Kyoto in Hong Kong? The towns drawing mainlanders with their ‘Japanese’ charms

Tuen Mun, a satellite town located in the northwestern part of the New Territories, has become an improbably popular destination among tourists after it was dubbed Hong Kong’s version of Japan, with similarities to cities such as Sapporo.

Users of Chinese social media platform RedNote have been sharing various tips on how travellers can capture pictures of the above-ground Light Rail trains running through the town and create scenes that could double for a Hokkaido cityscape.

Vicky Chong Ting-ting, a 27-year-old tourist from mainland China who works in a restaurant in Shenzhen, made her first trip to Tuen Mun to see the ocean, after visiting other spots in Hong Kong on previous trips.

“I would say the scenery here is beautiful,” said Chong, noting the similarities between the Light Rail station and that of Japan. “It has that kind of atmosphere.”

Tuen Mun is not the only spot in Hong Kong trending on Chinese social media platforms because of its supposed resemblance to Japan.

And while some locals noticed that there was indeed an influx of tourists to lesser-known locales in the city, others wondered if those places would live up to visitors’ expectations of a pseudo-Japanese travel experience.