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From Taipei to Jiufen: Two Travel Options

There are two ways to travel from Taipei City to Jiufen. The first option is to take the TRA train to Ruifang Station and then transfer to bus routes 1062, 788, 827, or 866 to Jiufen. Initially, we planned to travel this way on the outward journey and return using the other method to experience different travel options in Taiwan. However, due to our late arrival in Taipei, we opted for a more convenient alternative.

Instead, we took the MRT to Zhongxiao Fuxing Station, Exit 2 (older reviews suggest Exit 1, but the bus stop has since been relocated). Walking straight ahead, we turned right and continued until reaching the SOGO department store. While it doesn't resemble a typical bus stop, a small pole displays the route information for bus 1062.

Before long, a taxi driver holding an A4-sized sign with the number "1062" approached us, offering a faster trip to Jiufen in just 40 minutes. He mentioned that we could join two other Chinese tourists waiting for the ride. Although tempting, the cost of NT$300 per person was beyond our budget.

Fortunately, the bus 1062 arrived within 5 minutes. We boarded the spacious bus, likely near the beginning of the route. One aspect we appreciate about Taiwan is their prioritization of children, pregnant women, disabled individuals, and senior citizens. Every location prominently displays "priority seat" signs. On buses and trains, these seats are not only marked but also visually distinguished with different colors. Notably, these reserved seats occupy at least one-third, if not nearly half, of the total seating capacity. This approach aligns well with the aging populations in many countries. In contrast, our home country often allocates only 2-3 priority seats, which are sometimes occupied by individuals who refuse to yield them. In Taiwan, even some elevators have designated waiting lines: one for general passengers and another for those requiring assistance. The floor clearly indicates that these individuals have priority access to the elevator.

Thanks to Taiwan's convenient transportation system, we witnessed numerous senior citizens effortlessly navigating public transportation.

Our journey to Jiufen continues. Along the way, we noticed that **bus route 1062 also passes by the Green Line MRT stations**. We saw it but couldn't remember which station it was. We only remember the word "Nanjing." We're not sure if it's Nanjing E.road Station or Nanjing Sanmin Station. However, since the bus travels along this road, it should pass both stations. It should also pass Taipei Arena (stadium) Station. If any of you are staying near these three stations, you can check the bus stop beforehand to avoid taking a detour. (Bus stops in Taiwan are quite informative. We'll talk more about this in the next episodes.) We continued our journey out of the city, and the bus started to turn and climb the mountain. At some points, we saw many people getting on and off the bus. However, we weren't there yet. The bus continued to climb the steep mountain, and we were treated to beautiful views. We could feel that we were getting closer to Jiufen. ............Oh, I forgot to mention that there is a display board inside the bus that shows the next stop in both Chinese and English. All buses here are like this, which is very convenient for foreigners like us. We also feel sorry for foreigners visiting our country. We rarely see foreigners taking buses. As Thais, sometimes we know which area our destination stop is in, but we still can't get off at the right stop. Now that the BMTA buses use GPS to show the location of the stop, we feel good. However, we feel that some routes are not updated, and the font is too small. If you're sitting in the back, don't expect to see it. (It's good that taxi fares in our country are not very high compared to other countries.) We **took the bus for about an hour and a half and arrived in Jiufen**, which is the same time as the reviews mentioned. When we arrived at the stop, we saw that almost everyone got off the bus. **Don't forget to tap your card when you get off** (for this bus route, you also need to tap when you get on, I forgot to mention that). If you don't use a card, you can pay in cash, but make sure you have the exact amount: **98 NT**. Just a little more information about buses in Taiwan: Buses within Taipei itself cost 15 NT throughout the route. However, buses with four digits are buses that run outside the city. These buses travel long distances and the fare is calculated based on the distance.

The bus will stop at this bus stop, as shown in the picture above. After getting off, walk up to 7-Eleven. The entrance to Jiufen Old Street will be right next to it. As you walk in, you will see a shop that looks like it sells fried shrimp balls on your left. Walk a little further and you will find the popular peanut ice cream shop. We tried one with my friend for 40 NT, but we didn't add coriander because my friend doesn't eat it. We thought the taste was just okay, not particularly delicious. The dough was a bit hard. The roti sai mai dough in our country is more delicious. We found 2-3 peanut ice cream shops.

Continuing down the street, you'll find a famous boluo (sweet rice ball) shop on your right. Stop by and try some! They offer both hot and cold options, with a variety of toppings to choose from. We opted for the cold boluo, which cost 50 NT. Since many Thai tourists visit this area, several shops have signs in Thai, including this boluo shop. After purchasing our boluo, we took it to the balcony seating area that extends out from the shop. The view from here is incredible, offering stunning vistas of the mountains and the sea. The boluo itself had a satisfyingly chewy texture, though the pieces were quite large and square-shaped. Overall, it was a delicious treat.

Beautiful view from the balcony of the Bualoy shop

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As we continued walking, we noticed that many shops were already closed. We had read in reviews that it was best to stay until dark to see the beautiful red lanterns lit up, so we thought that the shops would still be open (when we arrived in Jiufen, it was 5:30 pm). It might have been because we went on a Thursday (the next time we went was on a holiday, and we arrived later, but many shops were still open). We walked past a grilled mushroom shop and wanted to eat there, and we also saw sweet clams that we wanted to try, but we thought there would be more options ahead. In reality, there was only one other shop. It was the same with the grilled pork sausage shop. And now, the sausages are no longer NT$10 each like before. They have increased the price to NT$35 and made them bigger, selling 3 for NT$100. Honestly, we would have preferred it if they had made them a bit smaller and sold them for a higher price. As tourists, we wanted to try a variety of things, and there were only two of us, so we didn't want to get full too quickly. At that time, we thought there would be other vendors so we could buy smaller portions, but unfortunately, there weren't any others. We were just assuming things. From what we had seen about Jiufen, we thought we could come late and eat to our heart's content, but then we realized that while there was a variety of food, it wasn't as extensive as we had imagined. It might have been because many shops were already closed the first time we went. Most of the items for sale seemed to be souvenirs and gifts. As we walked further, we saw a shop on the left with a pot as big as a basin boiling eggs. The eggs in the pot were tea-leaf eggs.

The tea-boiled eggs here are more flavorful than those at 7-Eleven. The way the vendor handles the eggs is impressive. The eggshells are so soft that they can be picked up with one hand, peeled, and placed in a bag for you. It's a shame I didn't record a video. The price of tea-boiled eggs here is the same as at 7-Eleven, which is 10 NT. This shop also sells iron eggs and preserved eggs. Preserved eggs are a specialty of Jiufen. They have a soft, smooth texture and are tastier than those in our country. I don't recommend buying iron eggs here because they are expensive at 120 NT. Other shops in Taipei sell them for 100 NT, but I found them at the Shilin Night Market for only 90 NT. If you're buying a lot as souvenirs, you can save a lot of money. Iron eggs are another famous Taiwanese snack. They are like braised eggs that have been simmered for a long time, more than 5 hours. The egg white is chewy when you bite into it. They come in several flavors, including original, spicy, and garlic. However, the flavors are not very distinct. The spicy one isn't really spicy, and it has a slightly burnt, bitter aftertaste compared to the original flavor. It's actually spicy, but very mild, and I just felt like it had a slight burnt taste. But it's still edible, not bad or inedible (don't trust my taste buds too much).

As you continue along the path, before reaching the viewpoint, you will find a popular tea shop on your right. This shop is also a museum, and visitors are welcome to explore its exhibits. Inside, you will find a staircase leading down to the lower level. On your left, you will discover an exhibition room where you can collect a commemorative stamp.

Upon exiting the room, I noticed a restroom directly across the hallway. Seeing others enter without objection from the cleaning staff, I decided to use it as well. The restroom was clean and well-equipped with tissues and hand sanitizer. I was grateful to find a restroom here, as I hadn't seen any others nearby. Perhaps there were others, but I simply hadn't noticed them. The owner's generosity and consideration for visitors was evident, and I felt inclined to purchase something from their shop. However, upon returning upstairs and checking the prices, I realized I couldn't afford anything. I apologize for this, but I am thankful for the clean restroom facilities. ^-^

Upon entering the shop, descend the stairs and walk a short distance. The restroom is located on the right (right image). The museum exhibit is on the left, where the stamp is located (left image).

After retracing our steps, we passed a small tea shop and encountered a path branching off to the left. Descending the stairs, we were greeted by a dazzling display of lanterns.

After taking photos in this area, I wanted to find the highlight spot (the angle where everyone takes photos), but I couldn't find it. I tried walking a little to the left, but the path was dark and no one was walking there, so I didn't dare to continue. I went down the stairs to the bottom, thinking I would find the highlight spot, but there wasn't. I walked all the way down to the Jiufen Police Station. At first, I was about to go back because I was tired of walking up again. But then something motivated me to think that I had come so far by car, so I had to go to the highlight spot. I might not come here again, so I decided to walk back up the same path with lots of lanterns as shown in the previous picture. But I tried turning the other way, which wasn't as dark as the previous path, and there were still some people walking there. So I took a few more photos and came back to the Jiufen Police Station as before. When I came to Taiwan last time, I encountered both rain and windstorms, so I had to find it no matter what. I went up to the top again, and it wasn't there. Another Thai person asked me the same question. Finally, this time I found it. In fact, the highlight spot is located on a path that turns left before going down to the spot with lots of lanterns as shown in the picture above. Once you turn, look back and you will find the beautiful angle where people take photos. However, on the day I went there for the first time, it seemed like only 2-3 people were walking that way, so I might not have noticed it that much. At that point, no matter how hard the rain and wind were, I didn't give up trying to take photos. I found it, and it's a beautiful popular angle. As for visiting Jiufen, I don't think there is a lot of food there. The lanterns are beautiful, but when I saw the real thing, I didn't feel like it was worth coming this far. The first time I went, it wasn't raining, so they turned on a lot of lanterns along the way. The second time it rained, I don't know if they were afraid of electric shock, but they mostly turned on the lanterns only around the peak spots. However, most of the shops were open more than the first time. As for the view, I have to admit that it's really amazing. Looking down from the top, you can see the mountains and the sea. When it gets dark, you can see the golden lights, which is beautiful.

As you walk down the path, before reaching the brightly lit area, look for this sign and turn left. Then turn around to find a beautiful corner, which is the highlight of Jiufen.

The best picture I could get was this, as I had to face the strong wind and rain that was blowing intermittently.

Jiu-fen Police Station

The first time we went to Jiufen, we walked back up the same way we came, to the place with lots of lanterns, but we couldn't find the angle that people like to take pictures from. We walked back to the Jiufen Police Station, where we had read in a review that you could take a bus back from there. The walking route in Jiufen is like a tilted U-shape. When you reach the police station, which has a picture of a cat (see picture above), walk across the street to get on the bus. You'll see that there are already people waiting in line. This was another lesson for us, in addition to taking the wrong train from the airport. Even though it was our mistake, we'll tell you about it so that these things don't happen to you like they did to us. At first, we were in a long line, and when the first bus, route 1062, arrived, the sign on the front of the bus said "Full". In the meantime, bus 788 arrived. We knew that this bus went to Ruifang TRA station, but we decided to wait for another bus first. When the second 1062 bus arrived, it was also full. Their "full" wasn't even that crowded. The first bus only had full seats, no standing passengers, and the second bus had a few standing passengers. (I thought to myself, I'd rather stand than have no bus to go). In the meantime, a taxi driver tried to solicit us. Heh, if it was 200 NT per person, I might have paid the price, but 300 NT was too much. It's even cheaper to take a taxi to Suvarnabhumi Airport (lol). While we were waiting, we tried to look across the street hopefully for a bus that would take us back up the mountain. We were afraid that there wouldn't be any buses back. And then, somehow, we went from the back of the line to the front. My friend opened his phone and looked at a review of Jiufen. Someone said that you should actually go back and wait at the same stop where you got off. I guess that's why there were people waiting all the way from the top. But I don't think we could have walked back up. I think the stop we were waiting at is better for people who come to visit during the day. There probably wouldn't be many people. But when it gets dark, people are probably afraid that the buses will run out, so the stop we were waiting at didn't have a chance to get on. If you want to take a bus back to Ruifang Station, you can. While we were waiting, someone asked us in Chinese, heh, as if we were locals. We talked back and forth in our broken English. ^-^ They asked us which bus goes to Ruifang Station. We showed them our plan, but we also told them that we didn't know what time the last train to Taipei was. When bus 788 arrived, they got on. I asked my friend if he wanted to go, and he said let's try one more bus. We weren't sure about the train schedule to Taipei either. We were afraid that it would be dark and we wouldn't know if there were any more trains to Taipei, because bus 788's final destination is Keelung City. But if there were some people getting on, I guess we could have gone. But people were probably more confident and convenient to take one bus. When the third 1062 bus arrived, we thought there would be fewer people, but it was still full. I was a little annoyed that it was full with no standing passengers. It must be for their safety, because the bus has to go down a hill, and it's a long-distance bus. Plus, there will be more people getting on at the next stop. While we were waiting, my friend saw someone getting on the bus across the street. We had always understood during our wait that the bus would go up to Jiufen for a bit and then loop back down. When another 1062 bus came from the opposite direction, my friend and I ran across the street and practically jumped on the bus. And then we saw the fourth 1062 bus coming down the other way, also full. And when we hurried onto the bus, we had another lesson. Because we were in a hurry and the road where the bus was running was sloping, we had to hurry to find a seat. In our hurry, we didn't check if the card had beeped when we tapped it. It felt like we hadn't heard the sound, but we weren't sure. We were in a hurry at that time. After we sat down and went back up past the Jiufen stop, we felt like it had been a while and it still hadn't turned around. Then a couple of elderly people got off the bus, and the bus was empty. So we asked the driver if the bus would go to Taipei. The answer was no, so we got off. We saw that it had deducted 24 NT from our card, so we thought it was okay, it must have been completed.

View from the bus stop opposite Jiufen Police Station

After getting off the bus, we walked to the opposite side of the street to wait for the bus at the bus stop. At first, there was one person there, but he soon left. I thought to myself, "I wish he would stay and keep me company. This place looks dark and deserted, and I'm also worried that the bus will stop running because the reviews said that the last bus is at 8:30 pm. If we had waited at the old stop, we would at least have had taxis. Did I bring my sister here to suffer on the first day?" I forgot to mention that we started waiting for the bus at 7:30 pm. It must have been around 8:30 pm by then. I vaguely remember waiting for the bus for an hour, thinking that the bus we took earlier would eventually come back (I didn't think that it might go to the bus depot and come back the next day, haha). After a while, a bus with the number 788 came and stopped. I was about to get on, but the driver seemed to wave his hand to say no. However, I was still relieved that there were people around. Soon, a bus with the number 1062 appeared at the top of the hill, and I ran after it because the angle of the bus stop made it impossible to see the bus in advance. When the bus stopped and the door opened, I thanked the driver profusely. I was so relieved that I almost cried. My sister told me that the driver of the 788 bus had helped to call the bus for us. A couple also got on the bus with us. When I tapped my card, it showed a balance of zero. The driver spoke in Chinese and made gestures that made me realize that he had tapped the card for me and charged a penalty fee. Oh no... I didn't mean to do that. And when did I get charged? It must have been when I paid for the bus fare with several coins. I had read that if you don't tap your card, you will be charged the next time you get on the bus, and the penalty is about 10% of the fare. Boo hoo... But at that moment, I thought to myself, "Never mind, at least we have a ride back." I felt relieved. The driver was also very friendly and cheerful, greeting the passengers. I felt more at ease, as the driver of the bus we took earlier seemed unfriendly. When we got off at the bus stop near the Jiufen Police Station, it was already 9:30 pm. It was as my sister had said while we were on the bus: "There probably won't be any people left. If we had waited at the original stop, we would have been able to get on this bus." The bus picked up all the people waiting at the stop. The next time we went to Jiufen, we walked back the same way we got off the bus. However, on the way back, we walked further up the hill, and there was a bus stop on the opposite side of the street where we could wait. This time, it was raining, so the bus wasn't as crowded as the first time. On the way there, we took the bus for about an hour. At that time, the bus was stopped at a red light. When I looked to the right, I saw something that caught my eye, but I can't remember what it was. I pointed it out to my sister, but she saw the sign for Songshan MRT Station, the last stop on the green line. I felt a pang of regret and wished we could get off here. That way, we wouldn't have to waste time taking the bus all the way to Taipei. Taking the MRT from here would get us to the hotel faster. When I looked to the left, I saw the Taipei Arena. I vaguely remembered that we might have passed it on the left side of the road on the way there, but I wasn't sure. And now, this bus was probably going to turn left as well. I talked to my sister, saying that I didn't know which station we passed on the way there so that we could get off and transfer to the MRT. We couldn't get off at the wrong stop. We decided to wait and see the signs on the bus. And then, heaven smiled upon us. The bus turned right! As soon as it turned, it stopped. Oh, I was so happy! So we got off. It seemed that the bus stayed there for a while after we got off. This happened both times we went there.

Since we planned to eat at a restaurant near the front of Jiufen and didn't want to walk back, we only got to eat three things. After waiting for the bus for a long time, we were hungry. So my sister went to buy a cheese tart nearby. It wasn't very big, and it cost 40 NT each. I think she bought 4 of them, and they were on sale for 150 NT. My sister, a cheese tart connoisseur, guarantees that they were delicious. The shop is called BBC (My sister tried about 2-3 cheese tart shops during this trip to Taiwan, and she guarantees that this one is the best. She said the other shops she tried weren't as good). I didn't eat any because I was tired and didn't feel like eating much, even though I was hungry. So the two of us went back to get something to eat at the 7-Eleven near the hotel. The second time we went to Jiufen, we did some more research and found out that there is a night market called Raohe Night Market near Songshan Station. It's one of the biggest night markets in Taiwan. If you're still hungry after visiting Jiufen, you can come here to fill your stomach.

Our daily records may be a bit long, but we want to include as much detail as possible so that anyone planning their first trip to Taiwan can get some information and avoid wasting time or making mistakes like we did. You can follow our travelogue in Taiwan in the following days.