Juifen

Getting to Jiufen and Shifen from Taipei is difficult. Even if you take a taxi, there's a risk of not being able to find one on the way back, so it ends up being more like chartering a taxi (I wonder if you can call one with an app...?) The other tourist spots were places I wouldn't have thought to go to on my own, but they were worth seeing. The weather was a bit bad, which was a shame, but I'll definitely use their services again when I return to Taiwan. Unfortunately, they didn't speak Japanese, and although I wanted to get along with them, there was a lack of communication. We ended up communicating using LINE translation... Thank you very much for your help. I think the experience varies depending on the person in charge.

Two women in their 20s visited. We showed them a copy of our reservation and they showed us to our table right away. There were many staff members who could speak Japanese, so we felt at ease. We were able to relax in a seat with a view of the outside. The sweets weren't too strong in flavor, so I think anyone would enjoy them. It was raining heavily and it was around 2 PM on a weekday, so it was possible to use the restaurant without a reservation and there were several menu options to choose from, but I think it's safer and easier to understand if you have a reservation. The toilets are Japanese style, but they are much cleaner than the toilets near the entrance to Jiufen, so you should use them here.

Stay at a guesthouse in Jiufen, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, explore the quiet old street that opens at 10 am, and arrive at your Taipei hotel before noon by chartered taxi. Purchase and top up an EasyCard at a convenience store and tour the area by bus, visiting Dihua Street, Longshan Temple, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall + mango shaved ice at "Bingzan," the Taipei 101 Observatory, and having an early dinner at "Din Tai Fung"—a perfect way to experience Taipa. However, buses are infrequent and take a long time.

We arrived earlier than our scheduled time, but they still showed us to our seats. I think if you book through this website, you might be seated on the third floor? People who booked through a different website were seated on the second floor. We were shown to a window seat on the air-conditioned third floor. We enjoyed our tea while watching the sunset. The tea served was Oriental Beauty. Since it was close to closing time, we were able to take our time taking photos from the balcony. At the exit, a man with a light set up took our picture, and I thought they might charge us for it, as is common in tourist areas, but they didn't. The staff were efficient and the service was good, so I was very satisfied.

The itinerary was excellent, and the tour guide was very friendly, helping us order delicious food, choose sky lanterns, and providing great explanations of the itinerary. Time management was also superb! The only downside was that we had to return to the bus early because the air conditioning wouldn't be turned on earlier if there weren't enough people! Everything else was great 👍! A great choice for a day trip!