The touristy towns of Taiwan: Jiufen and Shifen

Jiufen was a Japanese colony back in the day-- made to be the example colony to show the world that the Japanese were good powers to be under. Supposedly also the village/town that inspired Spirited Away. It did feel somewhat like the movie. There are tunnels but I didn't get to them. However I did find a waterfall a little ways on the hill past the restrooms....

Where to eat

Chicken restaurant. Have you ever seen gelatin like this on a chicken? Yum! Located on the main street in the old town sort of halfway up the hill.

Getting here

Take the regional train up to Ruifen Station from the Taipei Main Station. Don't lose that ticket! (If the machine eats it let the attendant know, because that happened to me.) You'll then need to hop on a bus or take a cab.

Shifen

Pretty popular to launch lanterns here. (We launched one but I definitely had to suppress my thoughts on negative ecosystem impact). Didn't seem like a whole lot to do and the stores seemed to repeat themselves. The waterfalls were about a 30 min walk out and no one really felt like walking to see the "Niagara Falls" of Taiwan.

Places to go next time:

• Abandoned Smeltery (Shuinandong)

• Golden Waterfall

• Tunnels in Jiufen!