5 Things to do in Jiufen
Jiufen is perhaps best known for its magical 'Spirited Away' tea house additionally there is so much more to explore and eat, like stinky tofu, fish balls and almond drinks making Jiufen a great day trip destination.
- What: Historic gold mining town Jiufen
- Where: Jishan Street, Ruifang District, New Taipei City [Map]
- Tip: Be in good physical condition, the stairways around town are very steep.
- Book Now: Join a complete Jiufen adventure for just $20 USD
One of the most iconic sites in Taiwan, Jiufen is a historic gold mining town and now a major tourist attraction best known for the A-Mei tea house, rumor goes that director Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away was influenced by it.
Places
1. Jiufen OId Street
A gorgeous authentic market street with little shops selling street snacks, drinks and merchandise.
2. Stinky Tofu
One of Taiwan's most famous street foods is stinky tofu, it is stinky because it is fermented tofu which you can smell from miles away.
3. Almond Drink
Nothing beats fresh almond drinks, Taiwan definitely has almond drinks figured out, rich almond flavours at a good price.
4. Peanut Ice Cream Rolls
I had no idea peanut ice cream rolls with cilantro and scraped caramelized peanuts could be so delicious.
5. A-Mei Tea House
Most iconic tea house in Jiufen, best known for having inspired the movie 'Spirited Away'.
6. BONUS: Taro Balls
These balls are a regional specialty, sweet chewy nuggets in a refreshing iced soup.
Start off your Jiufen day trip at the Jiufen Old Street for snacks and drinks, the best dish to start with is the stinky tofu which is fermented tofu which I truly enjoyed but can be an acquired taste. Another great snack are the peanut ice cream rolls which is a wrap with 2x scopes of ice cream, cilantro and scraped caramilzed peanuts.
Since Jiufen has many steep stairways you require to be in good physical condition but once you reach the top, go up to the rooftop deck at the iconic A-Mei tea house for these mesmerizing mountainous views of the Ruifang district and Keelung city.
The weather on Taiwan can be very unpredictable, crazy mist and fog started to crawl up in front of us out of nowhere which was actually quite refreshing since was a hot piping 35 degrees celcius kind of day. I have a sort clip of the experience in the video listed above. If you do not have time to organize the day trip to Jiufen yourself you can book a day trip with a local guide to Jiufen including a visit to the A-mei Spirited Away tea house, creating sky lanterns in Shifen and visiting the spectacular golden waterfalls.
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