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We saw this Zakka shop in the guidebook and in our hood too.We came back thrice as the shop was closed. And finally it's open!! And winter sale at 40%! The hubbs made sure I didn't went mad at this shop! We then headed off for dinner at one of those Jap home style dining places in our hood as well. Impressive that the portions are rather generous and carefully plated with love.

As per the guidebook, we hopped into one of the Jap restaurants in our hood as our hotel was in the area where a couple of Jap influences are still strong around the area such as restaurants, cafes and shops. One of those shops were handcrafted bags using local Taiwan fabric. See the last pic for the bag loot I got back as Xmas gifts!

Kubic: A container market of colorful vocabularies. Spreading and stacking on the grass like Lego blocks, “KUBIC”is actually a new experimental market constructed with used containers. It presents the life and energy of a certain “space”. KUBIC is short for Kaohsiung, Urban, Boxes, Innovation, and Creative, which are the five key elements of this experimental community space.

MLD Reading: MLD Reading (book store), MLD was an old factory warehouse and was bought and renovated to a complex of book store, restaurant, and cinema. The book store is recommended. It is probably the most beautiful book store I have seen in Taiwan. There is ample seating throughout the bookstore.

Central Park MRT This metro station is what sparked my love for finding cool underground stations and newfound appreciation for art and creativity in public transport. until visiting Kaohsiung I had no idea just how cool and creative they could be, and I've told so many people about this one and how awesome it was! just another thing to LOVE about Taiwan. Mega sunflowers (fake) are planted along two sides of the escalators. It would have been perfect if the sunflowers are real.

Huei Huei Art Gallery: Animal-themed museum popular among adults and children alike. Huei-Huei is a museum located a quick 10-minute walk from Central Park Station in Kaohsiung. A picture book writer by trade, the owner, who was also involved in establishing the Bandon Grocery Store, joined forces with a group of animal-loving friends to create this wonderful museum.

The establishment is named after a stray cat, Huei-Huei, who once used to wander into the museum as if it was his own secret hiding place. With a desire to change the public’s perception of stray cats and dogs, the charming and compact museum exhibits picture books and illustrations where animals are the protagonists. The gallery’s motto is to bring humans, animals, and art closer together, and part of their proceeds go to groups that support animal welfare. The fun themes featured throughout the museum make it a popular day-out for families with young children. I certainly did make some purchases such as the tote bags, a gallery ticket in terms of cat food tins which contributed to the gallery sales.

Fengyi Academy:

Bringing you back old days schooling and examination century ago..From a ancient site of school, revitalising it with different scenes of schooling from a small kid to examination to be a master. Educational tour for young and old, there are so many wax figurines that one can take photos with.not only that we can get an insight of the olden days scholar system.what are the different catergory of scholars etc and the layout of a house under Japanese rule and after Kuomintang took over.

Along the way around Fengshan, we saw a basket shop selling all kind of colorful baskets. Guess which attracted me the most? Made my choice to get this rainbow basket bag, plus I specially chose the rainbow color as a souvenir since Kaohsiung is a port town, so everywhere we see around is mainly industrial steel and greys. And efforts have been done whether it is art or installation of the colors of the rainbow that pops up now and then at every turn of a corner which cheers the city up.

Icon Hotel: Room 206

A 9-minute walk from a metro station, this hip boutique hotel with eclectically styled halls is 1 km from the Liuhe Night Market and 3 km from Pier-2 Art Center, a complex of exhibits set in a unused warehouse district. The individually decorated, bohemian rooms feature custom artwork ranging from whimsical to elegant, such as a mural of photorealistic red balloons appearing to float away, a wall-sized impressionist portrait or a ceiling made to look like a circuit board. All have free Wi-Fi, flat-screens and minifridges. The suite has a rooftop terrace.

We had requested for Room 206 Yoshitomo Nara, as I do like his works.For those who are wondering who he is, Yoshitomo Nara is a Japanese artist best known for his paintings of children and animals that appear simultaneously sweet and sinister.

Tainan Design Week 2018:

Sunday was Flea Market Sunday for artists to showcase their crafts and works. We were window shopping around the area and totally brought me back to Kyoto as the shops still retained the Japanese wooden house structures. We then had breakout area at one of those cafes. Sesame Milk tea anyone? Interestingly we bought some books from Eslite bookstore. And one of them titled “Resign can already”. The guy who was tired of corporate life turned his life around by becoming a urban farmer, a part time musician, has his own Japanese Izakaya restaurant which only opens on certain nights as he says he wants his personal time, and to make enough. For food, he is self sufficient since he is a farmer. Lovely...

Narrow Door Cafe: As usual, I would not miss any opportunity to look for some interesting spot while I was away from home. Narrow Door Cafe in Tainan is one of the Cafe where I marked on my must go list.

The name of the Cafe is already interesting enough for me to visit them. If you have ever been to Taiwan, you might find Tainan is quite different from Taipei. There aren’t any tall buildings but small stores and alley. If I need to use only a word to describe Tainan, Old city would suits the best. A little background of the Narrow Door cafe, it was originally owned by a doctor during the Japanese occupation era, then it has been taken over by the owner of Narrow door cafe in 1999. Thus the cafe looks so rustic and have retain what it had since constructed.

The Interior Once you entered the cafe, it’s almost like you are visiting a very old house. Lots of old magazines and photos with vintage decoration on wall. The cafe has been separated into 2 sides, one have air condition and other with opened window. Since the cafe opened, there were guest book for guests, one guest even include a Nobel Prize winner, to leave their comments and it has been kept so well and stored in a cupboard. They also welcome anyone to borrow and look at what their customers left for them. It’s a way where the present connect to the past. So if you are interested to flip over you can ask their staff for help but don’t get it without their permission.

As mentioned, everywhere is so rustic. I totally in love with their vintage windows, decoration and it matches perfectly with the yellow wall. The wall wasn’t painted perfectly but because of the lost color, you can smell the past and felt the story behind. As it was originally owned by a doctor and I was thinking if that’s his living room?

So if you have only a few days to visit Tainan I would highly recommend you to visit Narrow Door cafe, not only to taste their coffee but to feel how special this place are! Especially it remains the oldest and ordinary of this house.

321 Art Alley (Cafe Ichi):

We approach the settlement via Lane 295, which angles off from Tainan Park. Before entering, we pop into Café Ichi on the settlement’s eastern periphery. Passion-fruit vines hang from the three-story café’s exterior, forming a canopy over the narrow entrance area. We enjoy breakfast seated on tatami mats in a lovely alcove on the second floor, through windows overlooking the settlement.

321 Art Alley Settlement The 321 Art Alley Settlement is one of the most recent additions to the growing list of refurbished architectural relics across Taiwan serving as artist enclaves open to the general public. Half of the 18 Japanese-era residential units at this site have been magnificently restored by their caretakers, artists and performance groups carefully chosen by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of the Tainan City Government. Bought a book the author was writing about her childhood home. Look out for the one with the red door.

Tainan Cultural and Creative Park:

Take a right turn after coming out of Tainan Railway Station and a beautiful red building will be seen under the blue sky, behind it the towering Shangri-la Tainan hotel, creating the best view of old and new landscapes in the city. The building was originally the Tainan Office of the Tainan Branch of the Office of the Taiwan Governor General Monopoly Bureau after renovation, it was turned into Tainan Cultural and Creative Park. This once solemn building, off-limits to the general public, is now a good place to visit. Inside the Office, there is an exhibition space with an nostalgic feel where exhibitions are regularly held, and it is also a platform for industry matching and arts talent interaction; various lectures are also periodically held. Many families come to the Park to view trains, eat snacks and take part in DIY classes to make things by hand, spending some quality family time. This is a place for putting life aesthetics into practice and a LOHAS attitude to life.

Shennong Street:

An old street which was once the most prosperous area of business in Qing dynasty. Shennong Street is named after the temple of the King of Medicine at the street. There are many famous folk activities originating from here. It is said that because the property rights of Shennong Street are not easy to rebuild, there are lots of buildings with Qing and Japanese culture remained. It is also the most completed old street in Tainan! The old streets have been degraded because of old age and have become the center of creative arts in recent years. You can now find some handmade arts and cafes in Shennong street.

There’s a lot of history in Tainan. I felt it the moment we walked out of that train station. It felt more serious, even ceremonial, like it demanded your reverence and respect. I remember getting a similar feeling when we visited Nagasaki in Japan.

At first, I wasn’t sure if we should make a stop in Tainan. Compared to more contemporary destinations like Taipei or Taichung, it didn’t seem as much fun. Most of its attractions are historical in nature and people who’ve toured Taiwan didn’t make it sound like a top priority. But in spite of that, there was something about it that made me want to go. It’s the oldest city in the country and historically one of its most important. Surely it deserved a spot on our itinerary.

We spent three nights in Tainan and truth be told, it wasn’t as much fun as Taipei. It wasn’t as naturally beautiful as Hualien or as laid-back as Kaohsiung, but it has a character all its own that makes it interesting and unique. I like to think of it as the eldest sibling in the family, the one with all the stories to tell and the one you could learn the most from.

Blue Print Culture & Creative Park:

Blueprint Culture & Creative Park may have been inspired by something as common as wall graffiti, but has now become one of the must-visit places for photography in Tainan. The story of this place is fascinating. After the graffiti on Haian Road was reported, much of it was removed, disappointing many who had appreciated its beauty. To allow visitors to once again enjoy Blueprint, Tainan City Government in collaboration with artists, has changed old Japanese government dormitories into a cultural park, with the hope of reproducing the original "beautiful accident." Following its opening in December 2015, Blueprint Culture & Creative Park already has a strong brand and business presence, allowing visitors to see many wooden artworks, postcards depicting Taiwan’s various streets and temples, cafes and shops.

The most eye-catching of all though is Blueprint (藍晒圖), located opposite Shin Kong Mitsukoshi’s Ximen store. Using tricks in perspective and blue and white patterned lines, the original piece painted flat against the architecture is made to become a three-dimensional work of art. Even though it has been reproduced in a different location from its original, the Blueprint still remains the best place for taking selfies. Although the park is small in size, every corner and every shopfront has its own characteristics that make it full of surprises, and the massive graffiti wall and diverse buildings somehow succeed at giving this park a celebratory atmosphere. If you have been to Taipei’s Huashan 1914 Creative Park, Taichung’s Zhongxing First Lane and Kaohsiung’s Pier-2 Art Center, you might enjoy comparing Tainan’s very own creative offering!

Chang Yu Hotel (Tainan):

For those who are asking which hotels are good around Tainan. This is where we stayed nearby Tainan Train Station. It is a Story-filled Leisure And Business Hotel. Let the songs take you back in time through this ancient city. Our room is tastefully furnished and floor laid with Tatami mats (Not seen in the pic). Breakfast was hearty with a choice of their top 3 dishes to try in Tainan. Needless to say I had the Beef soup everyday since Tainan is famous for Beef.

Hayashi Dept Store (70 Years Old): Imagine it is the mid-1930s and you live in Tainan, southern Taiwan’s most cosmopolitan city. You are a high-ranking Japanese officer in the occupying army. You live in a house virtually identical to one from back home. On your days off you go shopping at the upscale Hayashi Department Store, in the tallest building on the island and the first with an elevator. It is located at the heart of Suehirocho, an upmarket district that is THE place to be seen for the city’s wealthy elite.

Snail Alley:

A quiet and small place which was once the home of Taiwanese famous Literary writer Ye Shi tao(葉石濤) in Tainan. The old and tiny lane constructed by local residents which make this place is full of stories and memories. These stories are painted on the walls. It’s quite an unique experience to find the hidden snails while appreciating these paintings. Love that there is a Pop up Cafe just round the corner as we spent time chatting with her. The cafe owner who learnt the art of coffee making in Aussie drives this vintage looking car that matches the vintage scenery as well!

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