Milk Tea, Sushi, and Giant Robots. That is what you think of when you think of Taiwan and Japan right? Well this past Christmas break, we broke those stereotypes (well except the milk tea one) in our amazing Taiwan and Japan trip! Check out our itinerary below for things to do, places to eat, and tips for travel. TaiwanDay 1: Alishan
Day 2: Travel
Day 3: Hualien
Day 4: Taipei
Day 5: Taipei
JapanDay 6: Travel
Day 7: Yakushima
Day 8: tRAVEL
dAY 9: kYOTO
dAY 10: nAGANO
dAY 11: tRAVEL
dAY 12: toKYO
TaiwanAT THE AIRPORT:
DAY 1: ALISHAN, TAIWAN
Getting Here: Reserve your tickets ahead of time at the THSR Online Booking website and Alishan Forest Railway website. Take the high speed rail from Taipei Main Station to Chiayi HSR Station. Go to Exit 2, then find the bus stop that is going to Chiayi. Be sure to keep your high speed rail ticket - show it to the driver to take the free shuttle bus from Chiayi HSR Station to Chiayi TRA Station. Once you get to the TRA Station, walk across the pedestrian footbridge to the Transit Center of Chiayi City. Enter through the ticket gates and walk down to the right until you see the Alishan Forest Railway Stop. The train ends at Fenqihu, where you can take a bus to Alishan Station. Note that the bus stop changes location depending on the day - on weekdays, it is at Fenqihu Terminal Station and on weekends, it is farther down the road at the parking lot 奮起湖第一停車場. The bus will stop at the Alishan Zhuan Yun Station right before the entrance of the park, where you pay the entrance fee and walk through. Once you walk to Alishan Station, purchase your tickets for Chusan sunrise for the next day. You can then head to Sacred Tree Station from there, and come back to check the Chusan departure time which will be announced at 4 PM.
Now That You're Here: One thing that really surprised us was how tame the area was. With fenced walkways weaving through the forest and many warnings on not straying from the path, there wasn't much leeway to explore. With that said, the forest was absolutely beautiful, and watching faded mountains come into view as the sun rose at Chusan was a sight to behold. Just also note that it is also very crowded!
DAY 2: TRAVEL
 DAY 3: HUALIEN, TAIWAN
 
 
DAY 4: TAIPEI, TAIWAN
DAY 5: TAIPEI, TAIWAN
JapanAT THE AIRPORT:
DAY 6: YAKUSHIMA, JAPAN
Getting Here: Reserve your Toppy & Rocky high speed boat tickets ahead of time. While the website is only in Japanese, you can use Google Translate to see the schedule. Be sure to check whether you want to get off at Miyanoura or Anbo Port, as each boat only arrives at one port. When you are reserving your tickets online, you will have to use the Japanese version, as Google Translate will make the date selector not work. You can open two tabs to make sure you're selecting the right options. You can also reserve your JR seats ahead of time if you wish - we ended up sitting in unreserved seats because of the holiday, but didn't have any issues. Just make sure you line up for the correct train cars! Find your route to Kagoshima-Chou station. Once you arrive, take the tram from Kagoshimaekimae Station to Izurodori Station. You can check out these instructions on how to use the tram - you'll pay a flat fee of 170 yen in cash when you exit the tram. If you don't have change, you can use the change machine in the front. It's 10 minute walk from Izuoridori Station to Toppy & Rocket Port. Once you get to the port, show your confirmation email to the ticket office and they will exchange it for your tickets. Board the ship and you're on your way! Where to Stay: We absolutely loved our stay at Cottage Morinokakage - it is the cutest little cottage that you get to yourself, and you even get a hammock with it that you can hang outside or inside! The showers are shared, but you get a bathroom in your cottage. The owner was very sweet and even upgraded our room for free. He speaks English and helped arrange our car rental ahead of time so that we were able to pick it up directly when we arrived at Anbo Port. Inside the cottage, you'll also find a comprehensive guide, including a map of places to go, restaurants with menus, and information on how to set up the wifi and heater. He even checked on what restaurants were open on New Years Day and sent us to a wonderful riverside restaurant. 5 stars for Cottage Morinokakage! Now That You're Here: The night we arrived in Yakushima, it was New Year's Eve so we drove out to Hirauchu Onsen, which can only be seen at low tide so check the tide charts before you go. This seaside onsen is just such a magical place - you walk down to find multiple pools just lit by moonlight. While you might think you're absolutely crazy for going out in the cold (and believe it, it was COLD), once you get in the pool you will almost feel too warm. Each pool is a different temperature, with the lower ones being a bit cooler. Once you get it and forget the cold, you're in for the most amazing experience as you watch the tides roll in and hear the ocean waves. As we mentioned earlier, the forests of Yakushima inspired the Miyazki film, Princess Mononoke. If you haven't seen the film, do yourself a favor and watch it online. Stop reading this blog post, watch the movie then return. Done? Ok, so good right? The forests of this island are old, I would even say ancient. Some of the trees are thousands of years old at the best estimate of the naturalist preservation teams who keep the island wild. As we drove around the island, looking for spots to take photos, we ran into a road block of sorts. Over a dozen monkeys and a handful of deer (just like Yakul and the forest spirit monkeys from the movie!) were fighting for food in the middle of the road! We spent ten minutes slowly creeping forward, taking pictures from the car, until they cleared enough for us to move through them. Sometimes on our trips when we spend the better part of the first day getting to our destination, we are filled with doubt if it's all worth it. This was not one of those trips. From the moment that we stepped foot on this time locked island, we knew it was so worth it. One dip in the seaside onsen, and we were sold. 
DAY 7: YAKUSHIMA, JAPAN
DAY 8: TRAVEL
DAY 9: KYOTO
DAY 10: NAGANO, JAPAN
Getting Here:
There are multiple routes to get to the Snow Monkey Park - check out this site for an overview of all the routes, timetables, and fares. You'll want to get to Nagano Station, where you can leave most of your luggage in the lockers overnight (you'll just pay the fee again when you take your luggage out). We took the direct Nagaden Express Bus Shiga Kogen Line from Nagano Station East Exit (look for stop 23) to the Snow Monkey Park Bus Stop. From there, just follow the signs to walk 1.2 miles to the Snow Monkey Park. Note that the trail can be icy and may have snow falling down from the trees, so dress warmly! Coming back, we took the bus from Kanbayashi Onsen (which is a little closer than the Snow Monkey Bus Stop) to Yudanaka, then the train from Yudanaka to Nagano Station. This was because the direct bus left at 8:40 AM and 10:50 AM, but we wanted to leave around 9:30 AM and didn't want to wait for the later bus. Where to Stay: Relax, unwind, and enjoy what could be my favorite hotel stay we have ever had. We stayed at a very traditional Japanese ryokan (inn) called Korakukan Jigokudani Ryokan, only 100 meters away from the entrance to the Snow Monkey Park. While this ryokan might be a little pricey, the experience is too amazing to miss! This charming ryokan has been run by a family for generations, and the family cooks all the meals in a traditional style for guests. When we got to dinner, we were greeted by the smell of salty grilled fish, miso soup, udon noodles, and roasted vegetables. There was sashimi and raw eggs and locusts and too many obscure small dishes to remember. What we do remember is that we barely had time to talk as our chopsticks darted around the table grabbing small bites of every different type of food. We loved the grilled fish, saying it tasted like the essence of the sea (crispy and salty), and the udon noodles (fatter and thicker than ramen or spaghetti) with mushrooms and pork belly. Even the raw egg with seaweed, soy sauce and rice was amazing. If you want a truly unique experience that is rare in japan and impossible to find in states, find a ryokan like Korakukan Jigokudani. A few things to note about staying in a ryokan, as opposed to a hotel:
Now That You Are Here:
Imagine dipping into a cliffside onsen as you look out into the snowy mountains, monkeys enjoying respite from the cold as they bathe around you. You can feel the snow falling and even forming ice crystals on your farce, but the warmth of the hot spring is such a relaxing temperature that it only adds to the magic of this place. An alpha monkey walks along the edge, and you back away a little only to see him continue on his way without a care that you're there. You can see baby monkeys hanging on close to their mothers. In the remote mountains that is home to these creatures, you just sit in wonder at how crazy and amazing this world is. Common Questions:
DAY 11: TRAVEL
DAY 12: TOKYO
5 Comments
7/11/2020 03:27:29 pm
this is amazing post thanks for sharing information with us 2/2/2024 10:03:05 am
Your post is amazing.
Bob Lamb
3/3/2024 01:42:41 pm
Thanks, looking at a similar vacation. I lived in Taiwan for alomost two years in the 1980s and my wife lived in Japan during that same period for about 18mos so something like this would be fun for us.
Jane
7/7/2024 11:06:23 am
WOW, these photos are amazing. You are very talented Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
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