I’ve mentioned that my family is planning a trip to Japan in 2025, and in the next few weeks/months I’ll be booking our award flights. I need to have a rough idea of our itinerary/number of days for this trip in order to book our flights. I thought I had that figured out, but now I’m questioning whether we should add a visit to Shanghai, China to our travel plans.
The Case for Visiting Shanghai, China
The main reason I want to visit Shanghai is to go to Shanghai Disneyland. Since I’m going to Hong Kong Disneyland this fall and I’ll visit Tokyo DisneySea while we’re in Japan, Shanghai Disneyland will be the only Disney park I’ve never visited. Eeek!
There are several reasons why visiting Shanghai makes sense for this particular trip to Japan:
- Since we will be in Japan, we could travel to Shanghai and then onto the U.S. without having to apply for a Chinese visa because of the 144-hour visa-free transit policy.
- The flight from Osaka, Japan to Shanghai China is relatively cheap ($100-$200) and quick (2.5 hours). That’s much more efficient than a separate trip from Dallas.
- Currently, American Airlines has a nonstop flight from Shanghai to DFW. Convenient!
The Case Against Visiting Shanghai, China
There are some drawbacks to adding Shanghai to our trip.
- Adding Shanghai will make our trip long, maybe too long. We’re already planning to spend time in Tokyo and Osaka with day trips to Kyoto and Hakone.
- My husband doesn’t have enough work vacation days to add Shanghai, and my boys don’t love long trips. So, it would likely be just me and my daughter going to Shanghai.
- Adding this extra leg to our trip would cost more money.
- But the biggest case against visiting Shanghai is safety. The U.S. Department of State currently classifies China as Level 3–Reconsider Travel in its travel advisory rating. This is due to recent arbitrary enforcement of local laws and wrongful detentions. However, I feel that going straight from the airport to Disneyland does not pose a risk. Other counties, like Jamaica, also have this same level of travel warning, and Americans are still traveling there safely.
Final Thoughts
When you’re traveling far to get to a certain place, it’s hard not to consider also visiting nearby places. That’s how my upcoming trip to Norway ended up being a 5-country European trip. Thankfully, I still have some time to figure out if I will add Shanghai to our Japan trip itinerary.
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
You have to do you but China firmly believes in hostage diplomacy rather than established diplomatic niceties and the way things are going in the south where they’ve abrogated their treaty promises about accepted boundaries and are pushing hard on Malaysia, The Philippines, Taiwan, etc. it could lead to a war situation in a very short time. There’s lots I’d dearly love to see in China but I just don’t think this is the time.
@Franklin @Jon @Christian Thanks for sharing your perspective. I will have to think about this more before I decide.
That State Department warning primarily relates to Americans of Chinese descent and Americans who work in sensitive areas. Otherwise, I would say Shanghai is probably safer than most places on your bucket list. I would not hesitate to visit Shanghai. It used to be my favorite place in Asia until everything got torn down and the economy expanded 10-20x in a matter of decades. Nowadays, my favorite places in Asia would be Taiwan and Japan.
I would say go… Isn’t that why we travel? Or at least why I do. You get to see with your own eyes what the reality is vs what you have been lead to believe from the government and the media. The “problem” is always at the government to government level….it is never at the people to people level. Don’t people say….other than some cultural differences people are basically the same everywhere in the world? In my experience it is true.
I have traveled to a lot of different places over the years. But now that I am older and wiser….I will only go to what I consider safe places. For me…that is most places in Asia…including China. Places that I avoid now are South America and Europe as I don’t want to constantly worry about getting mugged or pickpocketed.
My family and I have been to every Disney Park in the world, including two visits to Shanghai Disneyland. It depends on your personal comfort level as you mentioned, but if you do a private transfer to and from the Park and stay on property, that would be the safest way with the most peace of mind. The Park is amazing with the best Pirates of the Caribbean ride hands down.
@Julie How exciting that you’ve been to all the parks! I’ve heard great things about that Pirates ride there in Shanghai.
I also thought about adding a stopover in China on the way to Japan, mainly to visit the Great Wall. I’ve decided against it mainly due to current tensions between USA and China. I don’t think it’s quite as risky as visiting Russia, but it would make me uncomfortable, especially since we have young kids. I’m not telling others where to travel, it’s just outside of my personal comfort zone. We live in a volatile world, and I’ve accepted the fact that there are some amazing places I may never visit in my lifetime.
@Leana I understand. I’d love to see the Great Wall someday, too.
That warning gave me pause as well but I had to come. So far everything looks normal.
@Mark I hope you’re having a great trip!