While staying in Thailand long-term on a DTV visa, I took a short side trip to Taiwan for a few days.
I traveled through Taipei, Tainan, and Kaohsiung, so I’m splitting the trip into three posts.
This is the Taipei part — the first three days of walking the city, waiting in line at Din Tai Fung, visiting a temple fortune teller, and more.
If you’re planning a trip, I hope the restaurant finds and the overall vibe are useful.
This travel diary is in three parts.
Taipei (this post), Taipei to Tainan, and Tainan to Kaohsiung.
Itinerary for this post
- Day 1: Airport → hotel → old-town walk → lu rou fan & market
- Day 2: Morning xiaolongbao → Xinbeitou hot springs → Din Tai Fung queue
- Day 3: Morning street stalls → temple fortune telling → Ximending
Day 1｜From arrival to the hotel and an old-town street-food walk
Airport to downtown Taipei by MRT
Right after landing at the Taiwan airport, I bought a pink Doraemon transit IC card.
It works on the MRT and for payment at most shops in Taiwan — cute design too. I picked it up at 7-Eleven.
From the airport I took the MRT into Taipei and checked in first.
Hotel room and amenities
I stayed at Gawa Hotel — it has a Japanese ryokan-like vibe, and even the room names were fun.
The price was quite reasonable, and they upgraded me from a regular room to a nicer one. A very comfortable start to the trip.
The bed and bathroom looked like this.
The shower curtain was somehow broken, which was a bit of a downside, but everything felt clean and the staff were excellent.
The closet was spacious — no storage worries.
TV and water were provided too.
There was a bidet toilet as well.
In Japan that’s almost a given, but overseas it’s still uncommon — Taiwan feels relatively well set up for this.
After living in Thailand for a while, I appreciate it even more.
The bathtub was clean too.
No conditioner, but body wash and shampoo were provided, and the scent was on par with Japan.
Honestly better than a random Japanese business hotel.
Walking the old town (coffee, sauna signs, shops)
Heading out for a walk, I found a shop called Ira Cola.
I never expected to see an Ise Cola Sauna sign here — something I often notice after going to a sauna.
A line stretching out the door.
There were Japanese tourists, but plenty of locals too.
The roasted sweet potato I bought at FamilyMart was incredibly good.
In Taipei I mostly used FamilyMart and didn’t buy much at 7-Eleven — relatively cheap and tasty, and I preferred it to the sweet potatoes sold at Don Quijote in Japan.
A “safety first” poster I spotted while walking.
Look closely and there are three arms drawn on it — I did a double and triple take.
That character looked familiar… and sure enough, it was.
Also found a Sumikko Gurashi goods shop. Extremely cute by any measure.
On the way to the main road, I found a beef noodle shop run by Japanese owners.
I’d researched it beforehand and wanted to go, but it was packed, so I skipped it this time.
Looked delicious — I’d like to try it next time.
The cup says “coffee,” but what’s inside is kucha — bitter tea.
Tastes like the ultra-bitter tea you see on variety shows.
Drinkable if you frame it as healthy, but it was seriously bitter.
Didn’t expect to see an Olympus shop here either.
Clean, calm interior.
The back alleys were neat and tidy — never boring to walk through.
Lu rou fan shop family, the market, and stinky tofu
I also stopped at a lu rou fan place. The owner was very kind.
A family-run shop — I tried speaking broken Taiwanese, and they answered in Japanese, which somehow made me feel a little guilty.
After that, on to the main market.
It was still around 5 a.m., so many stalls were closed, but they were gradually opening — and it wasn’t crowded yet.
Tried stinky tofu too.
The smell is strong, but if you’re used to natto, you’ll probably manage.
The kind of taste people either get hooked on or don’t.
Also stopped at a tofu dessert shop.
Tasty and cheap.
I tried speaking Taiwanese again, got answered in Japanese, and somehow ended up using Japanese myself… lol
Pretty filling, and it was about NT$60.
At some point I noticed the whole shop was only Japanese customers.
After the douhua, wandering home, I spotted a bird.
Hard to tell from the photo, but it had very long feathers at the back — kind of penguin-like.
End of day 1
In a downpour, the neon and reflections looked great — a fitting end to the day.
Day 2｜From morning xiaolongbao to the Din Tai Fung queue
Taipei morning: Komeda Coffee and a xiaolongbao breakfast
Around 7 a.m., only a few people were out. Walking anywhere in the morning is fine, but I just like the air of a Taiwan morning.
Wandering through streets here and there.
Found a Komeda Coffee.
Going in after a while gave me this weird feeling of being back in Japan while still in Taiwan… lol
I ordered in Taiwanese, got answered over me in Japanese, and caved under the pressure into Japanese lol
Back at the hotel area, breakfast was at the same place as yesterday.
In the end, that breakfast was the best meal of the whole trip.
Soy milk and a wheat roti-style wrap with bacon.
These xiaolongbao were the best of the entire trip.
The owner and staff spoke Japanese, there was a Japanese menu — nothing to complain about.
To Xinbeitou hot springs
After breakfast, off to Xinbeitou.
I also walked around the Thermal Valley area.
I did soak, but watch out for mosquitoes — tons of them.
Small, but they bite hard. (And then the itching comes later.)
Revisited a hot spring place I’d been to before.
About NT$200 for a private bath for one hour.
Meat porridge and cafeteria hopping
Back in the city, I went into a meat porridge shop.
Sorry — photo taken after I’d already eaten half.
A pork-cutlet-like dish was also good.
For chicken dishes on this trip, this might have been the best.
Steamed chicken with sauce and ginger.
Found a Chiikawa that was cute and a little scary.
Chiikawa, Sanrio, anime characters — they’re everywhere in Taiwan.
Din Tai Fung’s huge queue and Taipei 101
Next up: Din Tai Fung.
I think it was the branch under Taipei 101.
As you can see — a massive line. Wait was probably about an hour… That popularity makes sense.
After eating, I wandered the area.
Cloudy Taipei 101 looked good too. Next up: day 3.
Day 3｜Morning stalls, a temple fortune teller, Ximending, and Saizeriya
Morning stalls and coffee near the hotel
Up early again — found a morning stall while walking near the hotel.
Taiwanese pork buns are a bit greasy, but really good.
Sorry I don’t remember the exact spot, but it wasn’t far from the hotel.
Inside looked like this when I split it open.
Around NT$60 — highly recommend.
Then to a coffee shop near the hotel.
They had a Japanese menu — something like this. About NT$130 total; I think I chose Ethiopian beans.
Ordered an Americano.
Breakfast at a cafeteria near the hotel
Back to a restaurant near the hotel. Radish cake topped with egg and a sweet-savory sauce — pretty good.
This was good too. Met the shop cat afterward, then moved on.
Fortune telling at a temple
That day I planned to visit a temple and see a fortune teller.
This temple. No photos inside, so exterior only.
In the grounds there’s a famous stone set in a hexagon — everyone was touching it.
Around here, fortune teller stalls lined up. Being a weekday, it was relatively quiet.
The fortune teller I chose was very kind, spoke a little Japanese, and taught me various things. Said to be 70, and looked surprisingly young.
I also saw another fortune teller — figured I might as well, since I was there. Japanese was excellent, but the reading felt a bit slapdash.
Back at the temple, stalls lined up nearby again.
Around lunch it was quite busy. There are 13 prayer points on the grounds you’re supposed to visit in order — I was confused until someone kindly explained.
Taiwanese tea from a convenience store was pretty good too.
Wandering Ximending (Taipei’s Shibuya)
Stopped at another coffee shop I found.
It was freezing inside, but the vibe was great.
Chose cinnamon roast.
Felt like a Japanese coffee shop — that “back in Japan” feeling again.
Back to the main street for a wander.
Less crowded than I expected — easy to walk.
Also went to Ximending, often called Taipei’s Shibuya. Peeked into Don Quijote, watched the local youth vibe.
The station front was packed — construction and all, very urban.
Looking at this area alone, it didn’t feel that different from Japan.
Saizeriya’s huge queue and a nighttime cat
There’s no Saizeriya in Thailand, so I got a craving. Surprisingly, it was packed here too.
Even in Japan Saizeriya sometimes has lines — same story in Taiwan.
At night near the hotel, a cat kept following me wanting its back scratched — so I scratched its back for a while.
Personal Taiwan favorites
- Xiaolongbao from the yellow-sign shop near the hotel. Best Taiwanese food of the trip.
- Seeing a temple fortune teller. Shocked by how many people spoke Japanese.
- The cat near the hotel at night.
Places & shops I visited
- Gawa Hotel
- 手作肉羹 古早味 (lu rou fan — very kind staff)
- 杉味豆花
- 世界豆漿大王 (yellow shop) (breakfast & xiaolongbao near the hotel)
- Komeda Zhongshan
- Thermal Valley
- 瀧乃湯浴室 (private hot spring in Xinbeitou)
- 周記肉粥店
- Din Tai Fung (near Taipei 101)
- Taipei 101
- Xingtian Temple
- Longshan Temple
- Futago Cafe
- Saizeriya Zhongshan Nanjing
- Dadaocheng Cisheng Temple Food Street
- Dihua Street
- Ningxia Night Market
- Ximending
- Ira Cola
Trip prep note (Klook)
Before arriving in Taiwan, I also got an eSIM on Klook. Unlimited 5-day plan for about ¥1,027. Activated right after landing — local data was basically covered.
I also booked HSR (Taiwan High Speed Rail) on the same Klook account — used it in the next post, Taipei to Tainan. Entering promo code CARHNH at checkout got about ¥500 off on some plans (may vary by season and product).
Next: day 4 moving from Taipei to Tainan — Taipei to Tainan.
