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Tokyo is not the histroic capital of Japan, it is Kyoto.
Other than Hanzhou and Nanjing, Shanghai is not really historic. Beijing, Xian, Kaifeng and Luoyang were important capitals of Chinese dynasties.
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Tokyo (former name Edo), Kyoto and Nara have all been national capitals of Japan. Although Kyoto was officially the capital until the mid 19th century, the actual power (de facto rulers of Japan) under Tokugawa Shogunate was in Edo since the 1600.
The capitals of imperial China included cities such as Beijing, Xian (former Chang'an), Luoyang, Nanjing. However, it was the Jiang Nan area (around modern day Yangtze River Delta), where many of ancient China's great urban centers and sophisticated culture were established. The great cities in the ancient times was not Shanghai but others around the delta such as Hangzhou, Yangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, Ningbo, Wuxi.
Urban living : NYC >> TOKYO >> HK (NYC > TOKYO >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>HK)
Nightlife : NYC >> TOKYO >> HK
Culture and history : TOKYO >> HK >> NYC (HK is the last !)
Public transportation : TOKYO >> HK >> NYC
Restaurants/Food : TOKYO >> NYC >> HK
Shopping : TOKYO >> HK >> NYC
Tourist sites : NYC >> TOKYO >> HK (Hongkongers never visit HongkongDisneyland 'cause they are occupied by "locusts" {rude and arrogant travellers from Mainland China})
Economy and career opportunities : NYC >> TOKYO >> HK (HK ranked middle if you're Chinese)
Global influence/importance : NYC >> HK >> TOKYO
Urban and natural scenery : NYC >> TOKYO >> HK (to be exact : NYC>TOKYO>>>>>>>>>>>>HK)
Cleanliness : TOKYO >> NYC >> HK (TOKYO > NYC >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>HK)
Entertainment/Recreation : NYC >> TOKYO >> HK
Cost of living : HK >> NYC >> TOKYO (HK >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>TOKYO > NYC)
Location in the world : NYC >> TOKYO >> HK
Other criteria : TOKYO >> NYC >> HK
Which do you personally prefer? : 666
High-rise building : HK >> NYC >> TOKYO
GRP (1 billion US $) : TOKYO / 1,520.0 >> NYC / 1,210.0 >> HK / 350.4
East Asia : TOKYO >> SEOUL >> OSAKA >> SHANGHAI >> BEIJING >> NAGOYA >> HK >> GUANGZHOU (Cross out Beijing due to smog and totalitarian rule, we Hongkongers are not proud of Beijing being the Capital, what a shame to be a Chinese! I have not visit Mainland China for 20 years although she is adjacent to Hong Kong due to fear of all being set up for whatever reasons)
RED PSs are my opinion while living in HK, visited TOKYO !
I've never been to New York so I can't comment on that. Out of the two I'd go with Tokyo. Much more different(compares to Taiwan), more profound, more historical, and more things to do. The weakest link of Tokyo for me(when it comes to traveling) is the language, as I don't speak Japanese and Japanese don't speak English.
From the standpoint of living, it's rather subjective but I'd say Tokyo wins by miles. Hong Kong has officially become a city for the tiny 1%, Taiwan is real bad in terms of inequality but Hong Kong's condition is just hopeless.
The weak point of Tokyo, though, is the horrific commuting hours, their rush hours are ****ing scary.
I have not been to HK but NYC is far from clean. Many Chinese major cities are cleaner than NYC (not including air quality though). In fact NYC is filthy. You can see trash everywhere on the street, especially at night.
As for the actual comparison, I haven't ever been to Tokyo before but have been to both New York and Hong Kong.
I would gladly say that these are three of my top four favorite cities on Planet Earth (the other being London).
I've made it a life goal to live in at least three of those four and will be headed to one this summer for graduate school (London) and the other after that to teach English (Tokyo). If I ever come back to America, then I will look into settling in New York.
I live in New York City, but travel to Hong Kong from time to time. Here is my opinion of NYC and HK. I can't comment on Tokyo because I have never visited Tokyo.
Nightlife : HK >> NY (Most of the clubs and bars concentrate at Manahatttan. Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Staten Island: Not much of nightlife after dark except few areas. These areas and some areas in Manhattan can be very dangerous at night.)
Culture and history : NYC >> HK (Obviously NYC has a very long history dated back to native Indians and George Washington. NYC was the first capital of USA)
Public transportation : HK >> NYC (A lot of NYC subway stations and roads are poorly maintained and dilapidated. Yellow cabs usually don't go outside of Manhattan unless to airports. A lot of road/subway construction are in weekends, which cause delays.)
Restaurants/Food : HK >> NYC (Roughly the same, but HK has the best of both worlds. I like the fact that HK has a lot of high-end restaurants on tops of buildings, whereas Manhattan has very fews of them. Time Warner Center has one. Its outside view is marvelous.)
Shopping : HK >> NYC (Other than Fifth Avenue and few areas. There are not many high-end shops. Madison have some ultra high end shops, but they are for billionaires.)
Tourist sites : NY >> HK (Obviously NY has a long history. A lot of tourist attractions: Wall Street, Statue of Liberty, Broadway, Flatiron, etc...)
Economy and career opportunities : NYC >> HK (NYC has Wall Street and it is the headquarter of many major news publishing companies and financial companies in US: CNN, NY Times, Citibank, BlackRock, American Express, etc... It attracts talent professionals from around the world. Probably it is their final stop.)
Global influence/importance : NYC >> HK (United Nations and Wall Street are in NYC)
Urban and natural scenery : HK >> NYC (HK at least has a mountainous view. Other than that, they are much the same. Outside of Manhattan, I don't really have that kind of urban feel like HK. Even in Manhattan, some sections, I feel as I were in a small town: SOHO, Villages, etc.)
Cleanliness : HK >> NYC (HK has a slight edge over NYC. A lot of resturants and buildings in NYC are infested with rats and cockroaches e.g. NY subways)
Entertainment/Recreation : NYC >> HK (NY has Broadway shows, a casino, dozen museums and parks and sport teams (Yankees, Knicks, Nets, Mets, Giants, etc..)
Cost of living : HK >> NYC (Unless you live in Manhattan and few areas in other boroughs, they are not that expensive in relative to HK.)
Location in the world : NYC >> HK (NYC is one of the most important cities in the whole Western Hemisphere.)
Urban living: HK>>NY (Unless you live at Manhattan, which is just one of the five boroughs of NYC, outside you don't feel like much of a city. Majority of New Yorkers are living outside of Manhattan. If you lived in Manhattan long enough, you will know your way around and you probably will feel it is rather a small place.)
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