假期 pt.2：九份

嗨～ hi. yes, i am aware i already posted this week, but 九份 (jiu fen) deserves it's own post (it's mostly a photo dump). i can't even begin to describes how excited and energetic i was all day.

but first, some background. 九份 (jiu fen) is an old gold mining town that mostly presents features from the time taiwan was under japanese rule. it was a ghost town for a while but has been revived as many see its resemblance to Studio Ghibli's "Spirited Away". though a connection has not been confirmed by director Hayao Miyazaki, it doesn't stop the locals from capitalizing on it – it sure didn't curb my excitement (as many know, it is my favorite movie).

九份 (jiu fen) is an easy day trip from taipei thanks to taiwan's amazing public transit and its only about 2 hours.

九份老街 (jiu fen old street)

the bus drops off right at the beginning of jiufen old street, the main alley through the shopping district. it's a lot like night markets with the various food/treat stands, shops etc, but it runs all day. the street is lined with lanterns that say 九份 and like night markets, the stalls usually have lanterns with the name of what they are selling on them.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/f148f6_2166e4aed8b342dfac14fef44d12bbfe/720p/mp4/file.mp4

阿妹茶樓 (a'mei teahouse)

of course we had to go to a'mei teahouse. rumor has it the architecture of this particular teahouse inspired Spirited Away's bathhouse. i was afraid we wouldn't be able to get in, but it was surprisingly not too busy. as we were eating and enjoying amazing tea (i got 玫瑰茉莉花茶 rose jasmine tea), it started to rain and i immediately thought of the rain scenes in the movie: no face first entering the bathhouse in particular. (clearly i know the movie a little too well 😅).

other views:

anyway, this trip clearly passed my vibe check. i highly recommend it and don't be surprised if i go back again. as i am writing this, my friend actually proposed making this a monthly trip haha.

♡蘇晨