Kaohsiung Lighthouse
San Fong Kong
Wufeng Lin Family Mansion
Temple at Taichung Market
Times listed are based on the schedule at the time of the visit.
Day 1
Tokyo Haneda 0840 (Japan Airlines JAL097) > Taipei Songshan 1140
Taipei High-Speed Rail Station 1401 (Taiwan High-Speed Rail 1317) > Taichung High-Speed Rail Station 1452
Xinwuri 1508 (Taiwan Railways) > Taichung 1519
Dinner: Miyahara Moon Pavilion
Accommodation: CHECK inn Taichung Zhongshan
Day 1 Tips
・A famous spot in Taichung is a sweets shop called “Miyahara Eye Clinic.” Apparently, there is always a line at the ice cream counter. Reservations are available for the restaurant in the same building, and it serves ice cream.
Day 2
・Chun Shui Tang (Original Store)
・Taichung City Second Market
・Wufeng Lin Family Mansion
Dinner: Qin Yuan Chun (Original Store)
Day 2 Tips
・Another famous sweets spot in Taichung is the flagship store of Chun Shui Tang, known for its bubble milk tea. I heard it gets crowded during the day, so I decided to stop by for breakfast. Since this is where the famous tea chain was founded, I imagined it would be in a historic building but it turned out to be on the first floor of an ordinary apartment.
・For dinner, I went to Qin Yuan Chun, a famous xiaolongbao restaurant. Reservations are available, but time limit on stays is a bit strict. I believe the difference between an “exquisite” restaurant and a “delicious” one lies in the perfect balance of saltiness in the finishing touches (the final pinch before gets salty), and everything was exquisite in here. If they would let me stay another 30 minutes, it would have been perfect.
Day 3
Taichung 0700 (Tze-chiang 371) > Chiayi 0808
・Beimen Station
・Chiayi Depot Park
・Zhuzhi Station
・Chiayi City East Public Retail Market
・Suantou Sugar Factory Sugarcane Yard Cultural Park
Chiayi 1439 (Tze-chiang 121) > Kaohsiung 1555
・Kaohsiung Lighthouse
・Sanfeng Temple
Accommodation: Kindness Hotel – Kaohsiung Main Station
Day 3 Tips
・I visited the former sugar factory site in Chiayi. It was better maintained than the one in Kaohsiung, but I actually preferred the Kaohsiung site because it felt more authentic.
Day 4
Kaohsiung (MRT) > Zuoying
Xinzuoying (Taiwan Railway) 0742 > Fangliao 0907
Fangliao 1025 (Breezy Blue) > Taitung 1335
Taitung 1410 (Breezy Blue) > Fangliao 1738
Fangliao 1800 (Taiwan Railway) > Xinzuoying 1931
Zuoying High-Speed Rail Station 1955 (Taiwan High-Speed Rail 156) > Taipei 2129
Bar: Kavalan Whisky Bar
Accommodation: Roaders Plus Hotel Theme
Day 4 Tips
・Visited the bar operated by Kavalan, a Taiwanese whisky distillery. I tasted whisky aged in casks from famous French châteaux. I got hinted why Scotch producers, many of them are under many French ownerships now, do not use wine casks very often.
Day 5
・National Railway Museum
・Ri Xing Type Foundry
・Lin Hua Tai Tea
Taipei Songshan 1535 (JAL098) > Tokyo Haneda 1925
Day 5 Tips
・National Railway Museum is currently partially opened. Looking at online articles of the unopened sections, I noticed that many of the train cars I wanted to see were in the unopened areas. Even so, since they have made good use of the former factory facilities, the atmosphere is quite nice.