Jiufen. Something as simple as typing its name instantly flies me back to that beautiful rainy November day I spent in Jiufen, Taiwan. Jiufen -albeit very touristy- definitely has its charm and is hands down my favourite city in Taiwan. It has that extra something that I can’t put my finger on… Is it the narrow red-lantern-lit streets? Is it the misty sea view from atop of the hill? Is it the fascinating locals? Or is just it the rain?

My journey started with an intriguing bus ride from cloudy Keelung. It was around 8 in the morning, and a group of elders wearing cycling gears were waiting at the bus stop for Bus No.788 -the bus to Jiufen and Jinguashi. I was extremely curious about what they wanted to do. When the bus came, it was pure chaos! Apparently the elders would ride the bus to Jiufen, then make a trip back with their bikes. The elders somehow managed to fit their big mountain bikes inside the bus, but it left very little room for other passengers. The bus driver got angry and decided to charge more.. Hahaha! The elders were completely gracious about it though.

On a completely random note, I was.. still am totally in awe of the elders! They must be at least 55 years old, and they take on sports that I don’t think I would do in a million years. Hey, I can’t even ride on a bike!

After 45 minutes of awesome bumpy bus ride through curvy roads with a bus driver who hit gas and brake pedals as if he drove a Formula 1 car (seriously, it was thrilling.. no sarcasm!), Jiufen came into view. After getting off the bus, I could instantly hear the sound of people chatting in various languages and the plashing patter of the steady rain. I could smell the fresh mountain air mixed with faint sweat and the rain. I could see the shape of some cute-looking buildings of Jiufen and the lovely misty view of the sea from afar. It was magnificent. 

All Ghibli fans who have travelled Taiwan are likely to be aware of or have been in Jiufen. People said that Jiufen is the backdrop that inspired Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning animation movie Spirited Away. I won’t go into any details of comparisons between Jiufen and Spirited Away, simply because it has been written brilliantly in this article. But yes, it’s not hard to see the similarities: exotic food, unique people, lots of stairs (they are EVERYWHERE), tunnels, and many more.

The streets of Jiufen are really something else. Beautifully decorated with red hanging lanterns, the streets are chock full of stairs (I realize I’ve been talking about stairs for two consecutive paragraphs… It was that many.) and narrow, making it almost impossible for cars to pass through; the locals either walk or use motorcycles to commute from one location to another. I was extremely thankful to myself for not bringing any luggages with wheels. Stick to backpacks and small overnight bags! 

The above picture explains why I said “almost impossible for cars to pass through”. Mr. Taxi, how brave art thou.

Navigating through the streets of Jiufen is pretty easy once you give some time to get used to it. There’s the famous Old Jiufen Street, where lines of shops huddle together -selling various things from tea leaves and snacks, to souvenirs and t-shirts. To be honest, the street was chaotic! Hundreds (or thousands, I’m not really sure…) of people were there, the rain was falling slowly and steadily, and umbrellas were bumping everywhere!

At approximately two-thirds along the Old Jiufen Street, follow the path downstairs to find the impressive Ah-Mei Tea House, said to inspire Spirited Away’s grand bath house. My stories regarding Ah-Mei Tea House will be told in another post, please look forward to it! :) I actually visited Ah-Mei twice, in the afternoon for lunch and late at night for tea.

While the Old Jiufen Street is more touristy, other streets in Jiufen are filled with small tea houses, cafes, and shops selling one-of-a-kind items or crafts.

There are two locals who I will probably remember the most every time I look back at my Jiufen trip. The quirky lady donning the crazy afro hair -decorated with a large pink flower headpiece- and white almost-as-big-as-her-face glasses sells pork sausages. She posed and let me take a picture of her even though I didn’t buy anything… So nice! Lady, if you ever read this, I wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous life!

The second person is a gentleman who crafts, plays, and sells ocarina. He is friendly, always appreciative of people taking pictures of him, videoing him playing, and clapping for his performance. It was my first time seeing a real ocarina; aside from the app on iPhone, I had zero knowledge of this wind instrument. And there he was, playing the ocarina as if it was an extension of his fingers! He played songs from ‘Happy Birthday’ to ‘Colors of The Wind’ beautifully. I never knew the small instrument can produce complex harmonies and be moulded into cute shapes: cats, rabbits and owls, to name a few. 

He was also the only Taiwanese in Jiufen who recognized me and my family as Indonesians or Malaysians. He asked us “Apa Kabar?” with a huge toothy smile, then we were like “AHA!”. LOL. The ocarina shop was likely to be the fullest shop I’d seen that day, and it was not hard to see why: the music was great, the ocarinas were cute, and the gentleman was super charming. Suffice to say, I went home with a new blue duck-shaped ocarina and its free guidebook -which I haven’t touched to this very day.

I’m glad I made the decision to spend a full day at Jiufen, instead of cramping it with other nearby cities. It gave me the chance to fully explore Jiufen from day till night -right until when the lanterns started to dim and the city finally fell asleep. Jiufen is an inspiring place, and I’m longing for the chance to come back in the future to explore more -preferably during a rainy day again.

A.

Jiufen, Taiwan

Tip: Shops at Jiufen generally closes at 6-8 pm, while most restaurants close around 8-9 pm. It is very hard to find anything to eat after that, so make sure you eat dinner accordingly. Trust me, I learn it the hard way... Jiufen totally looks like a ghost city at night!