COLO’s Traveler Guide: Taiwan

Times etc. listed are the timetables at the time of the visit.

Day 1

Tokyo Haneda 0920 (All Nippon Airways ANA851) >> Taipei Songshan 1230

Songshan Airport 1300 (UBER) >> Jiufen 1345

Overnight stay: Sunny Room

Tea: Jiufen Skyline Tea House

Tips for Day 1
– Since there were three of us traveling, we took UBER from Songshan Airport to Jiufen. We seemed to be able to avoid the traffic jam because the driver went up the mountain from the opposite side of the main route.
– Even though we avoided the weekend, Jiufen was crowded as I heard. Although it was relatively ok after 8:00 p.m., there were still a lot of people and the town would be dark if we stayed too late.

Day 2

Jiufen 1030 (Taxi) >> Ruifang Station 1040
Ruifang 1050 (Taiwan Railways) >> Nangang 1130
Nangang 1210 (Taiwan High Speed Rail 1637) >> THSR Tainan 1406
Shalun (Taiwan Railways) >> Tainan

Anping Tree House
Shennong Street

Dinner: Zun Private Kitchen

Overnight stay: U.I.J. Hotel & Hostel

Tips for Day 2
– The electric info board at Ruifang station shows the destination of trains in traditional Chinese characters, but it is like Tokyo Station on the Tokaido Line nowadays, Taipei Station is an intermediate station. So I had no idea of the geographical location of the stations listed on the board. I was about to take the Southbound train based on geographical sense, but when I asked the station stuff, she told me to take the Northbound train. It’s complicated.
– “Tainan” station of Taiwan High Speed Rail is called “Shalun” in Taiwan National Railways. Although they are operated by different entities, I wish they would use the same name for the train station. It would be easier to say “New Tainan” (?)
– The restaurant of the day was worth praise about, but the hotel was also good.

Day 3

Yongle Market
Tainan Confucius Temple
Chikan Tower
Grand Mazu Temple
Hayashi Department Store

Lunch: Yamane Sushi

Dinner: Hu Xu Zhong Beef Noodles

Bar: Whisky Picnic

Tips for Day 3
– In Tainan, I was curious about Yamane Sushi. It is a long-established sushi restaurant with deep local roots that seems to have a divided reputation even among Taiwanese. It is a typical Southeast Asian restaurant with tables on the street under an arcade. I found it while walking around town, so I went in. Of course, there is no air conditioner in the restaurant, but the fish seemed to be well refrigerated, so I ordered sushi. It was not bad considering it as a Japanese-style local food.
– Beef noodles can be found all over Taiwan, but the Tainan is famous for beef soup. Eating beef and rice with a delicious soup. I almost despaired the length of the waiting line when I arrived, but found half of the line was for a neighboring restaurant. The turnover was surprisingly fast.
– I went to a whisky bar called Whisky Picnic, which was introduced by a Taiwanese regular at a bar I go to almost every week. It seems that they buy casks and bottle their own whiskey, just work as an independent bottler, which is quite interesting. They accept credit card for over certain amount consumed, and I was a bit nervous because I did not have a lot of cash with me. I then realized that the problem could be easily solved with some more drinks.

Day 4

– Anping Tree House
Anping Old Fort
Anping Matsu Temple
Anping Bean Jelly

THSR Tainan 1213 (Taiwan High Speed Rail 636) >> Taipei 1359
Taipei Station (Subway) >> Taipei Songshan Airport

Taipei Songshan 1650 (All Nippon Airways ANA854) >> Tokyo Haneda 2040

Tips for Day 4
– On the last day, I revisited Anping area. It was cloudy on this day, so it was a good decision to visit Anping Tree House on the Day 2 when the weather was fine.
– To save time, I took the UBER from the hotel to the THSR Tainan Station. It was too far from city center. Depending on the schedule, it may be a good idea to take the Taiwan National Railways from local Tainan station toward Kaohsiung, and then take a fast THSR train from Zuoying to Taipei (the train does not stop at THSR Tainan).
– Taiwanese railway companies produce their own boxed lunches. At THSR Tainan Station, Taiwan High Speed Rail’s lunch boxes are sold in the lobby outside the ticket gates, while Taiwan National Rail’s boxed lunches are sold inside the ticket gates of THSR station. Normally, I would think it would be the other way around, but perhaps there was a struggle over interests.
– I took subway from Taipei Station to the airport. It was a fairly good route, but you came across a few places where there is no escalators nor elevators. It’s just as same as every city on earth, there is no such perfect world.

COLO’s Traveler Guide: Mt. Tanigawa

Article of this trip can be found here.

Times and other information are based on the timetable at the time of the visit.

Day 1

Tokyo 1340 (Toki 323) > Jomo Kogen 1443
Jomo Kogen Station 1450 (bus) > Yubiso Onsen Town 1523

Overnight stay: Yubinoso Onsen Nakaya

Tips for Day 1
– It takes about 1 hour from Tokyo to Jomo Kogen by Shinkansen. The time required is not much different from taking the Chuo Line to Mt. Takao, but there are reserved seats on Shinkansen and it is comfortable. The double-decker Shinkansen, which I used to hate because of my claustrophobia, has been eliminated, and current train even has GranClass option if you want. Mt. Tanigawa has a strong image of accidents related to rock climbing in the past, but there is also a ropeway, so it actually has an easy access.
– The buses between Jomo Kogen Station and Tanigawadake Ropeway are easy to use, which is surprising considering the numbers of trains available on the Joetsu Line especially north of Minakami.
– As I wrote in my previous blog, the Western-style food at “Nakaya” is excellent. For an extra charge, you can order carrot soup for dinner, which was also excellent. It would be best if they had a half bottle of wine on the liquor menu.

Day 2

Yubiso Onsen Town 0909 (bus) > Tanigawa-dake Ropeway 0920

Ropeway to Tenjin Pass for trekking

Tanigawadake Ropeway 1120 (bus) > Minakami Station 1143

Lunch: Soba Restaurant Kubota

Minakami Station 1248 (bus) > Jomo Kogen Station 1313
Jomo Kogen 1325 (Toki 320) > Omiya 1403
Omiya > Yokohama

Tips for Day 2
– I was able to take an earlier bus than expected from Mt. Tanigawa ropeway, so I tried to change my return Shinkansen one train ahead, but it was fully booked due to the summer vacation period. To kill time, I got off the bus halfway and went to a soba (buckwheat noodle) restaurant in front of Minakami Station. The lady in the hall was wonderful.
– I was back home when I noticed that there was a cafe at Doai Station, where is famous for its tunnel.

COLO’s Traveler Guide: Hakodate (Originally posted on 2024-Jul-01)

Day 1

Tokyo 0632 (Shinkansen Hayabusa 1) >> Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto 1053
Shin-Hakodate Hokuto (JR Hakodate Liner) 1104 >> Hakodate 1120

Lunch: Gotoken

Gotoken 1330 (Shuttle bus) >> Hotel Keifu 1430

Overnight stay: Hotel Keifu

Tips for Day 1
– When I stayed at Hotel Keifu, I was told that I could choose any pick-up and drop-off point within Hakodate City, so I took advantage and asked to pick-up from Gotoken. Gotoken is famous for its curry.
– Hotel Keifu is located in what where was once Todohokke Village before it was merged with Hakodate City. The fishing port of Todohokke is about a 20-minute walk from the hotel. It is a nice place to stay.

Day 2

Hotel Keifu (shuttle bus) >> Hotel Hakodate Hirome-so

Overnight stay: Hotel Hakodate Hirome-so

Day 3

Hotel Hakodate Hirome-so 0830 (Shuttle bus) >> Onuma Park 0915

Onuma Park Boat

Onuma Park 1208 (Express Hokuto) >> Hakodate 1234

Mt. Hakodate
Goryokaku Tower

Dinner: Sushi Restaurant Kihara

Hakodate 1930 (Japan Airlines JAL588) >> Haneda 2100

Tips for Day 3
– Since the Hotel Hakodate Hirome-so included Nanae Town in its shuttle drop-off area, I asked the hotel take us to Onuma Park. I was grateful for that.
– We took the JR Hokkaido train from Onuma Park to Hakodate. The number of local trains are very few, but the limited express stops there, so it is rather convenient.
– Thanks to the limited express, I was able to get back to Hakodate City earlier, so headed for both Mount Hakodate and Goryokaku Tower. From Hakodate JR Station to Hakodate Ropeway Station was about 1,000 yen by a cab. The last time I visited Hakodate, I had walked during the winter season. At the time, I thought it would be difficult to climb the hill with snow, but I realized that snow was not the only reason for the difficulty. The uphill was too hard in a dry season, and it was an extremely economic to pay 1,000 yen (and save time too).