The paradise of an island nation that is Taiwan combines everything there is to love about the cultures found in China and Japan, and blends them together in a Southeast Asian climate to form a country we are aggressively addicted to. Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, has a hundred hidden secrets for you to discover and enjoy when you visit Taiwan, and here are ten of the best things to do in Taipei.

The Best Things to Do in Taipei

If you want to learn all about the history and culture of Taiwan, and find more incredible things to do in Taiwan outside of Taipei then you will find everything you need right here.

Jiufen and Shifen

For anyone who’s seen, and more than likely fallen deeply in love with, Studio Ghibli’s most celebrated film Spirited Away, you can visit the teahouse which inspired the aesthetics, atmosphere, and grand majesty of the bathhouse setting of Spirited Away for yourself.

The teahouse is at the heart of a large village north of Taipei called Jiufen. To get to Jiufen, we recommend taking a tour, since it’s a little complicated to do by yourself. We went with a wonderful tour group called MyTaiwanTour, and we documented the entire journey, which we can’t recommend highly enough, right here.

Jiufen old street, the Spirited Away teahouse, and all the wonderful food stalls you’ll find in between, make for one of the most magical experiences and best Taipei attractions. If you take a tour, you’ll also be able to easily get from Jiufen to Shifen, and in Shifen you can take a short class on how to make your own traditional Chinese lantern.

You’ll decorate it yourself and let it fly! And, because Taiwan is Asia’s most eco-friendly nation, the lanterns are safely collected and returned so as not to destroy the landscape. Visiting Jiufen and Shifen is, we guarantee, one of the great unmissable things to do in Taipei.

Read More: 10 Amazing Day trips from Taipei

Read More: Books to read Before You Visit Taiwan

Gudetama Chef

One of the more unique things to do in Taipei is to visit a café themed around a depressed and lazy Japanese egg. Gudetama is one of the newer mascots from Sanrio, creators of Hello Kitty.

These days, Sanrio is rather woke and tuned into the millennial plight of rising depression and rage against the corporate machine, hence their new mascots Gudetama and Aggretsuko. And one thing you should know about Taiwan is that its relationship with Japan is very long and very intimate.

Hence the existence of Gudetama Chef in the heart of Taipei. Here at one of the more unusual Taipei attractions, you can get a coffee, a sundae, or a burger themed and styled around the hilariously dark and adorable little depressed egg that everyone loves so much.

If it’s a rainy summer day or a cold winter afternoon and you’re wondering what to do in Taipei, consider a relaxing lunch at Gudetama Chef.

Read More: If you’d like to get a tattoo while in Taiwan then here are our favourite artists!

Longshan Temple

One of the most magical differences between China and Taiwan is that Taiwan still holds the traditional spiritual Chinese way of life known as Taoism very close to its heart.

That can be seen in the temples dotted around all of Taiwan. These temples are, in our opinion, the most visually stunning in all of Asia, and Taoism is one of the most enlightening and fascinating ways of life you’ll ever learn about.

Longshan Temple (meaning Dragon Mountain Temple) is one of the most important places to visit in Taipei, built in 1738 by migrants from mainland China. You’ll find it in Taipei old town, and the history of the place is amazing. It has suffered destruction from fires and natural disasters several times, and each time it has been rebuilt by the people of Taipei.

When you visit Longshan Temple, you’ll see the peaceful prayer and wish-making of Taoists visiting the temple for yourself. The Taoist belief is where the concept of Yin and Yang – balance between all things – comes from.

Beitou Thermal Valley

One of the best things to do in Taipei is not actually in Taipei city, but rather just on its fringe. But don’t worry, you can get there on the subway within thirty minutes.

Beitou Thermal Valley, one of the most naturally beautiful Taiepi attractions, is tucked away in the mountains, surrounded by dense forest, and far away from the bustle of Taipei city centre. We recommend you book yourself a single night in a hotel (we stayed at the Phoenix Pavilion Hot Spring Hotel) .

The train from Taipei to Beitou will bring you to a small town, and from there we recommend you take a five-minute taxi ride to your hotel, then unwind and explore the neighbourhood. The hotels in this area have been built into the rock itself, and so most of them have their own natural hot springs inside, all connected to the mountain.

The main thermal valley itself is also in the same small area as the hotels, and easy to explore for free (be warned: it does smell like rotten eggs).

Beitou Public Library

While you’re in Beitou, another one of the unmissable Taipei attractions is the little-known Beitou Public Library. While Beitou is mostly mountains, forests, and hot springs, you’ll also find here an enormous public library made from wood and glass.

Its style and aesthetic blends into the natural surroundings perfectly, in a Japanese Shinto kind of way. It’s a wonderful and tranquil building to explore, and certainly one of the hidden gems when it comes to unique things to do in Taipei.

Read More: Learn more About Beitou Library and other beautiful libraries.

Yongkang Road

We’ve talked a lot about the more traditional and natural things to do in Taipei, but if you’re looking less for big Taipei attractions and more places to visit in Taipei where you can shop, eat, and relax with a coffee, that’s Yongkang Road. It’s a bustling little street tucked away behind a busy avenue, and everything here is fun and relaxing.

There are traditonal Taiwanese restaurants here where you can enjoy bao filled with beef and chicken, or a ramen-style beef soup. There are also fantastic little artisan coffee shops where you can get some of the best flat whites in all of Asia.

You’ll also find souvenir shops and places to get gifts for your family here. It’s a great place to spend a morning wandering and taking in the atmosphere before heading off for a hike.

Read More: Discover the Beauty of Taiwan in 34 Photos

Xiangshan

Speaking of hikes, Taipei is so bloody spectacular that it has its own mountain within the city limits. Right beside the tallest skyscraper in Taiwan, the Taipei 101 tower (more on that in a moment), is Xiangshan (or Elephant Mountain).

Xiangshan can be easily reached on the subway; it’s at the east end of Taipei city, and it takes an hour or so to hike up and back down again. From the top, you get a view of the entire city and the other mountains beyond the city limits, and you’ll also find that you’re more-or-less at eye-level with the Taipei 101 tower itself.

For physical activities, you can’t go wrong with a good ol’ traditional hike up Xiangshan when you visit Taipei: one of the most natural and exhilarating Taipei attractions.

Taipei 101 Tower

Undeniably one of the most famous and iconic places to visit in Taipei is its massive, gothic-looking, almost intimidating skyscraper, the Taipei 101 Tower, which was actually designated the world’s tallest building until Dubai’s Burj Khalifa came along in 2010.

Taipei 101 stands so ridiculously tall above the rest of the city and can be seen from almost any point in the city.

Though, as I mentioned, the best view of the 101 Tower comes from the top of Xiangshan. Its name comes from its number of floors and, if you want a cheaper alternative to the observation deck, there’s a Starbucks on the 35th floor which offers phenomenal views of the city.

Though it’s also a rather unique Starbucks in that it’s so popular you have to book in advance and you’re only allowed to stay for 90 minutes. If you’d rather visit the observation deck, they sell tickets on the 5th floor.

Ningxia Market

To really embed yourself in the charming, electric, peaceful, friendly, warming, welcoming culture of Taiwan, one of the best things to do in Taipei is visit the street food markets. While street food has been quashed in mainland China (along with countless other good things), it is celebrated and cherished here in Taiwan.

The best street food market in Taipei is Ningxia Market, which comes to life in the evening, making for a very cheap and exciting dinner choice. Here, you’ll find every kind of food from Taiwan, China, and Japan that you can imagine.

Savoury pancakes similar to Japanese okonomiyaki, yakitori chicken skewers, Chinese baozi, and xiao long bao. I could go on. There’s so much to discover and love here at the street food markets of Taipei. They’re the lifeblood of the city, and Ningxia is one of the best places to visit in Taipei.

Taipei City Mall

Hidden beneath Taipei Main Station is a labyrinth of corridors. And lining those corridors are boutique clothing stores, souvenir shops, and most importantly an awful lot of video game stores and Japanese otaku merch shops. As I mentioned, Taiwan loves Japanese culture, and so do we. If you do, too, you’ll find so many great stores to explore in Taipei City Mall.

Here, you’ll find shops selling the newest video games, anime t-shirts, toys, and plushies, as well as books and manga (though many of them will be written in Chinese). For the more underground (no pun intended) Taipei attractions, definitely visit Taipei City Mall.

It might not be one of the most beautiful places to visit in Taipei, but shopping all the anime and game stores is certainly one of the most unique things to do in Taipei.

While stories of type and variety of tea go back hundreds of years, sometimes even thousands, the story of bubble tea actually goes back to the ancient, mythical, and mysterious era of the 1980s…

The History of Bubble Tea 

When it comes to tea, the exact origins always seem to be steeped (hah!) in some mystery, often with multiple locations, originators, and backstories involved. The same goes for bubble tea. The two competing claims are from the Hanlin Tea room in Tainan, Taiwan, and the Chun Shui Tang tearoom in Taichung, Taiwan which we had the pleasure of visiting on our trip to Taiwan.

Hanlin’s story

According to Hanlin Tea Room, back in 1986, Tu Tsong-He who was the teahouse owner at the time invented the drink. He saw tapioca balls in the Ya Mu Liao market and decided to add them to black milk tea. This was the “pearl tea” genesis, or at least it was according to Hanlin!

The Hanlin Tea Room then switched from white to black tea pearls that are mixed with brown sugar and honey. However, the option for black or white pearls is still available in some places today.

Chun Shui Tang’s story

The tea room’s founder, Liu Han-Chieh claims he first started serving Chinese tea cold after visiting Japan and witnessing the famous Japanese iced, cold brew, and Dutch brew coffee back in the 80s. This novel tea style resulted in some new locales opening as chains under the teahouse’s umbrella. But the real inventor is credited as Lin Hsiu Hui, who was the product development manager at the teahouse.

In 1988, while attending a supposedly boring meeting, she decided to dump her fen yuan, which are the sweet confectionary tapioca balls into her cold tea. The result was a hit and became a wildly popular drink at the teahouse and the rest of Taiwan. 

As both stories go, whoever the inventor is, the place of origin is certainly in Taiwan and certainly sometime in the mid-80s. After gaining fame in Taiwan, the drink exploded in popularity in the 90s. 

First in southern China, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia where you’ll now find a Gong Cha on every corner. The cold tea along with the sweet pearls made the perfect drink to enjoy in the often hot and humid climate of these regions. 

Milk tea had already been a popular drink in these areas, too. So adding some ice and sweet chewiness just made a popular drink option even more beloved. Next, bubble tea became a hit in other parts of Asia, then, the world, first making landfall in many countries outside Asia via Asian immigrant and diaspora communities. 

Today, one can find bubble tea all over the world and in many different venues. The beverage is also known as pearl milk tea, bubble milk tea, and boba tea. The tea of choice was originally black tea as it is commonly used in milk tea. However green and Oolong varieties can be found, too!

And in addition to the original iced milk tea with the chewy and delicious pearls, there are also hot and frappe style bubble teas that offer other options of ingredients and accoutrements to really up the sweet and tasty factor!

Read More: What is a Japanese Tea Ceremony & How to Do it At Home

How to Make Bubble Tea at Home

So now that your interests in this novel and delectable drink have been piqued, you may want to try your hand at making some at home and it couldn’t be easier/

What you need to make bubble tea

• Tapioca pearls: You can get frozen bags of these, just make sure to follow their thawing and preparation instructions or bags from most Asian convenience stores. I like using these quick cook ones which take about five minutes of boiling to be perfect.
• Sweetener: Brown sugar, black sugar and honey are great options to sweeten the pearls
• Black tea (feel free to swap out for your tea of choice, but black tea is the original tea used in bubble tea)
• Filtered or purified water
• Milk (preferably thicker milk or half & half)
• Ice (although many also like it hot)
• Extra-wide straws or a spoon (for drinking the tapioca pearls)

Bubble Tea Recipe

1. First, prepare your tapioca pearls by following their thawing and boiling instructions as per their packaging

2. Prepare your syrup for the tapioca pearls by adding 1/4 cup of hot water to 1/4 cups of brown sugar. Stir until the sugar granules have all dissolved. I sometimes just like to drop some honey on them (which also makes for a tasty dessert)

3. Now it is time to brew your tea! Because we want cold tea for this chilly drink, brew your tea ahead of time or set it to cool someplace it will chill swiftly. Ideally, strong black tea is used, so 2-4 teabags are used. This will be very bitter so feel free to start with just 2 teabags of black tea the first time. Use less water so the flavour is strong and not watery when added with the other ingredients!

4. Now that all your ingredients have cooled, add the pearls and their sugar syrup to the bottom of your cup. 

5. Now add some ice and your cold tea. If you prefer it hot then you can just put your freshly cooked tea in

6. Top it all off with some rich and creamy milk and feel free to give the whole thing a few stirs to mix your ingredients together.

7. Finally, enjoy your delicious and frosty tea treat! If you have extra-wide straws, use these, otherwise, you can use a spoon to scoop the pearls out. Or commit the sacrilege of throwing them all out!

Tip: For a richer bubble tea, I sometimes brew the tea in milk to make it more of a latte style.

Bubble tea anytime

 A rich, silky, and satisfyingly chewy bubble tea is great at any time of day and on any occasion. While certainly a staple of hot weather, try a hot variation for when the weather cools off a bit. Your bubble tea, your way. And as you enjoy your bubble tea feel free to thank either Hanlin Tea Room or Chun Shui Tang tearoom. Or both, for that matter!

Read More: 11 Types of Japanese Tea (and How to Brew)

The people are passionate, kind, and full of love. Part of the beauty of Taipei is its proximity to a staggering range of other amazing rugged, rural, and spellbinding places of natural beauty, Taoist tradition, and spiritual restoration that will suit every kind of traveller.

Just beyond Taiwan’s capital, you’ll find natural parks, thermal valleys and hot springs, and the place that inspired the setting and style of Spirited Away! Here are the ten best day trips from Taipei that you can take when you visit what is easily the most wonderful city in East Asia.

Read More: The best things to do in Taiwan (Photo Essay)

10 Day Trips from Taipei (And How to Get There)

When you visit Taipei, there are more than just the typical Taipei attractions and things to do in Taipei. There’s a world of rugged landscapes and natural wonders to explore. Many of the places to visit in Taipei actually lie just beyond the city limits, so follow us and see what wonders await you when you step out of Taipei and into the majesty that is Taiwan.

1) Jiufen, Shifen, Jinguashi

One of the biggest, most captivating, and most famous day trips from Taipei. The beautiful sights of Jiufen and Shifen are as gorgeous and otherworldly as the pictures make them out to be.

The teahouse on Jiufen old street — a colossal piece of mesmerising Taiwanese architecture — was the sole inspiration for the bathhouse setting of the Oscar-winning Japanese Studio Ghibli animated film, Spirited Away. When you head from Jiufen to Shifen, there you can learn to make and fly your own traditional Chinese paper lantern.

This is the one trip I’d consider taking a day tour for because, even though it is easy to reach all these places by yourself, it is kind of hard to do them all in one day if you’re pushed for time. Check out our own experience travelling to Jiufen, and from Jiufen to Shifen, with the wonderful people at MyTaiwanTour. If you’re not pushed for time and would rather do the trip solo, here are the buses or trains you need.

Getting from Taipei To Shifen:

Take a train from Taipei Main Stn. (台北車站) to Ruifang Stn. (瑞芳站) You can then transfer to the Pingxi Small Railway (平溪支線) to Shifen Stn. (十分站).

Getting from Shifen to Jiufen: 

Take the Pingxi Small Railway to Ruifang Stn. (瑞芳站), and transfer to bus #788, #827, or #1062 to Jiufen Old Street (九份老街)

Useful Sites for taking trains in Taiwan

1. Railway Booking: https://www.railway.gov.tw/en/index.aspx
2. Metro Map: https://www.travelking.com.tw/eng/tourguide/taipei/taipeimrt/

Unfortunately, there’s no public transportation between Jiufen and Shifen, you’ll have to get back to Ruifang Stn. (瑞芳站) to transfer.

Getting from Jiufen To Taipei: 

Take bus #1062 from Jiufen Old Streets (九份老街) to Zhongxiao Fuxing MRT Stn. (忠孝復興站) in Taipei. (You can also take this into Jifuen if you’re not planning on going to Shifen)

Getting from Taipei to Jinguashi:

From Taipei, take the train north to Ruifang Station. After exiting the station, cross the street to the bus stop next to the Wellcome Supermarket. You can then board the Keelung Transit bus towards Jiufen/Jinguashi. The bus trip takes roughly 15 minutes.

Or you can travel by bus from MRT Zhongxiao Fuxing (忠孝復興), Brown Line 1 and Blue Line 5 interchange, leave from Exit 1 and take bus route 1062 (Keelung Bus) to Jinguashi. The ride is about 1 hour.

Amazing Jiufen Hotels

• Mountain Sea Bay B & B — Beautiful sea views and two minutes walk from Jiufen old street. A comfortable hotel that ticks all the boxes.
• Sunny Room — Full of character, these rooms have stunning views, home-cooked breakfast, and lovely staff.

2) Beitou

Beitou is one of the simplest day trips from Taipei. In fact, it’s basically in Taipei so you can also count it as one of the great places to visit in Taipei, and it’s hard to believe how different the environment can be for such a small journey from Taipei city centre.

Beitou is a hot spring village and thermal valley in the mountains on the outskirts of Taipei. You can stay overnight, spend the entire time enjoying the hot springs, and enjoying the dizzying views of the gorgeous surrounding hills.

Getting the Train from Taipei to Beitou:

Take the red MTR line up to Beitou station and then change to the pink branch which takes you to Xin Beitou. Everything from here is in walking distance and most of the sights and the hotels are at the top of a big hill and are well signposted.

Note: We took a taxi (there are plenty parked up outside the station) up to Puji Temple (普济禅寺) as we didn’t quite know where we were going and our luggage was heavy.

Nearly all the hotels are right next to the temple and are also well signposted.  It took five minutes and came to 50 dollars (TW). There’s a convenience store at the top, a lovely café with tea, coffee, pasta, and quiche – plus a couple of other places to eat.

How to Get from Taipei to Beitou

There are a number of buses you can take to Beitou (bus no. 216, 218, 219, 230, 266, 631, 632 to Beitou Elementary School stop) but for this one, I really would recommend the Metro.

You’ve got a few options from here. Either you just stay for the day and visit the thermal valley (closed on Monday), walk around, soak in the millennium public hot spring (check the swimming gear rules – they’re strict), pay by the hour at one of the fancier private springs, have a look at the library, and the museum.

Or do what we did which was stay overnight at one of the hot spring hotels and enjoy your own private hot-spring. You can get some fantastic deals during the week or off-season and we had a double (really nice) room for just 50 dollars (US). You then have time to see the attractions at your leisure.

The Best Beitou hotels

• Phoenix Pavillion Hotel — We loved our stay here. Beautifully decorated rooms and two private hot spring options. A large communal one and a private stone hot spring where you can lock the wooden doors. You also have a stone bath in your room which you can fill with hot spring water. I think I bathed three times in one day…  There’s a delicious breakfast and free coffee downstairs whenever you need it.
• The Gaia Hotel — Perfect if you’re looking for gourmet food, a luxury hot spring experience, spa, and a private gym. Five-star facilities at a reasonable price. There’s a fantastic breakfast included too.

3) Yangminshan National Park

One of the most beautiful national parks in Taiwan and another of the easiest day trips from Taipei. If you’re short on time, this trip and Beitou are your best options! You can take a bus from Taipei city centre and hike to the top of the highest peak in northern Taiwan all within an afternoon, if you’ve got the energy. So, all you need to bring is, well, energy. And maybe a bottle of water.

Getting from Taipei to Yangminshan:

Just take bus 260 out of Taipei Main Station. It’s just 15 dollars (TW) each way and, of course, hiking is free so it’s a wonderfully cheap day. It’s actually not far from Beitou and there’s a bus to and from the other so you could potentially stay overnight at Beitou and head here the next day before going back to Taipei.

You can also take bus 180 from Taipei which makes more stops at some scenic areas.

Getting from Yangminshan to Taipei:

It’s the same bus (260) but the bus stop is just opposite the 7/11 and Starbucks. You can’t miss it. We were heading back at 7 pm and there were still buses running for the next hour from then.

Tips for hiking Yangmingshan

1. It’s not a difficult hike, you’re supposed to be able to reach the top in an hour. We took a longer scenic route and it took us over two hours. It’s stairs all the way up and coming down was rough (jelly legs).
2. Take a couple of snack bars and bottles of water with you. I took one of each and seriously regretted it. There are no options to refill on the way up. Something to bear in mind.

We also didn’t know that there are snakes on the path. It’s totally safe if you stay on the track and there are signs telling you to not go wandering off the path. But I did see two snakes (this was before even reaching the initial visitor centre and café) before googling and finding out there are venomous snakes and wasps on the path.

Still, don’t let this deter you. We didn’t see anything afterward on the long hike and I was on full snake alert. It’s a lovely hike with gorgeous views and so easy to get to. Totally worth it, and absolutely one of the best places to visit in Taipei.

4) Yehliu Geopark

This is where you’ll find incredible rock formations that make a great stop for some outstanding photos. Also, it’s perfect if you’re craving a bit of sea air and coastline. There isn’t a huge amount to do so you could stay here for half a day then go back to Taipei to finish off making this one of the easier day trips from Taipei if you’re short on time.

Travel From Taipei West Bus Station:

Head to terminal A at Taipei main bus station., Go to the KuoKuang (國光) window and purchase a ticket for NT$96 to Yehliu Geopark (野柳地質公園).

It takes around 90 minutes but it’s a scenic trip. You’ll be outside the park entrance when you arrive, walk down the lane on the left to enter. Head back to the same area to get a bus back or you can extend your trip to nearby Keelung and Miaokou Night Market (廟口夜市) for a seafood dinner and some shopping.

5) Maokong Tea Mountain

Another of the more chill day trips from Taipei, situated within the city limits and right next to Taipei Zoo. This is a great excursion if you have an afternoon to spare but don’t want to go too far out of the city.

You can get there by subway to ‘Taipei Zoo’ station. Then take a trip in the Gondola and enjoy the wonderful views (or get the S10 bus to skip the pricey gondola). It’s $120 (TW) to go up but it’s cheaper to buy two singles (up and down) than a return, for some reason. You can also take a bus down for just 15 dollars which is a huge saving. It’s a bit scary though.

6) Wulai

Explore some aboriginal Taiwanese culture that remains from before the Japanese occupation of Taiwan, and see some of the most flat-out gorgeous natural landscapes of Taiwan at the same time. You’ll also find hot springs here, in case you don’t have time to go to Beitou.

Take the subway to Xindian Station (southern terminus of the Green Line 3, 新店) exit the station and turn right towards Bus Stop B located along Beiyi Road (北宜路一段). Take the 849 bus bound for Wulai and stay on until the end. Fare is NT$15, and you can pay in cash or  Easycard.

The Best Wulai Hotels

• Sun Moon Bed & Breakfast: Comfortable homestay with beautiful views, hot spring access, and a delicious breakfast
• Volando Urai Spring Spa: The most luxury option in Wulai, but a memorable stay that’s amazing for pictures. In-house performances, afternoon tea, male and female private hot springs, and you’re surrounded by lakes and mountains. Fine dining options are also available on site

7) Houtong Cat Village

Slightly more difficult to get to with public transport but certainly not impossible. And you’re rewarded with hundreds of feline friends at the end of it.

Originally, Houtong was a small coal-mining town built during the Japanese era. In 2008, a local cat-lover began to care for abandoned cats all around the town. After word got out about the cats, the area quickly became a delightful tourist destination, and it’s been a must-visit day trip from Taipei ever since.

Read More: Five Books to Read Before You Visit Taiwan.

How to get to Houtong Cat Village

From Taipei Main Station, take the northbound train(except Keelung-bound trains) towards Ruifang Station. Either continue on a local train or Chu-Kuang train one station further to Houtong or transfer to the Pingxi Line (平溪線)and purchase a One Day Ticket for the Pingxi Line.

You can then carry on to visit Shifen Waterfall and Pingxi. Additionally, you can take the bus from  Ruifang train station. Just cross the street and take Bus 808 or F808 to Houtong town area.

Our Favourite Taipei hotels and Taipei Accommodation

• Bouti City Capsule Inn: Hostels don’t really come better than this. It’s right by Taipei Main Bus and Train Station so you’ll keep your costs down for day trips, private capsules with a curtain, friendly staff, and plenty of facilities.
• Mr Lobster’s Secret Den : a similar style hostel in this same convenient area (stay for the name alone…)
• Hotel Fun: If you’re looking for private rooms on a budget then this perfect. All the facilities you’d expect, and a great central location.
• Yi Su Hotel: For a touch of luxury in a great location, then look no further.

Taipei Transport Tips

The easiest way to get to Taipei is by flying into Taipei Songshan Airport (you can easily access the rest of the city by subway or bus) or by high-speed rail from other parts of the country. We use Skyscanner for the best deals.

For day trips in Taiwan, I highly recommend getting an Easycard because you’ll get discounts on your trip – like transferring from the subway to the bus. Some short trips can even be free and it means you don’t have to talk to bus drivers when you jump on, just scan your card! Unlike China, you can use Google Maps here and it works really well for catching buses and bus times.

Read More: Take a  Taiwanese food tour or explore the city by bike

A book cafe is a wholly good and kind place that provides everything a book-lover needs in life. If you find yourself in China, Taiwan, Japan, Vietnam, or South Korea, there are some fantastic book cafes to hole up in on a rainy or a relaxing day. These book cafes are gorgeous, soothing, downright kind places to visit in East Asia.

Tranquil Books | Hanoi

This is a fantastic little place in Hanoi. Towards the end of my trip, I was spending every morning in Tranquil Books as it was so pleasant and convenient for working. It’s got an atmosphere so soothing you could while away many blissful hours in a quiet corner without trying.

The staff are friendly, the coffee is great (there’s a mix of Vietnamese and Western coffee on the menu) and you’re urged to be quiet at all times – down to a little note on the receipt asking people to be tranquil. There’s a grand piano in the room with you, great jazz music playing low, and shelves of books, mostly in English.

The café is over two floors: a ground floor and a balcony area. It’s small but I never struggled getting a seat. The wifi is great for anyone needing to catch up on some work in guaranteed peace and quiet. It’s located in the old quarter but just outside of all the hustle and bustle, so the cafe is very handy for anyone staying nearby. I cannot recommend this place highly enough.

Address: 5 Nguyễn Quang Bích, Cửa Đông, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam

Read More: our guide to exploring Hanoi like a local, or how about checking out the bookish spots around Ho Chi Minh City

The Bookworm | China

I actually visited one of the smaller branches in the beautiful eastern city of Suzhou before finding out that this wonderful book café/pub had originally started in Beijing, it also has a location in Chengdu.

It has a lovely atmosphere; it’s cozy with plenty of books, as well as a good selection of reasonably-priced drinks, snacks, and meals. They also have regular events including book readings, music, open mic events, and pub quizzes. This book cafe/pub provides a great community and is great for visitors and local expats alike.

Book Park | Seoul

Seoul has a great number of bookshops and the bigger chains like Kyobo have cafes where you can read, but I’m still trying to find the perfect cozy little bookshop and café – something which you will find no shortage of in Busan, which has a beautiful book street crammed with cafes, book cafes, and second-hand book stalls. What Seoul does have, however, is one of the most architecturally beautiful bookshops I’ve ever seen.

Floor to ceiling books, theatre, and an art space; it’s truly something that needs to be seen. They currently don’t sell any English books, but they have cafes on each floor and there are lots of nooks and hideaways so you can easily spend a few hours reading a book of your own and admiring the interior. The shop has already marked out the best areas to take photos and visitors are encouraged to do so.

How to get there: Hangangjin Station (Seoul Subway Line 6), Exit 2 or 3.
Blue Square is directly connected to the station.

Spending a weekend in Seoul? Read our guide to Seoul’s party districts or experience local culture in one of the best theatre productions you’ll ever see.

Rainy Day Book Café | Tokyo

This café is a lovely little find tucked away in Tokyo. It can be hard to locate but prices are very reasonable considering the coffee is high quality, and the atmosphere is incredibly relaxing and quiet. It’s located in a basement through a little red brick gate.

They hold regular events and there are plenty of books to enjoy while you relax. There isn’t any wifi so it’s not ideal if you need to work but certainly great to unwind or hideaway on a rainy day.

Visit their website here. Check out other great things to do in our Arts and Culture Guide to Tokyo.

Address: Japan, 〒106-0031 Tokyo, Minato, Nishiazabu, 2 Chome−21−28

If you’re staying in Tokyo and want to take the book love even further then sleep amongst the bookshelves at Japan’s famous book hostel, Book and Bed.

Caves Books | Taipei

Taipei is a melting pot of cafes and bookstores, and a real haven for book lovers. They even have a 24-hour Eslite (their main chain bookstore) where you can enjoy books at any time of the day or night. Unsurprising for a city where the public library looks like this:

So narrowing it down to one was not easy. But, as a long-time teacher, I thought Caves Books was pretty great as it specialises in English and Chinese learning materials.

I really haven’t seen anything like this before and what better place to plan those lessons than with a coffee and quiet space full of teachers, student and expats? Its most popular branch is located on Zhongshan N. Road. The books are spread over two floors and it does include a range of books aside from language titles.

Address: 362 Zhongzheng Rd, Sec 2; 中正路二段362號

Read More: Check out our favourite day trips from Taipei if you’re in the area.

You’ll find plenty of unique and exciting tattoo artists in Taiwan, with plenty of options depending on your preferred style for when you visit Taiwan. So, let’s take a look at eight of the very best Taiwan tattoo artists.

Many of them, you’ll find, have a distinctly Japanese edge to their style because of the close ties between the nations and because of just how popular Japanese arts (including anime, manga, and video games) are in Taiwan. Anyway, let’s crack on!

Giant Lee

Anime tattoos are quickly becoming my favourite kind of tattoo. We’ve already covered other incredible anime tattoo artists before – like Adam Perj from New York and Stickypop from the UK – and here is Taiwan’s own king of anime tattoos.

Giant Lee is a Taipei-based Taiwan tattoo artist who covers both styles of anime tattoo: recreations of blast colour anime art and still from your favourite anime, and perfect copies of iconic manga panels, complete with Japanese text.

The difference in style here is immense and impressive. Giant Lee is able to bring thick lines, bold colours, and heavy personality to his tattoo art with broad strokes when he needs to, but he can also imitate the fine linework of black and white manga panels in excruciating detail.

If you love anime tattoos or manga tattoos, this Taiwan tattoo artist is the man you need!

Find Lee on our list of artists of geeky tattoos!

Kubrick Ho

This Taiwan tattoo artist from Taipei is celebrated across the world. In fact, words fail me when talking about his art. Kubrick Ho crafts tattoo art that defies description, but given that it’s my job I’ll do my best.

There’s a softness to his tattoo art; thick linework is non-existent; instead, everything flows together in one soft tone and shape. Much of Kubrick’s tattoo art depicts flowers of black and grey or muted, pastel tones; or Japanese-inspired women.

Geisha tattoos, women samurai, or women in traditional Edo costume. The expressions on their faces, the subtle watery motion of the art, it’s all so human, so alive! Kubrick’s art is mesmerising, and it’s what makes him easily one of the very best Taiwan tattoo artists working today.

Read More: 7 Best Tokyo Tattoo Artists and Studios to Check Out

Ting Jue

Do you like black and white photorealistic tattoos? Well, Dion’s are some of the best around. Working out of Coffin Cricket tattoo studio in Taipei, Dion delivers tattoos of people, wild animals, machinery, sci-fi gizmos, steampunk contraptions, biblical figures, and more with a tattoo style that’s so convincing you’d think you were gazing at an old black-and-white photo.

Dion is one of the most unique Taiwan tattoo artists in the business and someone to keep a very close eye on. If you love photorealistic portraiture in your tattoo art, book in with Dion on your next trip to Taipei.

Mick Gore

Mick Gore tattoos out of Gore Tattoo in Taoyuan, Taiwan. And his tattoo art is as neotrad as neotrad gets! Faithfully harking back to the Sailor Jerry style traditional American and British tattoos of yore, this Taiwan tattoo artist delivers faithfully old-school and badass tattoos for your pleasure and delight!

Neotrad tattoos never go out of style (I myself am covered in them) and they just do something that no other style of visual art can do. They tap into the very core of tattooing, and Mick Gore’s neotrad tattoos are an absolute blessing. You’ll not only see it in his style but also his designs. Mandalas, boxers, gypsies, native Americans, ships, anchors, praying hands; you get the idea. Neotrad, as I’ve already said, at its absolute finest.

Read More: 10 Spectacular Things to Do in Taipei

East Tattoo Hua

From Kaohsiung, Taiwan comes one of the most viscerally astonishing talents in that tattoo industry. Hua is a wrecking ball of talent. I cannot be hyperbolic enough when describing Hua’s artwork.

Specialising in massive pieces inspired by Buddhist, Chinese, and Japanese artwork, Hua commits usually to massive back pieces and full sleeve tattoos in bold primary colours and thick linework. His pieces are explosions of colour and beauty.

They appear, at their very finest, to move and breathe and express their emotion with displays of power. Tigers, samurai warriors, dragons, geisha, koi fish, and more can be seen in his artwork looking the best they’ve ever looked. One of my absolute favourite Taiwan tattoo artists.

Gin Wang

It’s not often you see tattoos this creative and this captivating. Gin Wang, a tattoo artist from Taipei, has a style like nobody else in the world. Like, it actively excites me. She is able to blend thick black linework with splashes of bold, heavily defined colour to create a statement of a tattoo.

Much of her work mixes colour and black linework to create a kind of dichotomy of style that works so well, especially with the designs she mostly focuses on: Japanese and anime-inspired tattoo art

Here, you’ll find a lot of cyberpunk, body horror-inspired, anime-esque delights in Gin Wang’s repertoire, as well as some delightfully pastel coloured kawaii creatures and flowers. This diversity in style makes her one of the finest Taiwan tattoo artists around.

Read More: 5 Books to Read Before you Visit Taiwan

Chris Lee

From Shen Tattoo Studio in Taichung comes Chris Lee, an absolute tattooing powerhouse. All black and grey, all soft yet defined, all beautiful. Whether it’s cute creatures, body horror, or sci-fi inspired scenes you want, Chris Lee can deliver it in classy black and white deliciousness. There’s a refined maturity to this Taiwan tattoo artist’s style and execution that I absolutely adore.

And if an artist can make you care about a style that you normally glance over, that says a lot about their skill and their design choices. Amazing work. Amazing.

Shan Qiu

Shan Qiu is a Taipei-based Taiwan tattoo artist who excels at small and intricate tattoos of geometric patterns that blend thin and minimalist linework with splashes of pastel colours for a mesmerising effect. This is a style that’s hard to define, being so abstract as it is. There’s less a cogent design aspect to Shan qiu’s style and more a modern art conceptual style, like a very happy trip of colour and shape.

Some of Shan Qiu’s designs use portraits or flowers to ground the art in a single concept, while others make allusions to the mathematical side of artistry, but every single piece is captivating and fascinating in an unknowable, difficult-to-grasp kind of way that makes this Taiwan tattoo artist one of the most daring and unique in the whole country.

Before you visit Taiwan, however, there are some incredible books for you to read. It’s a place that’s growing in popularity, becoming more dearly loved by people near and far. Taiwan might be our favourite country, as such it’s the place in Asia we most urge people to visit, explore, and fall in love with.

Before you visit Taiwan, however, make sure to learn a little about its recent history and read its wonderful literature. Here are six books from or about Taiwan to devour before you head over the Asia’s most wondrous island nation.

Read More: See our photo essay for a taster of what this wonderful country has to offer!

Books to Read Before You Visit Taiwan

Note: A writer that we haven’t read ourselves (looking to remedy that soon) but should very much be included on this list is the Taiwanese feminist writer Li Ang. Li Ang is known for her idiosyncratic, candid and penetrating insights on gender politics in the social life in contemporary Taiwan. Currently in translation are The Butcher’s Wife and The Lost Garden.

Two Trees Make A Forest by Jessica J. Lee

This is, perhaps, the one absolute must-read book to read before you visit Taiwan. Here, in the form of a blended biography, history book, linguistics text, and nature writing, is the definitive book on Taiwan.

Two Trees Make A Forest tells a captivating story: that of both Jessica J. Lee herself and Taiwan as a nation, with Lee’s family tying the two together. Half of this book is a personal exploration of self-discovery, as Lee traces her family history.

Born in Canada to a Welsh father and a mother born in Taiwan to two Chinese migrant parents, Lee has made a home in London and Berlin. Now, she is retracing her family’s steps. On her journey of self-discovery, Lee explores the linguistic history of China and Taiwan, and how language is used to express feelings, put names and descriptions to the things around us, and bring life to the world.

She beautifully ties nature writing – as she wanders the lush and lumpy landscape of Taiwan – with an historic and etymological journey through the language of her mother and grandparents.

Two Trees Make A Forest is a detailed history book which lays Taiwan out geologically as well as politically. It explores the hills, forests, and rivers of the island. It looks at Taiwan’s relationship to itself in complex and meaningful ways. In short, there is no better book about Taiwan.

Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin

Translated by Bonnie Huie

Qiu Miaojin’s Notes of a Crocodile is a few things: it is one of the quintessential Taiwanese novels of the twentieth century; it is also one of the most prominent and powerful lesbian novels of the past few decades. Separated into a series of notebooks, Notes of a Crocodile tracks the university years of a queer Taiwanese student who goes by the name Lazi.

Lazi is tormented by her love for a woman in the year above; their relationship is tumultuous and aggressive. She also spends time in queer circles populated by other emotionally unhealthy young people. This is a visceral tale of personal hatred and acceptance, of love and lust and danger. Reminiscent of Osamu Dazai’s No Longer Human, this Taiwanese novel rips you apart unapologetically.

Buy a copy of Notes of a Crocodile here!

Bestiary by K-Ming Chang

K-Ming Chang is a California-born, New York-based writer of Taiwanese descent. Bestiary is a novel which takes stories of migration, as well as traditional Chinese and Taiwanese folk stories, and weaves them together with a personal narrative of growing up queer to create something beautiful and surreal.

Our protagonist, Daughter, is growing up in California, raised by a Taiwanese mother and Chinese father. She is raised on the folk and fairy tales of Taiwan, and she is also living her own school life. Here, she meets Ben, a Chinese-American girl with whom she enters a budding romance.

Bestiary is a story of clashing cultures, of heredity, of tradition vs modernity, of queerness and self-discovery. It’s a lot of things. Most notably, it is beautiful. Every page and passage in Bestiary is a work of poetry, dripping with surreal metaphor and strange imagery.

The story itself is both grounded and fantastical, but always told with intense and dramatic flair and beauty. An absolute work of art. A wonderful book to learn about Taiwanese folk history before you visit Taiwan.

Buy a copy of Bestiary here!

Gods of Want: Stories by K-Ming Chang

Following on from her sensational debut novel, Bestiary, K-Ming Chang expanded on the themes of migration, motherhood, and queerness with Gods of Want. This short story collection is separated into three thematic sections: Mothers, Myths, and Moths. Through all three, however, the concept of migration and the inspiration of Taiwanese culture can be seen and felt.

These surreal and fantastical tales, inspired by folklore and fairy tales, examine maternity and matriarchy; the relationships between women within a family, and those women’s relationships to their own cultures. Showing great love and adoration for the folk myths of Taiwan, the stories in Gods of Want ask us to consider the complexities of migration, what we carry with us, and what shapes us as people.

These stories also express a young person’s relationship to her own queerness, to lust and love and sex and body. Incredible, strange, surreal tales bursting with imagination.

Buy a copy of Gods of Want here!

Whisper by Chang Yu-Ko

Translated by Roddy Flagg

From Taiwanese author Chang Yu-Ko comes a chilling and monstrous novel, reminiscent of old Japanese horror stories, that tells the story of a ghost. This is simple enough until the thread unravels to reveal themes of imperialism and our relationships with native peoples.

Whisper is one of the finest Taiwanese book of recent years and an essential novel to read before you visit Taiwan. It begins with a taxi driver named Wu Shih-Sheng. He is our unlovable protagonist, aged 51, abusive, drunk, and dreadful.

Shih-Sheng soon finds an abandoned cab and, inside, a radio with a ghostly recording. That same ghostly voice, which sometimes speaks in Japanese, has also begun to haunt (and soon kills) Shih-Sheng’s own wife. After her actions land her in a psych ward, where she dies by having her head twisted right around, Shih-Sheng’s wife leaves him a widower, and from there he follows a difficult trail to find out what this ghost is and what it wants.

Whisper gathers more protagonists as it goes, many of whom are horrible people, and it also becomes increasingly intense. Body horror and jump scares mix and blend with creeping and claustrophobic dread in a masterful but chilling way that may leave you shaken and vulnerable to some pretty intense nightmares.

Ghost Town by Kevin Chen

Translated by Darryl Sterk

Written by Germany-based Taiwanese writer and actor Kevin Chen, Ghost Town is a lyrical piece of literary fiction about the ways in which our families haunt us, both internally and externally. Our protagonists are the Chen family; originally from a small, forgotten town in central Taiwan, they are now scattered everywhere.

The focus is on the family’s youngest son, Keith, a gay man who escaped to Berlin for a safer, better life. However, when the novel begins, Keith has just been release from prison for killing his lover. Now, Keith and the rest of the Chen family are heading home for the annual Ghost Festival, and all of them are haunted; in pain; traumatised.

This is a raw and detailed depiction of how families leave their marks. It explores how we are all traumatised as individuals, but also as part of a group. The toxicity of family life, of childhood, is front and centre here. These people all have battles that they sometimes win, sometimes lose, and they must still remain a family. Universal and painful, Ghost Town is an essential piece of beautiful Taiwanese fiction.

Hunter School by Sakinu Ahronglong

Translated by Darryl Sterk

Sakinu Ahronglong is a member of the Paiwanese group of indigenous Taiwanese people who have populated the hills, forests, and plains of Taiwan since long before the Kuomintang or the Japanese occupation.

The story of their cultural deflation — a similar story to those of American Indians and Aboriginal Australians — is a tragic one, and groups like Ahronglong’s have had to compromise and give into modernity, industry, and capitalism in order to survive.

The story follows Sakinu himself as he retells his young life as a Paiwan native amidst the cultural shifts and changes in 20th century Taiwan. Part One is largely concerned with his childhood, one filled with lessons from his extremely talented hunter of a father.

Here, we learn about the traditional millet wine of the Paiwan people and the ceremonies surrounding it. The stories of Sakinu’s grandparents, the farm they tend, and the fables his father bestows on him about the native creatures of the hills and forests are nothing short of infectious.

The Membranes by Chi Ta-wei

Translated by Ari Larissa Heinrich

The Membranes is like a time capsule for the literary and artistic punk rock revolution that was 1990s Taiwan. Originally written in 1995, The Membranes is a queer, speculative sci-fi novel that pushes the boundaries of sex and gender. This is a novel about climate change, about family dynamics, about the human body. It invites readers to ask big questions about big topics, and it represents the peak of Taiwanese genre fiction.

Author Chi Ta-wei is a celebrated writer and scholar of queer and Chinese literature, and The Membranes shows us why he is such an important voice in the world of Taiwanese literature. Before you visit Taiwan, reading a book like The Membranes gives you a welcome introduction to the boundary-pushing punk literary scene of modern-day Taiwan.

Solo Dance by Li Kotomi

Translated by Arthur Reiji Morris

Li Kotomi is a Taiwanese author based in Japan, who writes in both Mandarin and Japanese. This particular novel, Solo Dance, was written in Japanese but it followed the story of a young Taiwanese lesbian as she moves through university in Taichung and then heads to Tokyo.

Solo Dance is a hard-hitting novel about sexuality, abuse, and depression. It shines a harsh light on the experiences and traumas of young LGBTQ+ people, even those who grow up in relatively queer-friendly nations like Taiwan. Cho Norie has been living in Tokyo for a few years when the story begins, and we get frequent and long flashbacks to her youth in rural Taiwan, the relationships she builds, and the therapy she seeks.

We see how Norie’s experiences and traumas have developed in her an obsession with death, and with authors like Qiu Miaojin (Notes of a Crocodile) who took their own lives. Norie thinks of death often, and spends her days hiding her sexuality for fear of further torment.

Solo Dance is a difficult book to read, but a very relatable and comforting one for queer people who have gone through similar experiences. Before you visit Taiwan, you can read this book to get an idea of the queer lives lived by its young LGBTQ+ people.

Forbidden Nation: A History of Taiwan by Jonathan Manthorpe

It’s okay to admit, before you visit Taiwan, that you may not know that much about its history. And that’s cool! Most people don’t. But you can change that by reading Forbidden Nation: a fair, unbiased, detailed, and well-researched examination of the cultural and political history of Taiwan.

Forbidden Nation explains the fifty-years occupation of Taiwan by Japan which informed and established much of its modern infrastructure, as well as the Chinese Civil War between Chairman Mao Zedong’s Communist China and Sun Yat-sen’s Kuomintang.

This is the war which caused the separation of China and Taiwan – a separation which is disputed between the two to this day. If you want to know Taiwan’s true modern history, this is the book for you and a must-read book before you visit Taiwan. When we talk about the politics of Taiwan, books like this one reveal the truth.

My Enemy’s Cherry Tree by Wang Ting-kuo

A layered tale of a man lost to his own distractions. This book heartily combats modern-day capitalism and the ways in which it destroys our souls and our relationships. My Enemy’s Cherry Tree tells the story of a man whose wife has abandoned him. He retraces his own life with her and the reasons for her walking away.

Along the way, he recalls the highs and lows of his business life, which he takes great pride in but ironically was the cause of his tumultuous relationship, one destined to fail. For an example of gripping Taiwanese fiction look no further.

Read our full review of My Enemy’s Cherry Tree here

The Stolen Bicycle by Wu Ming-yi

Wu Ming-yi is Taiwan’s most beloved novelist; he’s proof that, when it comes to Taiwan, books are their greatest and most beloved art form. Unfortunately, criminally few of Taiwan’s novels have been translated into English, but we’re lucky enough to have two of Wu’s.

The Stolen Bicycle is a clever blend of heavily narrative fiction and disjointed non-fiction. The resulting concoction is a novel about a man’s search for his father – interspersed with engaging and fascinating facts and lessons about such ordinary things as butterfly catching and the bicycle-building industry.

It’s a subtly ethereal story that, like a kite, at once floats and yet firmly anchors itself to earth. This is a great book to read before you visit Taiwan as it takes you on a beautiful journey around the country and through history through words.

Read our full review of The Stolen Bicycle here

Scales of Injustice by Loa Ho

Translated by Darryl Sterk

Translated by Darryl Sterk, the same fantastic translator who brought us The Stolen Bicycle, this is the complete collection of prose by a man who is considered the godfather of new Taiwanese literature, and rightly so.

The stories in this collection were written during, and about, the Japanese occupation of Taiwan so great choice if you’d like to learn more about Taiwan’s past before you travel.

What you’re getting here is not only a lesson in history from the inside, but also a fantastic work of art that demonstrates the kind of torture and oppression forced upon these people. And, on top of that, the comedy, melodrama, and activist art that comes out of a life and a situation like Loa Ho’s.

Read our full review of Scales of Injustice here

The Man with the Compound Eyes by Wu Ming-yi

While there are so many great Taiwanese writers that deserve to be known across the world (poet Yu Guangzhong and political writer Zhang Dachun to name just two) not enough of them have been translated into English and are easily accessible. That’s why Wu Ming-yi is here a second time. That, and the fact that he really is the best.

His writing is varied, heartfelt, and powerfully engrossing. The Man with the Compound Eyes is a wholly different beast than his latest novel, with an eye towards magical realism and mythology in a Neil Gaiman meets Natsuo Kirino kind of way. It’s surreal, it’s dark, it’s twisted, it’s fun. If you want a Taiwanese novel that’s less political and heavy, and more imagined, vibrant, and colourful, this is it.

Read More: Taiwan is a vibrant and exciting, don’t forget to get out of Taipei and see some of the nearby landscape with these fabulous day trips

See our Youtube Channel for more videos, and be sure to check out our Travel stories for even more adventures.

When it comes to things to do in Taipei, Jiufen should be at the top of your list. The first we heard about Jiufen was a year ago when the world found out that the bathhouse in Spirited Away was inspired by the beautiful teahouse in a tiny little mountain village in Taiwan, which is easy to visit provided you take the right tour.

We didn’t expect, when we finally had the chance to go, that not only was this teahouse very much an inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki, but that beyond the teahouse, in the surrounding areas and the market around it, the nearby mines and tunnels that we also visited reminded us of other moments in that animated film. Equally important for travellers are the outstanding areas of Pingxi, and Jinguashi.

While we generally try to make our own way to places (and you certainly can make your own way to Jiufen), to be able to see the three areas on the same day, and have ample time to explore each one, then a tour is certainly the easiest way to do it and the best we found was MyTaiwanTour.

Why MyTaiwanTour?

Again, we’re not really tour people, so we automatically looked for an option with minimal people that would take you to areas that the average tourist buses wouldn’t. And this is where MyTaiwanTour comes in. Having now experienced one of their tours (Jiufen & Pingxi day tour), I wouldn’t go elsewhere.

We were picked up from our hotel by a fantastic and enthusiastic guide named Kelly and set out with just four other travellers. We visited the three key areas and didn’t feel rushed at all.

Jinguashi

Having a guide was particularly useful for this kind of trip because she really stressed the history of these amazing places: the mining history, the Japanese occupation, and the cultural history which, until this point, we knew very little about.

She also directed the driver to some secret photo spots that she herself had found whilst out on her scooter a couple of days before. This mining area is full of abandoned buildings left over from the Japanese occupation, and is amazing for those dystopian shots.

I love abandoned buildings and was itching to explore all of them. You can’t (or, at least, are not supposed to) but they’ve got this haunted beauty that just comes out perfectly on camera.

You’ll also walk through a mining tunnel straight out of the opening minutes of Spirited Away, have an incredible view of the Yin-Yang Sea (a beautiful two toned ocean), and see some waterfalls.

I didn’t really know what to expect here, and I was totally blown away by the landscape; in fact, in many ways it was my favourite part of the tour! You also visit a nearby temple and learn all about Daoist religious practices. It’s a peaceful haven before heading over to busy, busy Jiufen.

Jiufen (九份)

When we arrived at Jiufen old street, we were given the option to explore alone or join Kelly for lunch at one of the best restaurants in the area.

We chose to go alone and were given over two hours to explore the area, get dinner, and relax for a while. You certainly don’t feel rushed around this wonderful place since it’s surprisingly small. Jiufen old street holds a myriad of wonderful food and drinks-related surprises.

However, it is truly gorgeous here; Jiufen old street, the winding markets, the lanterns, and the tea-houses all add to the overall effect. There’s a real mix of smells and sounds, from the hustle and bustle to vendors advertising locally-sourced teas. You’ll find plenty of souvenirs, and mountains of Ghibli-themed merchandise to buy. Even this No Face (Kaonashi) bubble tea!

Unfortunately, Jiufen old street is very busy and there’s no escaping that (except perhaps if you were to stay overnight; I hear the sunset is beautiful). But this is one of Taiwan’s biggest tourist attractions, so we were unsurprised. Luckily there are plenty of photo spots that you can find to take beautiful pictures despite the crowds.

There’s some great must-try food there, from delicious fish-balls, to wrapped up peanuts and ice-cream (you have to try this), and their famous mochi and taro ball dishes.

(IIf you’re interested in Taiwanese Food, check out this article)

There are also plenty of teahouses to pop in to – including, of course, the iconic Spirited Away place itself.

Jiufen to Shifen

After our being spirited away to the teahouses, we headed from Jiufen to Shifen in Pingxi. This area is famous for the railway line running through it – which makes for some great pictures – the sky lanterns, and the famous waterfall.

Getting from Jiufen to Shifen can be trick by yourself, which is why we recommend taking a tour to streamline the whole day without losing any of the fun.

While ordinarily a visitor would just buy and decorate a ready-made lantern, MyTaiwanTour takes you to the original sky lantern shop, where you meet the family who came up with the idea to bring people to their village and boost the local tourism (it worked).

Sky Lanterns are pretty controversial now, for environmental reasons. They explained that this is the only place you can release lanterns in Taiwan and that they’re designed to come down ten minutes after they fly away. The people then head out to pick up and recycle all the lanterns. Of course there are still issues with this but it’s definitely one of the more ethical ways to release a lantern.

Another advantage of taking this tour from Jiufen to Shifen is that you’ll be taught how to make the lantern in a short workshop with the original shop owner (something which you have to book in advance if you want to do it).

This really adds something to the whole experience and you feel very proud of that lantern that you design yourself. You can choose to just decorate one if you don’t fancy making one, but everyone watches the demonstration. You also have plenty of time to explore the nearby cafes and shops after or simply take pictures. We took some photos and headed to a café for some bubble tea.

Conclusion

We were tired out at the end of the day but it was so worth it. It guaranteed that we had the chance to see all of these unforgettable places in one day, freeing us up to head over to Yangmingshan mountain the next day.

There are so many wonderful things to do in Taipei and MyTaiwanTour is the best way to do not only visit Jiufen, but also get from Jiufen to Shifen quickly and efficiently, thus avoiding all of the usual issues that come saddled with many larger tours.

I would definitely use them again and they have some great options for people who want to visit other areas of Taiwan with a group or want to create a private itinerary. When it comes to things to do in Taipei, this tour has our absolute highest recommendation!

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We’re going to be updating our Taiwan and Taipei posts with things to do and how to get there. Sign up to our mailing list below to keep updated.

The city of Taipei is easy to ride around despite how busy and bustling it is thanks to the hidden, quiet backstreets which make for a scenic ride. Traveling Taipei by bike couldn’t be easier. In fact, across the whole of Taiwan there are many popular cycle routes to enjoy, particularly along the coastlines.

One of your favourite ways to quickly get used to the backstreets and learn some fo the history of the city is with the immensely friendly Taipei Bike Tours.

They offer several options, including their most popular morning tour (the one we went on), the night tour, or even the all-day tour for the truly brave. They also have the night market tour, which sounds wonderful because Taipei’s night markets are gorgeous, bustling and delicious places to explore.

We found this one of the best ways to get off-the-beaten-track in Taipei and also learn about the history and culture of many of the lesser-known areas of the city. Taiwan has so much to share and the passionate guides are happy to impart their knowledge.

If you’re looking for other fun things to get up to while in Taipei, check out this exciting list of fifty activities or thirty-four photos we took that will make you fall in love Taiwan. Exploring Taipei by bike was easily one of my favourite ways to see the city.

What’s in a Ride?

The bike tour begins with breakfast at a small off-the-beaten-path eatery, consisting of local omelettes, soy milk, dumplings, and fried bread.

Once fuelled, you’re left to wander a morning market — a typical gathering place for the retired generation — where local people pick their fruits, fish, and vegetables for the week. This is the perfect way to get to know your tour guides and fellow travellers before heading out onto the busy streets.

The ride itself is stress-free. We were apprehensive at first, having moved from cycling Osaka (a very orderly and relaxed city) to cycling Taipei (far more frantic and compact).

We feared the ride may involve a heavy amount of dodging trucks and zigzagging between old people, parked scooters, and a thousand other cyclists. This proved not to be the case at all, and the ride was refreshing and easy-going the whole day.

The tour is broken up by stops at many of Taipei’s most fascinating historical sites. One highlight being the city’s oldest street: DiHua Lu.

Here you’re guided on foot through the food stalls and medicine stores, given a fascinating and engaging history lesson on the street, its architecture, the food offered, and the local laws regarding traditional Chinese medicine (our guides, Alex and Cheryl, were some of the most impassioned people we’ve ever met; more on that later).

So Much to Learn!

The bikes you tour the city with are provided by the local government and work the same way as London’s Boris Bikes (a name we do not condone).

Here they are called U-Bikes, and are found on most street corners. They are painted orange and can be unlocked with an individual’s Easy Card (again, akin to London’s Oyster Cards). Even this was taught to us by our charming guides.

Rather unexpectedly, what proved to be the most engaging and entertaining part of the tour was the rapport we quickly built with our guides. We had faith that we were in good hands, would be looked after, and would learn a lot.

But it went further than this: Alex, a young man from Texas with a broad knowledge of, and adoration for, Taiwanese history, culture, and politics, was passionately eager to share his knowledge with us; and we, eager to learn as much as possible.

If you are keen, as we were, to dig into the politics of Taiwan and China, then this tour will slake your lust for conversation in that area.

Having lived in China — and read and written much on the subject — it was wonderful to chat politics and recent history with someone so knowledgeable. As you tour the government buildings, memorial sites, and historic streets, the conversation may inevitably turn time and again to history and politics.

If this further kindles your interest in exploring Taiwan, then I cannot recommend this bike tour, and these fantastic guides, enough.

Book one of Taipei Bike Tours wonderful experiences when you’re next in Taipei. You can also contact them via email: taipeibiketours@gmail.com