The most efficient travel on earth. Trains that leave to the second, cities that work, and a language barrier that is more absolute than anywhere else in this guide.
What it is
Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan, Mongolia and Hong Kong. Enormously different from each other, and united mainly by a shared writing-system inheritance and a level of public infrastructure that makes most of the rest of the world look improvised.
The practical experience of travelling here is unlike anywhere else in this guide. Trains arrive to the second. Cities of twenty million are clean and safe at three in the morning. Convenience stores are genuinely good. Almost nothing goes wrong logistically — and when something does, the language barrier is more absolute than in any other region, because the scripts give you no foothold at all.
The four, briefly
Japan is the easiest country in the world to travel in and one of the most rewarding. Rail is superb, everything works, crime is negligible, and the gap between the tourist-facing surface and the actual culture is wide enough to keep you coming back. It is no longer cheap in the way it was, but a weak yen has made it far better value than a decade ago.
South Korea is compact, fast, and less visited than it deserves. Seoul is one of the great cities; the countryside, the temples and the coast are almost empty of foreign visitors.
Taiwan is the region’s most underrated destination: mountains, hot springs, night markets, superb food, straightforward visas and very low costs.
China is a continent. It requires more planning than the others — visa, a functioning payment app, a VPN if you need normal internet — and it repays it. The high-speed rail network is the largest on earth and makes distances trivial.
Seasons
Spring, late March to May, and autumn, October to November, are the two right answers everywhere in the region. Cherry blossom moves north through Japan across about six weeks from late March; autumn colour moves south from late October.
Summer is hot and very humid across most of the region, with a rainy season in Japan in June and typhoons from August. Winter is cold in the north — Beijing, Seoul and Hokkaido are properly cold — and is skiing season in Japan, which has the most reliable snow anywhere.
Avoid: Japan’s Golden Week (late April to early May) and Obon (mid-August), and Chinese New Year (late January or February), when hundreds of millions of people travel and everything is booked.
Rail
Japan Rail Pass — worth it only if you are covering long distances; the price rose sharply in 2023 and for many itineraries individual tickets are now cheaper. Do the arithmetic. Regional passes are often the better buy.
Korea’s KTX and Taiwan’s HSR are fast, cheap and need no pass.
China’s high-speed network covers 45,000km and is the best way to move around the country. Tickets require your passport number and are best booked in advance through an app.
The practical frictions
Cash and payments. Japan is still surprisingly cash-heavy outside cities. China runs almost entirely on WeChat Pay and Alipay, both of which now accept foreign cards but need setting up before you arrive — this is the single most important piece of China preparation.
Language. Translation apps with camera OCR are transformative here and worth downloading offline packs for.
Internet in China blocks most Western services. A VPN installed before arrival is necessary if you need Google, WhatsApp or Instagram.
Visas. Japan, Korea and Taiwan are visa-free for most nationalities. China has expanded visa-free transit and short-stay entry for many countries recently — check current rules, which have changed repeatedly.
Etiquette. Shoes off indoors in Japan and Korea. Tipping is not practised in Japan and can cause confusion. Queueing is taken seriously.
Costs
Japan is mid-range and better value than its reputation. Korea and Taiwan are cheaper. China is very cheap outside Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen. Hong Kong is expensive.
Accommodation is where budgets go. Business hotels in Japan and Korea are small, spotless and reasonably priced; hostels are excellent throughout.
More Regions
Southeast Asia
The region that taught a generation how to travel cheaply and is still the easiest place on earth to do it. Warm, connected, and far more varied than the circuit suggests.
The Andes
The longest mountain range on earth, running the length of a continent, with the altitude that shapes every decision you make about travelling in it.
East Africa
The Serengeti and the Mara, Kilimanjaro, the Rift Valley lakes and the Swahili coast — and the safari industry that sits on top of all of it.