My wife and I, along with our two adult children, are heading from the US to Hong Kong in January. We have eight nights and thought we would stay in Hong Kong for four nights and either Shanghai or Tokyo for the other four nights. However, I'm having a real hard time deciding between the two cities. (By the way, we eliminated Beijing due to the cold temps in January.) Any advice would be appreciated.

china will require an expensive visa ($200. each).

why not just stay in HK and visit macau for a couple of days.. there is plenty to do around HK for a week

I could easily spend a whole week in Hong Kong (and have more than once). A side trip to Macau is fun.

You have to decide if you want to divide your time between two cities and whether you are willing to pay for the China visa for a four day visit.

Maybe Tokyo, so that you'll have experienced a Chinese as well as a Japanese city. Have any of you been to either country before? That would be relevant.

Do you have any specific questions about either city?

Have you considered Kyoto as the 2nd city?

For those visiting Japan for the 1st time, I find Kyoto to be a lot more approachable than Tokyo. Kyoto is chock-full of places that most interest tourists (Japanese gardens, temples, and neighborhoods that reflect "Old Japan"), and the areas that appeal most to tourists are in a much more compact area than is the case with Tokyo. There are several flights a day from Hong Kong to Osaka (Kansai Airport, or KIX), which is the airport that serves Kyoto. Although there are very few flights from KIX to the U.S., it's easy to get from Kyoto to Tokyo's airports.

I too would not want the hassle and expense of a Chinese visa (or 4 visas, in your case) for only 4 days unless
a) finances were of little consequence, or
b) there was something that I reallly wanted to see and do in Shanghai, or
c) I was applying for a multiple entry visa and going to go back to China sometime in the following year.

That said, combining Hong Kong and Shanghai in one itinerary is certainly appealing and feels richer to me than a little bit of Chinese culture and a little bit of Japanese culture.

Only you know what you really want from this trip though. We are just teasing out some of the issues so that at some point you can say, "Aha, that's it!" when you figure out what would be most satisfying for the four of you.

Lots of us here will advise you to stay in Hong Kong for the whole time because we know that there is plenty to do and see. A daytrip to Macau, as suggested above, is easy and would expose you to something culturally distinctive from Hong Kong during your stay.

By not taking time out to fly elsewhere, you will have more time on the ground for actually seeing and doing things. That day that you would fly to Japan -- checking out, getting to the airport, flying, getting to and settling into a new hotel -- would take the better part of a day for most groups of four. If that process is part of the fun for you though, then time "lost" in transfer isn't a problem at all. Again, personal preferences.

A better way to think about this decision might involve considering some of your and your family's interests. What do you most want to see and do on this trip? If you indicate your interests and budget, people here can steer you to what feels like a good match.

While you are assessing how many nights you really want to spend in Hong Kong, you would do well to review the postings here by "Cicerone" who is an expat living in Hong Kong and who writes gloriously inspiring and detailed observations on hotels, restaurants, cultural attractions, history, shopping, and most topics that you could hope to consider in planning a Kong Kong stay.

Thanks everyone. You all hit on my concerns. First of all, this is a first time visit for all of us. And to know a little about us, we've all been through much of Europe and we're pretty seasoned travelers. In terms of what we like to do -- the major sights are most important. Plus we enjoy wondering through neighborhoods and shopping. However, since we live in Philadelphia and the kids live in New York, going to a store like Tiffany doesn't excite us. We can do that here. However, if the prices are cheaper or the stores are unique to the city, great! As for museums, we go to the must see ones -- Louvre, Prado, British Museum, etc. and we really enjoy them. Otherwise, we don't spend much time in "minor" ones. We like being outdoors exploring the city.

Our original thought was to stay in Hong Kong the entire time. However, a few people said that we may run out of things to do. And since there's a chance that we'll never come back, we thought that if we got two cities in on this trip, then that would be great. So, that led me to think about Tokyo. Why Tokyo? Only because I was looking for the easiest (meaning nonstop) way to get back and forth from New York. And I thought we would at least get a taste of two cultures.

As for Macau -- I don't know much about it other than ads I've seen for gambling. Plus, in January, I don't think it will be warm enough to enjoy the pools at the hotels. If that's the case, we're not real interested.

Hopefully, this gives you some more information. I appreciate the responses.

Macau is well worth a visit. It has some lovely historic areas to visit and some superb restaurants at a much lower prices than Hong Kong. We spent a day there and never set foot in a casino. Next time I'd do and overnight trip to Macau.

People who think you will run out of things to do in Hong Kong haven't spent much time there. You know how people will visit a place and have the sense that they have "seen it all" when thay have only seen the surface? I can only guess that is what happened for people who think you will run out of things to see and do.

If you truly will never come back to this part of the world, why not have a more intense experience of one place than to skim the surface of two? On the other hand, most of us here are thoroughly addicted to Asia and return annually. You may get bitten by the Asia bug as well.

Do read some of Cicerone's wonderful posts about Hong Kong.

While I can find interesting for anyone to do in HK for 8 days, I find it silly to fly all the way from the US just for Hong Kong. I'd add Tokyo. Beijing too much trouble with visas just for 4 days.

Even with just 4 days in Hong Kong, a day trip or overnight trip to Macau is highly recommended.

I concur with the other posters that there's plenty to do in Hong Kong to keep you occupied for a week. When we think of HK, we often think about the urban core (myself included!), but there's much more to it. During my visit a couple of years ago, I took a day trip to Lantau Island, which was fun. The Po Lin Monastery is worth a visit, as well as the Tai O fishing village. There's also the New Territories, where you can see some of the clan walled villages, which are still inhabited today. Go to Sai Kung for some of the freshest seafood; you can purchase the seafood live and have it cook to order. The trails on HK island itself and on Victoria Peak is a nice way to spend a day.

And there's always Macau if you want something different. I was there for two days the last time I visited, and only stepped foot in a casino because I stayed at one of the casino hotels. The historic center feels very much like a small Portuguese town, but the back lanes and alleys are very much traditional Chinese.

However, if you really want to visit Shanghai, and do not want to fork over the money for visas, perhaps you can consider transiting without visa (TWOV). Assuming you're carrying a US or Western European passport, and have connecting flights that depart Shanghai within 48 hours or less of your arrival, you don't need a visa. Just have to show that you have confirmed seats on a flight leaving Shanghai within 48 hours.

Hope this helps.