hong kong, tokyo, kyoto travel
 

We're taking a trip in March/April to these cities (unfortunately right before SY gets there) and I'm looking for inexpensive (relative) places to stay. In Japan would like the ryokan experience but def. want our own bathroom. Not interested in hostels. Looking for the US$100-150 range a night. Will also take any recommendations on fun things to do, see.

http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/index.htm

In Kyoto you absolutely must see Kiyomizudera. It's a temple built into the side of a mountain with an amaing view over Kyoto. That area is particularly beautiful in the Spring, so lucky you.
As long as you're in Kyoto you should check out Osaka and Kobe too. Osaka is right next to Kyoto and is the coolest fucking city on the planet. Great food, great culture, great music. Amemura (America Town) and the area surrounding Namba station is a complete neon light pachinko bar clatter jpop mindfuck. Your Japan experience isn't complete without it. There are also alot of cool record stores in that area (alchemy records - time bomb records).
Kobe can be pretty cool too (I used to live there!). There is a bizarre shopping district underneath the train linese between Motomachi and Kobe stations filled with all the outdated electronic bullshit you never needed. This is where you buy your pornographic videogames, Nintendo prototypes, ancient computers and vintage music gear. A must see.

I stayed at the Kimberley Hotel, in Kowloon when I stayed at Hong Kong for 8 days.

I would recommend it on value-for-money reasons only. It's a 3 star hotel, and it's very close to a more-than-decent shopping area. The only real negative I can think of is the pathetic "gym" they have, ahah. The room's half a size of a bedroom, and you have a 10' TV with the one treadmill, the one cycling machine, and a broken rowing machine. Oh, and there's a little dumbell rack if I remember correctly...

EDIT - With HK, because of the tube stations virtually everywhere, it shouldn't really matter where you get your hotel, since to get from one place to another, the tube's the only sensible pocket-friendly form of transport. I recommend Kowloon because of it;s shopping area, and if you wanted to visit sightseeing parts of HK, well it's only a few stops away.

I miss HK. I spent nearly a grand of shopping there to last me a good few years. :D