My husband and I are going to be in Hong Kong for 3 days in June and would love to visit one other place for another 5 days. We have never been to Asia before and would be grateful for your suggestions.

We are flying to and from the US, and because of the short time frame, would like to keep travel to a reasonable minimum. Currently we are thinking of spending the 5 days in Tokyo, especially because we can fly back to DC directly from there.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Tokyo is certainly doable, albeit it is a longish flight from Hong Kong and it could take most of the day to get there, so you may only end up with only 4 days. Look at flight schedules to make sure this works. You might consider Beijing, a shorter flight and you could easily spend 5 days there, or do a one-nighter to a place like Xian. You should be able to get a non-stop from Beijing to some US cities.

I am not sure I would spend 5 days in Tokyo, IMO you should get to the “real” Japan like Kyoto or Osaka; as Tokyo is a very large city with not a whole lot to see.

Definitely Beijing. There is so much to see if you have 5 days--the Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Tiannamen Sq, Great Wall.

I have been to Xian, but I wouldn't spend a lot of time there--just see the Terra Cotta soldiers.

What about Angkor Wat? It is truly an amazing experience.

Singapore? Bangkok?

We are planning a trip to Singapore and Borneo for this coming July!!

HKG-NRT takes 3 hours 45 minutes
HKG-PEK takes 3 hours 15 minutes
OP will save a couple of hours by taking the UA or NH nonstop from NRT to IAD versus a stop, probably at ORD, traveling from PEK. Early June would be good in Japan. Going to Beijing is an excellent idea. Maybe consider Hanoi, depending on weather.

There is quite a bit to do/see in and around Tokyo; there are whole guidebooks just on the city. Arguably more to see there and no less the real Japan than Osaka, another big city. Kyoto is of course the cultural heart of Japan and you could fly into Osaka, visit Kyoto, then take the shinkansen to Tokyo and fly the NRT-IAD nonstop. United doesn't fly between HKG and Osaka but ANA surely does.

FWIW, I highly recommend getting out in Japan beyond Tokyo AND Kyoto/Osaka.

While I can think of all kinds of places to go, I'd suggest that three days is not enough time in Hong Kong. I think you would be better off spending all of your time in Hong Kong, with an overnight trip to Macau.

My point on the flights to Japan was to look at the TIMES of the flights; most of the flights from Hong KOng tend to leave mid-day or morning. With the flight time and the 2 hours it takes to get from Narita to Tokyo via the train (plus customs and immigration, etc), it takes basically all day to get between Hong Kong and Tokyo. I do this as a business trip a few times each quarter and the flight times are pretty inconvenient. Conversely, there are several flights a day to Beijing and time from the airport is much faster so IMO going to Bejing from Hong Kong is an easier trip.

United has applied for a new nonstop route between Beijing and IAD. I read that it could start as early as March. This would make it very convenient for D.C. travel, as convenient as Tokyo is.

Be aware the Beijing is cold at the moment and you will need a visa for China.