Asia - Pick a city: 5 days in December

I was planning on doing a 5 day (Monday-Saturday) trip to Bangkok before meeting some friends in Japan, but with the recent unrest and violence there, that isn't looking so good. So now I need to find a backup place to go in the event it isn't safe for me to go to BKK. I would be there from December 15-20.

The criteria are:
Must be accessible by *A nonstop/one stop from NRT
Must be affordable
Must be (reasonably) safe

I have been considering SIN (expensive though), PVG or PEK (need $130 visa), TPE, HKG, and Ho Chi Minh City. I am a guy in my 20s traveling alone. Looking at hostels briefly tonight, it seems like HKG is much more expensive than PVG (but I don't need a visa).

Will the "on the ground" expenses like food and public transportation be significantly less in Shanghai/Beijing (or another Chinese city) compared to HKG, thus making up the difference in Visa costs? Are there other cities (not in Japan, we are spending three weeks there) I should look into?

Any other recommendations/considerations you can tell me?
Thanks for the help.

I think TPE meets all your criteria.

You don't need a visa. Plenty of non-stop TPE-NRT flights. I heard sometimes when you have TPE in your itinerary, you'll get a better price :D. TPE may not be the least expensive city from your list, but you can get by within a small budget. Small eats in Taipei (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10404707&postcount=93) are affordable and Taiwanese foods do attract tourists to Taipei from Hong Kong. Why spending more in Hong Kong? :p Besides, I read a recent article (in Chinese) on couch surfing in TPE. That will save you some dough.

Since you are in your 20s, I do believe you can visit a fair amount of Taipei and other cities in Taiwan in 5 days, using public transportation (metro, trains..etc). Unfortunately, you have to leave before Xmas. Meaning you'll have to miss the biggest New Year Party (Taipei 101 Fireworks Show).

Taipei is more English-friendly than the other part of Taiwan. The road signs can still be confusing though. ;) I recently had a post about Taipei in December (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showpost.php?p=10788443&postcount=106). You'll find other nice spots/recommendaton reading the rest of that thread.

Hope this helps!

I don't think the "on the ground" price difference between HKG and PVG is big enough to make up for the $130 visa. Public transport in HKG is quite affordable, as is eating local food where the locals eat it. Accommodation will be your biggest expense.

That said, I think you need to also factor in the weather here: HKG, PVG and especially PEK will be wintery and cold, while BKK and SIN are tropical. It's also very easy to hop on from SIN to Malaysia.