Yes, this was my first trip to Japan. People keep telling me "you must go see the cherry blossoms" every time I mentioned I was planning a trip to Japan. I get it. I went during a high season. And I was expecting crowds. But I wasn't expecting to get bodychecked everywhere I go. Even in Hong Kong, people generally will try to avoid walking right INTO you. Not in Japan. I'm surprised there's not more tramplings. It's like Walmart on Black Friday, but with no particular place to be - it's just everywhere!

Don�t assume that all those tourists were Japanese. When I visited Hong Kong I read on local newspaper about local people at Hong Kong complaining about bad manners of tourists, especially tourists from main land China. Same thing is happening in Japan lately. Local Japanese people are complaining about bad manners of tourists from outside of Japan. Some places in Kyoto it is getting to be serious problem.

My experience has been the same. The really rude masses of tourists tend to be foreign visitors, not Japanese. One of my pastimes when in crowded areas, like Nakamise-Dori in Asakusa or Kiyomizu-dera or Heian Jingu in Kyoto is to see how many languages I can identify. In crowds, most have been something other than Japanese.

thanks for all the information everyone. I had planned on flying into NRT, visiting kyoto, and then to HKG before flying back to DFW.

I would be booking most of the stays on points, BOGO, cash+points. IDK how that would factor in with the hotel crowding.

Also is it difficult for english speakers to navigate around in japan or HKG? I dont speak japanese so it would be an important factor for me getting around the area.

I don't know about Hong Kong, other than that it is a former British colony, so you are likely to find English speakers around.

As for Japan, all major signs in airports, train and subway stations, etc., are in English and Japanese, and increasingly in Korean and Chinese as well. The affordable restaurants are likely to have either picture menus or plastic models of the foods in the window.

Everyone under the age of about 70 has had at least a bit of English in school, although they may not remember it. Speak slowly, and if that doesn't work, write down your question in block letters. Naturally, younger people remember more English than older people, and you may be lucky enough to run into someone who has lived overseas and speaks very good English.

In addition, there are a lot of expatriates in the major cities of Japan. I don't currently live in Japan, but on nearly every trip, I've had tourists stop and ask me questions, most of which I can answer.

If you ask the price of something, store clerks are likely to show it to you on a calculator.

Yes. HK is quite accesssible to English speakers. In all but the tiniest mom and pop stores and restaurants, you'll be able to use English. That said, it can take a while to get accustomed to the accent. It might not sound like English to you at first.

I'm not as sure about Jpn (since I'm a native and don't speak English there), but I just know that most Japanese people's English conversational ability is basically non-existent. That said, all of my American acquaintances that have traveled to Jpn managed to get around everywhere and get everything they needed just fine.

In HKG, you won't have much problem especially in areas where tourists go and expats reside. There are just far greater % of foreign residents in HKG than Tokyo, and so the locals are accustomed to dealing with foreigners/expats. But HKers' English skills vary, and I would say most HKers are far from fluent in English. In places like Admiralty, you might hear more English than Cantonese. But in certain other parts of HKG (which you likely won't head into), English is hardly spoken.

Very true.