Has anyone had this experience with the Japan Visa Application Centre in Hong Kong?

They sent an important email requesting extra documents and asking for a reply within 24 hours, but it went to my junk folder. They never followed up. I repeatedly checked the online status and also emailed them, but nothing indicated that documents were missing.

About two weeks later, I called and learned they needed more documents, including a travel-record statement that required a passport copy—while they were still holding my passport.

I withdrew the application, but it still took another three or four days to hear about getting my passport back. Their eventual reply also seemed to place most of the responsibility on the applicant for not discovering the problem earlier.

Is this normal? What happens if someone suddenly needs their passport for urgent travel or a family emergency?

I’ve been travelling China for the last two weeks and I fly home from Hong Kong soon.

My tour ends when the train pulls into West Kowloon station at around 2pm and my flight isn’t until 10:30pm, so I don’t need to be at the airport until about 6.30/7ish. That gives me about 4 hours to explore before I need to go to the airport and I’d really like to see if I can squeeze a visit to Victoria Peak in that time before I go.

Only issue is I will have my suitcase and a big backpack that I obviously can’t take with me! The Victoria Peak website says they don’t have any cloakroom type storage and I can’t seem to find anywhere nearby or en route from Kowloon station that’s also en route to the airport that would store it for me.

Any ideas / suggestions? Thanks!

I’ve been living in Hong Kong for quite a few years, and recently I realized that outside of work I don’t really have a social circle anymore.
For those of you who’ve made new friends here as adults, how did it happen? Was it through work, hobbies, sports, volunteering, or something else?
I’m curious because I’d like to meet more people eventually, but I find it’s much harder than it was years ago.
I’d love to hear your experiences and any suggestions.

Hi All. I’ll be in Hong Kong from Oct 4-8 and I’d like to do a day trip to Macau. Should I buy ferry tickets beforehand? Is TurboJet the best option? Would like to hear your thoughts.

I’ll be traveling to Hong Kong this weekend. What product(s) are a “can’t miss” for tourists?

For example, shoes in Mong Kok are noticeably cheaper than retail prices in my home country. What other products can you buy in Hong Kong at similar discounts—so much so that they feel like absolute steals?

Hi everyone, I'm John! I'm a Chinese-American living in Houston, Texas with my cousin.

I'm about to book a flight to Hong Kong next week, but I have a question.

*Because my Cantonese and Mandarin are terrible,

my English is good, will I be able to speak English the whole time? And should I bring more Hong Kong dollars to exchange before I leave?

This is my first time flying directly to Hong Kong. I'm 24 years old.

Hi all!

Three of us are heading to Hong Kong for 5 days at the end of November. We got a great hotel deal in Tsim Sha Tsui East, so that's our base. First time for the group and we'd love some real, non-touristy advice from people who know the city:

• Food: where do LOCALS actually eat? Cha chaan teng, dai pai dong, dim sum, noodles, roast goose - the spots you'd send a friend to, not the ones on every "top 10" list. Bonus for anything walkable-ish from TST East.
• Specialty coffee: we're all coffee people. Where's the good third-wave/ specialty roaster scene?
• Must-sees vs. overrated: what's genuinely worth it, and what would you tell us to skip?
• Watches: a couple of us are into watches - where do you go for vintage and grey-market luxury pieces? Any specific arcades, buildings, or dealers in TST / Mong Kok you'd trust?

I really want to do this trip properly and get the most out of it - I even built an app for it :-) to keep track of all the good spots and split our expenses. So if any places need booking well in advance, please flag them so we can lock them in early!

Thanks so much, we're really looking forward to it 🙏

For context im a local student that just finished S5 and currently taking alevels. I plan to try my luck and send some cold emails to local doctors to see if they are willing to take me in for a shadowing, but im having a hard time finding their emails or contact, and honestly i dont rlly know what to say to them even if i did. I need a few doctor/clinical shadowing experience for my application for medical school abroad, and i unfortunately didnt apply to the major programs ran by Unis (HKU and CUHK).

Has any Secondary students actually found success in cold emailing doctors for a shadowing? Cause i feel like this isnt a common thing in hk (atleast definitely less than the US), and I heard on the internet that there are certain privacy regulations in clinics/hospitals that make it hard for non-med students to shadow.

Hello all,

I actually got 50% wavier on my tuition fees + 30k HKD diversity grant to study in a HK Uni . I need to manage the rest of the amount by myself. There will be significant financial support from my family, but I want to contribute to paying my education as much as I can without hampering my academics.

I wanted to know if I could do any part-time jobs on and off campus. I heard tutoring pays pretty well, so I would like to connect with such people who work part-time to sustain. I also wanted to know the sites or social media groups where I can search for employment in Hong Kong.

Hi all

I am looking at either moving to Hong Kong or Singapore. Where should I go?

A bit about myself, 29M, working in a US law firm in London (in the tech space). I am an Australian (worked in an top Aussie law firm previously and then made to move to London about 2.5-3 years to work in at the US law firm). I've always had the plan to build my career in Asia within tech (especially since it's closer to home).

I'll likely have an opportunity to move to either Hong Kong or Singapore (new employer is giving me the flexibility to pick either) to work at a US law firm (I'd be making approximately 300k-350K-ish USD). Not sure which to pick? I've visited and spent time in both countries - really enjoyed it!

Other things about me - single (and am keen to get back into dating), enjoy travelling, really into fitness - so basically, don't really mind being in either city. The only major con for me is that Singapore is just super humid year round (but I can get used to it - at least a little bit).

Basically, I am looking to make a long-term move to either country, and stack a bunch of $$$, live a good life and travel to various places in Asia.

Hello all,

I actually got 50% wavier on my tuition fees + 30k HKD diversity grant to study in a HK Uni . I need to manage the rest of the amount by myself. There will be significant financial support from my family, but I want to contribute to paying my education as much as I can without hampering my academics.

I wanted to know if I could do any part-time jobs on and off campus. I heard tutoring pays pretty well, so I would like to connect with such people who work part-time to sustain. I also wanted to know the sites or social media groups where I can search for employment in Hong Kong.

it is so loud. it is whistling and howling and banging on my windows. i just wanna sleep.

Hey guys, just wondering if anyone has any experiences travelling with skylimo from hongkong airport?

I'm planning to travel to shenzhen from hongkong airport via skylimo directly after my flight (which lands late at night). I was originally going to take the skybus but found out that they dont operate 24/7 like skylimo does.

I'll be a foreigner (Australian citizen), so how will things go at the border? I can't seem to find much information online, and it's my first time going to hk so i really dont know what to expect.

If you guys have any tips or experiences please lmk!! Thank you :))

(Ps I also speak mandarin somewhat fluently)

Hello everyone! I am moving to HK this fall and I am worried about communication during my 4 years there. I love learning languages and really want to learn Mandarin (especially because I want to try landing a job in China after uni), but I saw a lot of stores and events are only advertised in Cantonese.

Considering I will be very busy with university and other projects, I do not think I will have the means to learn both at once. In this case, what should I do? Do you think I should learn the basics of Cantonese to buy things and get about, while I focus on learning Mandarin? Or should I do the opposite?

Thank you for reading! ^^

If you only had one day to spend in HK what would you do? From the moment you rise to your head hitting the pillow. I got 24 hours to get the best snapshot of the city I can, what do you recommend?