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...

Thanks Honey

OP I don’t have disdain for how a stranger on the internet chooses to spend their holidays. I actually couldn’t care less. It is however really difficult to offer constructive advice to someone who despite claiming to have always wanted to travel around China and Japan, doesn’t actually seem to know much about either of them and is focussing on Disney theme parks. If you want a Disney holiday that’s great but it’s going to be very different to a trip focussed on actually seeing the country.

As I said You’d probably get better and more specific advice if you were clearer about your interests and what you want to see/do, and how long your trip is for, as that would allow posters to give you more specific info.

But as you don’t answer any questions and take offence when they’re asked, this is a bit too much like hard work for me, so I’ll Simply wish you luck and leave you to it.

Veterinari, no offence taken, I was very clear however on the places I wanted to go. (two being in mainland China ;))

Thanks i’m aware of the geography - having lived in China, HK and Japan.

Enjoy Beijing, Shanghai and Disney on your ‘bucket list’ trip as it sounds like you don’t actually want to consider anywhere else, have any discussion, or answer any questions about the duration of trip. Not really sure why you posted tbh

Because it’s ticking cities off a list with Disney in the mix!

Bubbles - we all appreciate that you don't 'approve', but as OP has already stated she asked for advice not criticism.

I posted because I wanted to know if people with more specific knowledge of these places thought it would be possible to do Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing in one trip, specifying the Disney parks and ‘some other tourist stuff’

That’s pretty clear no?

I spent 10 days in Japan and flew into Tokyo, then bullet train to Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka (flew back from here). We barely scratched the surface of Tokyo. It's enormous, interesting and very safe.
Kyoto is beautiful. Osaka is brilliant and felt different to everywhere else. Hiroshima made me want to cry about how shit humans are.
We'll go back to Japan at some point, but not for a few years.

We looked at adding on China but the distances to the stuff we wanted to see (terracotta warriors, great wall and Bejing) are absolutely vast.
You need to look at a map and look at the distances between cities and how you travel between them.
To do justice to each place you need at least 10 days in both countries.

Beijing to Shanghai is 1226km according to Google.
And
Shanghai to Hong Kong is the same again.

London to Rome is 1600km for context

I posted because I wanted to know if people with more specific knowledge of these places thought it would be possible to do Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Beijing in one trip, specifying the Disney parks and ‘some other tourist stuff’

And yet you’ve ignored the info given to you by people with specific knowledge of those places, ignored suggestions/discussion points for suggested places to visit and repeatedly ignored questions about the duration of your planned trip making it impossible for anyone to advise you.

Because I don’t have a planned duration currently, it’s open to suggestion.

Hey, I wouldn’t personally like your itinerary, but it is very possible to start in Hong Kong and then take the bullet train to SH and then BJ.

From BJ you can just take a three hour flight to Tokyo (can be quite cheap through LCCs) if all you care to see is Disneyland.

I’ve either lived or visited all these places and agree they could get a bit samey-samey after awhile. Only Beijing has its own unique flavor and doesn’t have that generic big city in Asia feel.

Interesting thread, I clicked on it because it's also my dream holiday - except without any of the Disney

I'm hoping to do a 2 week trip (DH thinks he can only take 2 weeks off work). With older teens who would be equally interested in these countries.

How much do you think I can squeeze in? I've never been to mainland China but could drop Shanghai off the list. We definitely want to see some of the Wall, and the terracotta army. I suppose if we go to Beijing, we'd have to brave the crowds and see the Forbidden Palace too. And I'd like to go to Tiannemen Square.

How much of Japan could I fit in? Tokyo and Kyoto only in that time scale?

Could I round my trip off in HK (stop to see friends without DH...)?

It sounds like there's so much to see and so many places to go, yummy food to try, I can't wrap my head around squeezing it all into a fornight... I'd be grateful for your ideal itinerary.

Sorry Mary, didn't intend to hijack your thread I might go and start my own.

I've done similar. It's fine. You can fly between cities easily enough. There are local airlines that are cheaper if you Google such as Peach airlines and Shanghai airlines. You seem to have a good idea of where you want to go, so it's just a case of researching times and booking everything. Just be aware that the jet lag can be pretty bad travelling East.

Hijack away

Depends where in China. Shanghai or Hong Kong or Beijing then definitely - the flight to Tokyo (and Seoul if you want to do South Korea) won’t be bad. If you’re in Taiwan or somewhere up in the sticks it would just take too long.

JaneR0chester In this case, I’d split into two trips. China/Japan can’t really be done justice in two weeks unless there’s just one specific city you want to see (in OP’s case, just Tokyo).

But if you only have one trip, and you want to see the Terracotta Warriors (massively overrated imo, better things to see in China) you could do like this: Beijing-Xian-Beijing with overnight rail (three days in BJ, two in Xian) fly to either Tokyo or Osaka and explore Japan via JR rail pass. Osaka is the better city in terms of eating/drinking/theme parks and has Kyoto/Nara on its doorstep. Tokyo is around 5 hours away by high-speed train, but around Tokyo is Kamakura and Niko which are both worthwhile to see.

I did it this yeat. CRuised with norwegian
Flew to Hong Kong and had 2 days 2 nights
Then cruised for 11 days along China and Japan. It was the Norwegian Jewel so I expect you can see the itinerary online
Ended with 2 days in Tokyo
I’d re visit Hong Kong, Japan and Tokyo but not China. The people and places were soulless and a bit bleak
Interesting to drive through and listen to the guide but temples and stuff just seemed soulless. Unused. Well kept but just there for tourists almost
In Japan the people were sooooo welcoming so amazingly attentive and whilst they have destroyed a lot of culture in their bid to westernise, (no buildings over 150 yrs old I believe) the places that were there were still loved and attended and used
We saw a wedding in a temple and the parade and babies being blessed and people in kimonos going about their business. Bloody loved it!!

We managed to visit Tiannanmen Square the day blummin Kim Jong Un came so weren’t allowed to stop or anything. Just drive by gawping at the endless armed soldiers everywhere (alternate soldiers had a fire extinguisher at their feet due to the risk of self emoloation)

I would not bother with HK Disneyland. It's tiny and really not that great. If it's busy the lines can be insane for really short ride times. Ocean Park is better IMO. HK can be a really fun place to visit with some beautiful country parks and decent beaches (not S Africa/ Australia great, but pretty good) and a reasonable amount of interesting cultural land marks but I wouldn't recommend during the summer months- it can be ridiculously wet.

Cant comment on Tokyo as I've only ever been for work or the marathon.

Thanks Mary

Pineapple what other places in China would you recommend? I've only ever been to HK, and know little but am keen to see as much as we can.

I fear a 2 week trip won't do both countries justice and we'll have to choose one or the other for this trip...

Jane - I live in China and recommend the following:
Xi'an is more than warriors. You can cycle around the city wall, visit the drum tower, big goose pagoda and little goose pagoda. Many Uighers (one of China's ethnic groups) study in xi'an and there is a decent Muslim market there which is interesting to wander around.
Guilin for the limestone karsts - stunning scenery.
Chengdu for pandas and about 2-3 hours to the giant Buddha.
Xiamen to visit the round houses.
Nanjing is a beautiful and the former capital of China - only 1 hour 40 from Shanghai on high speed train. Great museums and nowhere near as exhausting as Shanghai. Also Suzhou (for the gardens) is only 30 mins from Shanghai on the train.