The Wedding Trip

Some information and recommended itineraries for your travel planning! Please reach out if you have specific questions ([e-mail])

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Pre-trip

Recommended viewing to get a sense of Taiwan:

• Cape No. 7. link A light-hearted music-themed romcom with spoken language varying between Taiwanese, Mandarin and Japanese.
• A Sun (Netflix) a modern drama. Do not read the Netflix description, it completely gives away the important plot points. Quite heavy.
• A City of Sadness link Historical drama that first broke the silence about the 2.28 incident. First movie to feature Jiufen, an old gold-mining town that is now a very popular (and highly recommended) tourist spot. Quite heavy.

And it seems like Netflix actually carries quite a few Taiwanese movies.

Recommended viewing to get a sense of Japan:

• Midnight Diner (netflix) turns out I've only watched the follow up Midnight Diner Tokyo Stories, both seems good.

Wedding: 7th December, 2024

Hotel in Kaohsiung 6th-8th will be covered by us, at Hi Lai hotel in Kaohsiung.
Transportation to/from the venues will also be organized.

臺灣 Taiwan 台灣

(Traditional, roman, slightly simplified).
The right-most is the version you'll see most often: the 台 (Tai) is simplified from the archaic version, but this is still traditional mandarin (not simplified mandarin, as used in China).

General information

• get an EasyCard (for most public transporation), also available in app form
• YouBike guide
• e-sim or travel sim
• Locals tend to travel a lot, but mostly on weekends; consider doing non-hot-spot things on weekends.

Suggested Itinerary

• xx.11 - 29.11: Taipei and day-trips out of there
• 29.11 - 30.11: Alishan scenic area for hiking and tea
• 30.11 - 2.12: Tainan city famous for food and narrow city streets
• 2.12 - 4.12: Xiao Liu Qiu for freediving discovery!
• 4.12 - 8.12 (or 9.12): Kaohsiung

Alternative if you aren't doing Xiao Liu Qiu freediving discovery: stay longer in Taipei, and include an overnight in Jiufen + Yehliu Geopark. Move Alishan to be during the week rather than weekend. If you're very into architecture, also consider Taichung.

Comments

Taipei (and day-trips out of Taipei) can easily fill a full week, so you can absolutely consider skipping Alishan, especially if you're not into hiking.
If you skip Tainan, but are also want to do more outside of Taipei, then consider:

• Taichung + Lukang, especially if over the weekend, and for architecture
• Tainan, especially known for food

Taipei

Taipei is big, and there is super a lot to do, including a lot of day-trips (or one-night side trips).

Events

• 20-23 Nov: Qingshan Parades
• Chrystanthemum Show starting 29 Nov (near shilin)

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Organized below are suggestions loosely organized together as things to do in one day.

Tamsui & Hot Springs

• If on the weekend, consider Wulai instead. A little harder to get to, less crowds
• Visit Tamsui, with several architectural sights (Former British Consulate Residence, Aletheia University's Great Chapel, and perhaps catch a show at Cloud Gate Theatre)
• Then hotspring at Beitou
• Ketagalan Culture Center, small exhibit on indiginous tribe, closed Mondays
• (architecture) Beitou Public Library
• Beitou Hot Spring Museum, also usually has a festival in November (date TBD)
• PuJi temple

Jiufen (and maybe Yehliu Geopark)

Jiufen is my no. 1 recommendation for a jaunt out of Taipei, it is reputed to have inspired Spirited Away, and is very romantic. Doable as a day-trip, but I would try to overnight there.
Overnight info and general info

Yehliu Geopark is highly recommended by Hui Ying, and would be its own day-trip (unless booking a tour that organizes a car to move between the locales), but I think could be combined if doing the overnight.

Taipei Zoo and Maokong (lots of walking and tea drinking)

Recommendation 1: zoo in the morning, and once you’re done, take the gondola (from inide the zoo) to MaoKong, visit the Tea Museum, and while away some time at a teahouse.
Recommendation 2: go to Maokong for a hike in the early morning, have some tea, then take the gondola back down getting off inside the zoo, so that you walk downhill in the zoo.

• Maokong gondola some hiking, tea drinking, evening view of Taipei.
  • Use the Crystal Cabins, for see-through floor in the gondola

Elephant Mountain

• Hike up Elephant Mountain. (1.5 hour return hike), or do a bigger hike to Thumb Mountain and 9-5 peak. Go for sunrise, or sunset (typically more crowded).

Taipei Fine Arts Museum

• Taipei Fine Arts Museum
• Walk around Expo Park, Rose Garden, etc.
• Shuangcheng night market

Huashan area

• HuaShan Creative Park
• DaDaoCheng, walk Container Market etc.
• Museum of Contemporary Art
• Museum of Railway (currently under renovation, check. Also, tour requires reservation)
• National Taiwan Museum (history & natural history)
• The Red House (history theatre)
  You can also follow the Lonely Planet Itinerary
  

Songshan Creativity Park and Taipei 101

• Songshan Cultural and Creative Park (松山文創園區): a former tobacco factory converted into a nice area with shops of local Taiwanese designers
• Taipei 101, dinner at Din Tai Feng

Museum day

• Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines
• National Palace Museum

Taichung

• Sake brewery

Alishan

Alishan is one of the most well known scenic areas of Taiwan!
It is known for hiking (with gigantic trees) and high-mountain tea.

You get there through Chiayi, either by Forest train or bus (or car).
The Forest train booking opens 6am 14 days prior, and supposedly books out fast. (Hence trying to arrive on Friday rather than Saturday).

The towns Shizhuo and Fenqihu are great side-towns with also hiking and tea farms.

We will try to organize going to indigenous restaurant Yupasu on the last day, then back to Chiayi (1 hours car-ride, prob. charter a cab).

Possibly stay one night in Chiayi, or we head directly down to Kaohsiung.

XiaoLiuQiu (2-4 December)

IMPORTANT make sure Steve knows if you are joining for this, as we need to organize the freediving course (unless you're coming but not taking part in the course).

This is the freediving hotspot in Taiwan, and I'm organizing a "freediving discovery" course with VD Freediving. The discovery option means no certification, and is meant to give you a taste, and make sure you realize you shouldn't do this without safety, and then end with a fun dive.

Ferry schedule

Kaohsiung (4-9 December)

I'll fill in options for the non-wedding days soon, but Kaohsiung is a rather big city, there is plenty to do

.

Weiwuying

• walk around Weiwuying Street Art Village to see gigantic murals
• walk in the park? (I've not been, but it looks big and nice)
• visit the nearby Guandi temple
• see the architecture of the Weiwuying Center for the Arts, and maybe catch a show/concert

Pier 2 and Cijing

• stroll up and down Pier 2 Art Center for some eclectic murals, sculptures, and exhibits
• take a ferry to Cijing, rent a bicycle (see instructions for Youbike above), and cycle down the island
  (can also do these on separate days if you don't plan to start early)

日本 Japan

See my general collection of recommendations for travel in Japan here

Add-on for the highly inked

Japan is very strict about tattoos, and by default, assume that onsens (hot-springs) do not allow tattoos. Many places allow (small) tattoos to be covered with something like a bandage, but definitely check. Many ryokan will have private baths, where of course you can do as you please.
Kinosaki (~2.5 hrs from Osaka) is the one onsen town I know of with many lovely public onsen that is completely tattoo-friendly. It's worth a visit regardless, but especially if you have a lot of tattoos, I would include that in your travel (with overnight stay at a Ryokan).

Itinerary recommendation: Tokyo-Nagano

• Fly into Tokyo. Spend a couple of days there.
• highlight Take the shinkansen to Nagano, change to local line, and go see the Jigokudani macaque monkeys bathing in onsen water! Stay at either Yudanaka or Shibu onsen towns in a hot spring resot (ryokan).
• spend a couple of days in Nagano
• option a) take the train to Matsumoto, spend a couple days there. See the castle, several art museums, and go to the wasabi farm.
• option b) take the shinkansen up to Kanazawa, a cultural center often pitched as a off-the-beaten-path version of Kyoto (I have not been).
• Go home.

Itinerary recommendation: Tokyo-Kisoji-Kyoto

You can either fly into Tokyo or Osaka/Kyoto.

• Spend a few days in Tokyo.
• Go to Kisoji Valley, hike between Magome and Tsumago (or vice versa, depending which ryokan you book), stay at a ryokan.
• continue to Kyoto, spend several days there.
• bonus if you're really into Studio Ghibli, you could stop at Nagoya (on the way) for the new Ghibli Park

Itinerary recommendation: Kyoto - Shimanami Kaido - Hiroshima

For the more active

• Start by arriving in Kyoto, spend a few days there.
• Take the train to Onomichi, do the temple walk, stay overnight (recommendation: Anago no nedoko.
• In the morning, rent a bicycle and start cycling the Shimanami Kaido!, a series of bridges that hop across little islets all the way to Shikoku. I recommend booking a place to stay halfway through, 70km is quite a lot. You can also hand back the bicycle partway through, and take a bus the remainder.
• optional once at Imabari, see the town, and then go on to Dogo Onsen, for their famous bath house.
• Take the train back up to Hiroshima, spend a coupel days there to see the Peace Museum, and a day trip to Miyajima.
• Go home.