Following Taipei, day 4 was the move from Taipei to Tainan. This travel diary is in three parts: Taipei, Taipei to Tainan (this post), and Tainan to Kaohsiung.
Itinerary for this post
- Morning: oil rice and taro ball tea at a Taipei market
- Midday: HSR (Taiwan High Speed Rail) booked on Klook to Tainan
- Afternoon–evening: park near the hotel → Takashimaya → night market → beef soup
Market breakfast in Taipei, then onto the HSR
Market breakfast
Day 4 was the move from Taipei to Tainan.
I bought food for the train — photos of what I ate onboard come later.
At the market, I lined up for oil rice I’d researched beforehand on Ogiyahagi’s YouTube.
Even going early, there was already a queue — about 30 minutes.
Turnover was fast, so I got it sooner than expected.
(Check opening hours and which days they open before you go.)
This is taro ball tea.
Tastes similar to Okinawa’s sanpin-cha (jasmine tea).
On the sweet side, but good and cheap — perfect for the heat.
HSR via Klook
Same Klook app I used for the eSIM — for HSR (Taiwan’s high-speed rail).
For two adults, there was a plan that effectively makes one ride free for foreigners.
Enter promo code CARHNH at checkout for about ¥500 off (may vary by season and product).
If you’re moving between major cities like Taipei, Tainan, and Kaohsiung — especially as two or more — it’s a solid deal.
These are the actual tickets.
Show your passport and the QR code you got in advance at the counter, and they’ll issue them.
The cabin feels almost identical to Japan’s shinkansen. I believe the trains themselves are Japanese-made too.
Here’s what I bought at the market earlier — chicken with a boiled egg and sticky rice.
About NT$160–200, I think.
Sticky rice with shiitake-based dashi, chicken, soy sauce, and the sweet aroma of pre-fried onions — really good.
One portion fills you up quite a bit.
Arriving in Tainan, walking a big park
Station and transfer
This is THSR Tainan Station.
From THSR Tainan I could see Mitsui Outlet Park and thought about going, but the hotel for the night wasn’t here — it was at the conventional-rail Tainan Station.
That’s about an hour away by local train, and I didn’t have much time, so I skipped it.
HSR and conventional rail are almost connected, but the transfer walk takes about 10 minutes.
If you have time, wander; if not, check the timetable first.
This is the platform when I arrived at conventional-rail Tainan.
Hotel and park
The hotel didn’t look like a hotel from outside — I walked past it once.
Inside they welcomed me warmly. The room was spacious but with a slightly odd layout.
(Sorry — forgot to take photos…)
Taiwan hotels also seem to jump in price on weekends and busy seasons — weekdays cheap, weekends maybe ~1.5×.
The park near the hotel was huge.
Hard to believe it was so close to downtown — very open.
Animals too — about two groups of geese fighting pretty hard.
Felt a bit wild lol
Takashimaya, night market, beef soup
Takashimaya and the night market
Jipai (Taiwanese fried chicken cutlet) nearby.
Something you want to eat when you’re in Taiwan.
I also walked over to the Takashimaya area.
The exterior feels a bit different from Japan’s Takashimaya, but inside it’s definitely Takashimaya.
Further on foot to the night market.
Bright, flashy colors you don’t really get in Japan.
Packed with people — biggest night market of the trip, by feel.
Really lively.
Locals into ring toss, shooting games…
Kids glued to something like pachinko machines — a bit of a shock.
Wandered around thinking old Japan might have had scenes like this too.
Walking back toward Tainan Station.
Stopped at a temple where people were praying earnestly.
Backstreets had this vibe — wandered looking for corners where young people might hang out.
A little shady, but atmospheric.
A short touristy street too. Easy to walk through quickly — that’s about the right pace. I only stayed one day, so this may be biased, but the obvious tourist area I found was mostly around here.
Beef soup and the walk back
Beef soup (牛肉湯). Plenty of beef fat — but delicious.
When I got stuck ordering, a staff member helped with Google Translate.
Beef soup and stir-fried water spinach.
The greens were fried hard in beef fat — if you don’t like the smell of beef, it might be a bit much, but worth trying once.
Young and older staff working together, all cheerfully buzzing along — wholesome lol
On the way back to the hotel around 11 p.m. — a circular roundabout you can cut through the middle of, but traffic is dicey. I almost got hit. Better not walk through it.
What I liked
- Booking HSR on Klook. For two people, the foreigner plans are a great deal.
- The beef soup shop that helped with Google Translate, and that beef-fat-heavy dish.
- How huge the night market was.
Places & shops I visited
- 林合發油飯店
- Klook HSR (promo code
CARHNH) - Taipei Station (HSR)
- Tainan Station (HSR / THSR)
- Tainan Railway Station (front)
- Lightness Station Inn
- Tainan Park
- Tainan Flower Night Market
- 周鮮鮮 牛肉湯 (green shop)
Next: days 5–6 moving from Tainan to Kaohsiung — Tainan to Kaohsiung.
