North-East Asia branch Frequently Asked Questions thread

This branch covers China (inc. Hong Kong and *Macau*), Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan and Tibet. Other information about the region can be found under Lonely Planet Destinations.
Inside this thread we hope you'll find the answers to all your questions, if not, feel free to share anything you feel is missing!

SEEKING TRAVEL COMPANIONS OR TREK PARTNERS? Please post only on our Travel Companions branch, not here on the destination branches. Any such topics posted on this branch will normally be moved by the moderators to the Travel Companions branch without notice. If you also have a travel question then please post it as a separate topic on the appropriate travel branch.

*Choosing a... more »

Chinese Visa Sticky

Until recently, it was relatively easy to get a Chinese visa. The situation has changed beginning about mid March and it is expected to remain unstable until well after the Olympics.
It is now impossible to get a 6 or 12 month multiple entry business visa.
It is now impossible to get entries longer than 30 days.
In many embassies and consulates it would appear impossible to get a double entry tourist visa.
It has been reported that beginning July, it may be difficult to impossible to get extensions.

From Hong Kong's South China Morning Post, April 6:
"Beijing has stopped issuing multiple-entry visas, risking major inconvenience to foreigners who travel to the mainland regularly, especially on business. Hong Kong travel agents say the ban will stay in place until after the Olympic Games.
+Travellers are now restricted to single- or double-entry visas valid for 30 days. ... more »

¥4,000 single room in central Tokyo location?

Hello all,

Im looking for private room for ¥4,000 or less in as central location in Tokyo as possible. Im hoping to spend at least a week there and it will be my first time in Japan. I don't care how small it is and am of course expecting to share a bathroom.

I would prefer not to use a capsule hotel for such a long stay.

It must be close to good transport links.

I have spent plenty of time searching the internet and on here but have not found a great deal.

Kimi Ryokan sounds good but also quite far from place. Google maps predicts that it is over minutes from Ryoguko. Is that right?

Kimi Ryokan is in Ikebukuro area
Juyoh hotel sounds good and is in Taito-ku area.
Palace Japan is also in Taito-ku area.

If anyone has any other options that I can investigate or advice on which of these has the best location for the average tourist spending a week in Tokyo that ... more »

Shanghai Bar and Maglev+

I really want to go up one of the tall buildings in Pudong and wonder which you would recommend and which bar would have the best view for a drink at dusk? Also where is a good place to experience watching the Maglev. It sounds more fun to see than be on it or am i wrong? Thanks

HK-Xi'an

Hello all!

I was about to buy the airline ticket to Xi'an, but just noticed that the High Speed Railway Train from Shenzhen to Xi'an was open.

So, we are thinking of trade the flight for the train. It s almost same time (9:30 hs train, vs 2:30hs plane + 3 hs before to check in and 1 hs later until get your bag ), and it s a great experience (300km/h !).

Here is my question:

How much time you estimate from Tsim Sha Tsui to Railway Station in Shenzhen? (including crossing the frontier ).

Thanks!.-

LOI approved by MFA Mongolia

Dear All,

My girlfriend is Indonesian and plan to apply visa Mongolia in Consulate of Mongolian in Jakarta

The consulate need letter of invitation that approved by MFA Mongolia in Ulan Batar

Can somebody inform how to get this letter without need to join expensive tour ? i browse that i can get from Zaya Hostel but i need to book room for minimum 3 nights (quite expensive and we dont plan to stay there )

here is the requirement :

INVITATION by the receiving party in Mongolia APPROVED by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and/or Office of Immigration, Naturalization and Foreigners Registration of Mongolia in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. (Approval process can take up to 3 weeks depending on the nationality of the applicant).

Holder of indonesian passport should ask his/her host company/organization/tour operator based in Mongolia write... more »

Jiaxing

I'm going to be in the Jiangsu/Zhejiang region this weekend (Mainly in Suzhou) and, as I'll have to head to Shanghai to get my train back, was considering taking a little excursion and was wondering if Jiaxing is worth spending any time in? What is there (For a history-buff) to do and see? Where can the Grand Canal be best viewed? How much time (In terms of hours, not days) is it worth (If, of course, it is worth it)?

JR pass (osaka, kyoto, jigokudani, tokyo)

hi there,

i am travelling to japan (first time!) with my boyfriend in november for two weeks, flying into osaka and out through tokyo, making our way across central japan and was considering getting the JR pass for at least 7 days to cover costs of the bullet train but not too sure what it actually covers.

our itinerary is:
arrive in osaka at night (day 0)
day 1. explore osaka
day 2. explore osaka
day 3. day trip to nara
day 4. leave osaka for kyoto early in the morning by train, explore kyoto
day 5. leave kyoto for jigokudani early in the morning by train
day 6. leave jigokudani for tokyo in the afternoon by train, stopover in gunma for a few hours maybe
day 7 - 16. explore tokyo

we are tossing up between buying a JR pass to save money on all the travelling between cities (a 7 day pass as most of our time is spent in tokyo) but are not sure if it will cover all t... more »

Beijing less than 24 hr stopover

Hello fellow travellers,

I'm looking for some advice on what to do on my very short stopover in Beijing. I'll be getting in about 11pm at night and will be leaving at 1pm the next day.

Is it reasonable to think that i'll have time to stay at a hotel outside of the airport grounds? Is it easy to get there at that time of night? Is it safe for a 20 something year old female travelling alone? What are the highlights that i could see?

I'm not huge on shopping but i'd love to try some great food, maybe check out an art gallery or some sight seeing.

Any suggestions very welcome.

thanks

Air quality in Nagasaki

Hi everyone, my husband and I are in Nagasaki after a week in lovely Kyoto. Nagasaki is very beautiful and interesting, and of course we went to the Atomic Bomb Hypocenter and Museum which was very moving. We didn't expect that the air quality would be so bad, though. It seems if pollution (and sand?) is blowing in from mainland China and is making it hard to enjoy walking around. So we may have to go to the penguin museum today. I found a website that is helping us to double-check our itinerary based on air quality:

http://aqicn.org/?map

Happy travels, everyone. Sayonara!