Author: COLO

COLO’s Traveler Guide: Taiwan

Times listed are the timetables at the time of visit.

Day 1

Tokyo Haneda 0840 (Japan Airline JAL97) >> Taipei Songshan 1140

Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) Taipei 1331 (THSR 133) >> THSR Zuoying 1505
Xinzuoying 1556 (Tze-Chiang 317) >> Fangliao 1700

Overnight stay: Aiqin Coast Inn (愛琴海岸精品民宿)

Dinner: Beef noodle soup

Tips for Day 1
– Immigration office at Songshan Airport was not crowded probably because it was on New Year’s Day. I expected to take a cab to Taipei Station for tight connection, but I was able to take the subway with enough time.

Day 2

Fangliao 0836 (express train) >> Chaozhou 0908
Chaozhou 0927 (Tze-Chiang 118) >> Changhua 1227

– Changhua Railway Roundhouse

Changhua (bus) >> Lugang

– Lukang Tianhou Temple
– Lukang Old Town
– Lukang Lungshan Temple

Lukang (bus) >> Changhua
Changhua 1848 (local train) >> Xinwuri 1857
THSR Taichung 1920 (THSR 153) >> THSR Zuoying 2005
Xinzuoying 2037 (express train) >> Fangliao 2156

Tips for Day 2
– I forgot about it until I got back home, but I had visited Lukang on my first visit to Taiwan. There were many sights to see in Lukang, but I would prefer to visit Tainan.

Day 3

Fangliao 0852 (Tze-Chiang 304) >> Kaohsiung 0946

– Kaohsiung Fruit and Vegetable Market

Lunch: Last ten miles of long journey tea house (半九十茶屋)

– Qiaotou Sugar Refinery
– Kaohsiung Lighthouse

Kaohsiung 2013 (Tze-Chiang 385) >> Fangliao 2107

Tips for Day 3
– I needed to take a ferry to visit Kaohsiung Lighthouse and then climb up the hill. It was an enjoyable excursion out of city center.

Day 4

Breezy Blue
Fangliao 1025 (approx) >> Taitung >> Fangliao 1740 (approx)

Dinner: Kasuga Kitchen

Tips for Day 4
– The Breezy Blue has a coach assignment but seats are not assigned. It is better to have a seat on the seaside by following a queue at the ticket gate.
– I had a dinner in Kasuga Village, an aboriginal village. When I asked to call a cab on the way back to the hotel, I was asked if I stayed in Fangliao. I showed my room card key to the restaurant owner, eventually owner of the hotel picked me up by himself. This was a wonderful thing that could only be happened in the countryside.

Day 5

Fangliao 0705 (Puyuma 162) >> Kaohsiung 0756
Kaohsiung (MRT) >> THSR Zuoying
THSR Zuoying 0900 (THSR 618) >> THSR Taoyuan 1036
THSR Taoyuan (MRT) >> Taoyuan Airport T2

Taipei Taoyuan 1325 (Japan Airlines JAL8664) > Narita 1730

Tips for Day 5
– The highest-speed express of Taiwan Railway, Puyuma, does not stop at Xinzhaoying (= THSR Zuoying). I still do not understand why.
– The rules for Tze-Chiang Limited Express are not quite clear to me. It seems that there are two types of Tze-Chiang. Old trains, which allows passengers to board without a reserved ticket. Newly build trains have fines to passengers boarded without reservations. After I arrived at Kaohsiung Station at 7:56 a.m., there was 8:06 a.m. Tze-Chiang that stopped at Xinzuoying. However, I was too lazy to buy another ticket after asking the rules to a station stuff, I just took the subway to THSR Zuoying.

Memories of Zao (Originally posted on 2022-Mar-24)

One of the readers of this blog was a resident of Zao and recommended to visit there. Zao is known as a town of hot springs and skiing, but it is most famous for its ice monster. If I go to Zao, I should see the ice monster.

The best time to see the ice monster is in February, in the middle of winter. As a second option, I asked whether I should go in January or March. I was told that January would be better.

I decided going to Zao on compensatory leave for the New Year holidays. The plan was that I would stay at an onsen inn in Zao for the first night and then go to Hijiori Onsen on the second day.

Famous photographs of Zao are ice monster trees that covered with snow against the clear blue sky. The weather in the mountains is changeable, I was not sure if things really work that well.

I took the Shinkansen which allowed flexible itineraries. I had reserved the first train in the morning on the first day and the last train on the third day to maximize my stay at Zao area in Yamagata Prefecture. Shinkansen reservations were able to be changed according to the weather. Since I had no other plans, I was able to have three chances to see the ice monster, even taking travel times into account.

If I have three days, I should be able to make it at least once. Maybe.

However, weekly forecast was not looking good. I had planned to be extremely flexible during the three days, but the dates could not be changed. As of the day before the departure, it was forecasted that only a few hours of sunshine in the evening of the first day. The rests were forecasted completely cloudy. If the weather was not good throughout the trip, there was no point having flexible train itineraries.

Would it really work?

On the first day, I did not get up early to catch the first train but boarded Yamagata Shinkansen left Tokyo before noon. My Shinkansen was delayed because of the time required for snow removal. It was not a good start.

After leaving Kanto region with clear sky, Fukushima Prefecture was overcast. It got worse as the Shinkansen entered Yamagata Prefecture with snow flurried in some places.

Nevertheless, by the time train reached to Yamagata Station, the sun was visible behind the wind-driven clouds.

It was a bright sign, I thought.

From Yamagata Station, I took a bus to Zao. As the bus entered the mountainous area and climbed up, visibility became poor again. I knew it was not going to be a good day. I decided to hang around in the onsen resort area and take a nap at the inn.

However, when I looked up at the sky around 4:00 p.m., to my surprise, the sky had suddenly begun to clear up. After all, mountain weather was changeable.

I rushed to the ropeway station. I ran through the snow-covered road and boarded the ropeway just in time. I made the quickest transfer to gondola on the way to the top and managed to reach the summit before sunset.

The white snow monster, the blue sky, and the bright red sunset. It was a spectacular view that seemed unreal. The time around sunset and sunset were often called magic hours, but it was beyond the magic. It was mystical. It was just wonderful, but it was also very cold. The extreme cold also felt like mystical, but it was real.

I finished photo shooting when it became completely dark and ran back to the inn before the dinner time.

It was a perfect two-hour that I celebrated at the inn. I ordered local sake called Sumiyoshi. It was dry with a hint of oak and delicious. I recalled that I ordered some more local sake, but I did not remember what they were because I got drunk.

The purpose of the trip was accomplished on the first day, and all remained on this trip was to enjoy onsen.

On the last day, the weather in Yamagata City was not so bad. However, I could not imagine getting off the Shinkansen, riding a bus to Zao, taking out my warm clothes from my backpack, and getting on the ropeway again.

The weather in the mountains is changeable. There was no guarantee that it would be sunny when I got to Zao, and there was no guarantee that the fine weather at noon would last until the evening. Therefore, I thought it was unlikely that I would encounter a more spectacular view than on the first day. The memory of a spectacular view woven by nature should remain as spectacular.

Well, that was just an excuse for myself.

I was already fully satisfied. I felt too cold in the evening of the first day and too tired from many hours spend in onsen. Besides, I needed to change Shinkansen ticket again. In the end, I did not have the energy going up the mountain in the extreme cold anymore.

COLO’s Traveler Guide: Zao

The schedule and service are based on the timetable at the time of visit.

Day 1

Tokyo 1000 (Tsubasa 135) >> Yamagata 1344
Yamagata Station 1420 (bus) >> Zao Onsen Bus Terminal 1457

– Ropeway for Ice Monster

Overnight stay: Takamiya Miyamaso

Tips for Day 1
– I stayed at the inn in the old hot spring resort area, farthest away from the ropeway station. It was a 15-minute walk, but there were ups and downs on icy walkway that were hard for me.
– The uphill ropeway got crowded with groups at around 6:00 p.m. as they came to see ice monster lighting up. When the lights were lit up after the sunset, it can be enjoyable regardless of the weather.

Day 2

Zao Onsen Bus Terminal 1020 (bus) >> Yamagata Station 1105
Yamagata 1246 (Tsubasa 133) >> Shinjo 1331

Overnight stay: Hijiori Onsen Maruya

Tips for the 2nd day
– The inn offered a free transportation from/to Shinjyo Station, but there was also public bus from Shinjo Station to Hijiori Onsen.

Day 3

Shinjo 1117 (Tsubasa 140) >> Omiya 1423
Omiya >> Yokohama

Memories of Fangliao

After returning from a trip to Taiwan last year, I made some research for my next possible visit there. I found that there was a train line in southern Taiwan with a spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean and a sightseeing train was operated using restored old coach cars. English name of the train is “Breezy Blue” but Chinese name “藍皮解憂號 (Relieve Anxious Blue Train)” sounds more comforting. I slightly recalled that I had read an article about this train when it was in a regular service, but I had forgotten about it because of the inaccessibility of Fangliao, the starting station of the train.

I think one of difficulties of traveling to Taiwan is its proximity to Japan although it may sound paradoxically. By taking advantages of red-eye flights, I believe that three-night is enough to go to Southeast Asia, and it is possible going to North America or Europe for four-night travel. As such, Taiwan tends to be out of consideration when I can take a reasonably long vacation. However, this New Year holiday would be the right time because I can take a longer stay in Taiwan due to the airfare.

Assuming that the tourist train would be crowded on weekends, I initially made a reservation on a weekday. If I take a train on a scenic route overlooking the Pacific Ocean, I must do it on a day with good weather. When I checked the forecast before leaving Japan, all forecasts predicted rain in southern Taiwan on the day of the train reserved.

It is difficult to relieve anxious if it is rained. I kept looking the forecast until the day before departure, but it remained the same. On the other hand, all the forecasting companies were predicting clear skies on the day before I would return to Japan. I decided to bet the whole trip on that day. Intentionally ignoring all the troubles not just to myself but all others, I decided to settle things with money – changed hotel reservations and made another train reservation at the very last minute.

Finally, the day came to board the Breezy Blue train. As forecasted, the weather was fine in Fangliao.

When I went to the reception a little early, I was surprised to see a large crowd of people. Apparently, the train was a part of local bus tours. After checking-in for the train and purchasing souvenirs, I waited for the train at Fangliao station. Then a line was formed at the ticket gate. I did not know how crowded the train would be, but I was theoretically sure that only a half of the seats was on the seaside. I decided to get in the line too.

This train runs on the South-link Line of Taiwan Railway, from Fangliao in southwestern Taiwan to Taitung on the east coast and back. Although it is called the South-link Line, it does not link to the southern tip of the Taiwan Island but shortcutting mountain area using tunnels.

Nobel Prize-winning novelist Yasunari Kawabata wrote “the train came out of the long tunnel into the snow country” at the beginning of his “Snow Country”. Unfortunately, I was not a Nobel Prize-winning author besides Taiwan was not a snow country.

The train came out of the long tunnel into the cloudy country. There was a mountain range that run through Taiwan, and the weather seemed to be changed by the mountains. I regretted that I did not take a photo of the ocean on the west coast, where was clear. I arrived in Taitung without to relieve anxious.

The Breezy Blue train runs one round-trip per day. Since the return trip is scheduled around sunset time on west coast, return schedule is rather tight. In Taitung (台東), I only had a time to see the station. It was a bit disappointing since I had lived in Taito (台東) Ward in Tokyo for more than 20 years. I wished to see Taitung a little longer.

It was the time to board the return train. Weather was not so good on the return trip either.

The train made a stop at an intermediate station, where passengers walked around for about an hour to visit an aboriginal village. During this one hour, the weather improved dramatically. It was a miracle.

Upon all passengers re-embarked, the train proceeded to a scenic section of the line where the train slowed down, with a clear sky and a view of the Pacific Ocean up close.

There were fewer passengers on the return trip, and one car in middle of the train was unmanned. The entire train was chartered by a tour company, and the empty car was not locked during the return trip. I was able to enter the car and photograph the blue Pacific Ocean spreading out the windows of the old coach. It was truly a train to relieve anxious.

In the evening, the sun goes down into the mountain range on the east coast, but once passing through the tunnels, the train will be on the west coast. In other words, after watching the sun moving behind the mountains, I was able to enjoy the sun sets into the ocean. They were beautiful sights. The train then returned to Fangliao in a twilight.

I had made last-minute changes, and I felt nervous even on the day of the trip. Finally, I was confident to believe all’s well that ends well. I was fully able to relieve anxious during the New Year holidays. Last year was pretty rough for me, but I felt like there was a hope for 2025.