago. hong kong is a very fun play. i stop by a few local speed show. crazy racing is one of them. they have a very nice R34 there. Anywere in hong kong is fun. just too damn hot right now that's all.

 

Thanks for the input guys! I'll be sure to get those books.

As for the limo ride, I dont think my hotel has it...d'oh! My friend booked the rooms at the 'metropole' or something like that in HK, and i'm staying at the Shinjuku Prince in Tokyo.

 

Narita airport is far from just about everything. I suggest getting familiar with the train systems. They are far cheaper than Taxi service when getting from the airport to wherever you are going. You can get from Narita airport to just about anywhere via train.

Station locations and information are both written in Japanese and English. Tickets can be bought at the machines that look a lot like ATMs.

Learning the hiragana alphabet would be a plus, and definitely get the name of the station in Shinjuku near the hotel in Kanji (chinese characters) and memorize its pronunciation. That way, if you get lost, you can always ask and show the destination at the station or with a taxi.

And after typing all that, they do have a shuttle service...

http://www.narita-airport.or.jp/airport_e/.../bus/index.html

It's the topmost in the list. Or:

http://www.princehotelsjapan.com/ShinjukuP...ettingthere.asp

 

That shuttle will come in very handy! Thx.

I took 2 years of japanese in college. Hopefully i can remember some...

 

From the maps, it appears that you should just take the bus to the JR Shinjuku station. It does not go directly to the hotel. The hotel is north of the station a few blocks away. So catching a cab might be prudent from Shinjuku station, especially if you have a bit of luggage.

I hope you have a good sense of direction when you get there. It's very easy to get lost in the city and outlying areas. That's why it's a good idea to learn how to get from your hotel to the station, and use the station as a central point to go about the city. All the locals know where the station is, and many of the interesting places are just a stone's throw from there. Don't try any "short cuts". I tried that once and I was wandering around the city (Kurume, in Kyushu) for hours, always "just missing" the station.