Has anyone ever been to Japan and China as one Trip?

[MaryPoppinsPenguins]

Just that really... I have them on my bucket list!

I want to do both in one trip (as they are very far away and slightly close to each other!)

DH thinks it will be too much.

I want to do Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and Tokyo. (General tourist stuff and the Disney parks too)

DD’s will be 6 and 8/9...

Tokyo is the capital of Japan.

Not been there. But thoroughly recommend Hong Kong.

I meant to say Japan and China! (I’ll ask munsnet to Edit!)

• [Message from MNHQ - we've sorted this now]

If I could only go to one Japanese city, it’d be Kyoto.

Do you think just going to Tokyo on the Japan part is really missing out then? If I’m honest, all I know about Kyoto comes from reading Memoirs of a Geisha and I hadn’t considered it...

It’s pretty difficult to fly into Japan without entering via Tokyo...
do you mean China and Japan in one trip?

In which case it surely depends on how long the trip is that you’re planning. But i’d Leave at least a month for it. There are loads of amazing places in China you’ve not mentioned (xi’an, Yangshuo) if they’re really in your bucket list don’t you want to see more than just a few big cuties? And ditto Japan is more than Tokyo

In how long? If you take a month it’s easy. If you aim to do it in a week, you’re mad. Flying first class or cattle class? Tour guides or solo? Eating local or western? Experienced travellers or new? Asia experience or not? All of these make it easier, or harder so you need to plan more carefully.

Korea and Japan in three weeks is comfortable pace so I would imagine similar if visiting Beijing/Shanghai

There is at least one thread in visiting Japan with kids, if not more. Search goes a long way.

*cities

Oh and Japan includes Lots of big and interesting cities. Not just Kyoto and Tokyo but Osaka, Fukuoka, Kagoshima, Nikki (town but still!) let alone Hiroshima, and the nearby island. Etc etc etc

As I said, I meant to say Japan and China, writing Japan and Tokyo was an error...

I was thinking three weeks. But maybe DH is right then and it’s not doable...

We would fly economy but have flown similar to Australia, and LA with our DD’s and they coped fine with the flight.

With regards to food, one DD will eat anything and is great at trying things... while one is the fussiest eater in the world and would happily exist on beige food.

I want to do Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo Disneyland (and DisneySea) for the kids... with enough time to see some ‘real’ places and also include Beijing.

I would do it as 2 trips. It’s a lot of internal travelling for children of that age.
I think there is more culture to appreciate in Japan, so I would wait till the dcs are older.
I have only been to China once, only southern bit and was disappointed by the lack of historical architecture ( after the cultural revolution).
I wasn’t keen on Hong Kong; too built up and hectic

If you’ve been to LA presume you’ve already taken your dc to Disneyland. Seems a bit of waste going to Tokyo to experience a Japanese disneyland. Japan is one of my dream destinations and I would want to go to Kyoto and Osaka as well.

They’ve been to LA, Orlando and Paris disney parks... but they watch YouTube etc of the Far East parks so much, they’re desperate to go so I’d like to include it if I can.

I think it's possible actually.

What attracts you to Shanghai? It's ok, but not that spectacular. Beijing has a lot more to do and visit IMO. Hong Kong is superb. There is a Disney there too, plus a good local theme park (ocean park or something?)

Yes, ocean park is the local HK one.
I would do two separate trips. HK is great - Disney, ocean park, the peak, star ferry, some decent museums and you could take cable car to Lantau Island.
Re China I would include xi'an, chengdu and Guilin with Shanghai and Beijing. You could also visit Suzhou from Shanghai - about 30 mins on the train.
I think Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, and HK is one big city after another which can be quite tiring.

All that way for Disney? Words fail me! Try something Japanese. It’s an amazing country. You would spend a lot of time travelling with your suggested itinerary and see little culture.

I have just done this trip. 10 days of 4 nights Hong Kong where we did Disney and then other tourist things , then flew to Tokyo, stayed 3 days at Disney, then moved hotel to central Tokyo and did day trips there.
Was great, the Disney parks were excellent. Next time we'll do some other parts of Japan and maybe Shanghai for the final Disney park. We didn't want to try too much in one trip. We did find Hong Kong very very hot in may so would take more notice of temperature for another trip.
The 19 hour flight back (via Hong Kong) was a killer though!

If you go to HK, make sure you spend a day at a beach. Amazing beaches there, and lots are accessible by public transport. We went in the winter but the water was beautifully warm, and we had it to ourselves. (read up on Shark nets before you pick a beach though, some are removed in the winter)

I'm not a Disney fan, but Hong Kong was much better than Orlando or Paris. Cleaner and much less crowded. Food was better too - all the kids were running round with packets of dried squid as opposed to candyfloss or sweets.

It really depends what you want. If your priorities are Asian Sisbey then go to Tokyo and Hong Kong. But it’s cetainly not seeing China or Japan (in fact it’s not actually touching Mainland China) so it’s a bit pointless asking for advice on that.

You’d probably get better and more specific advice if you were clearer about your interests and what you want to see/do. Asian Disney tourism is fine but is not the same as actual travel in China or Japan

How is Shanghai or Beijing not mainland China?

I think I’ve been very clear on what I would like to do. If you have disdain for taking children to Disney, maybe this isn’t the thread for you?

Ignore the Disney comments.
Tokyo Disney is great as is Disney sea and visiting them does give you an insight into Japanese culture. It's the only Disney park where I have seen teenage girls taking a pull along suitcase to the park for all their make up and styling products and then spend the entire time perfecting their look and taking selfies!

DisneySea looks incredible on YouTube, really unlike any other.

I think veterinari meant HKG is not mainline China.

Mainland