On the fourth day of our Taiwan trip, we joined a tour of Hsinchu with Finemakers.
This was my first proper visit to Hsinchu,
and I really enjoyed it.
In fact,
I ended up liking Hsinchu much more than I expected!
It felt different from Taipei, with a more local atmosphere and plenty of food, history and culture to discover.
This article is based on our visit in 2018, so prices and individual shops may have changed since then.
Our First Stop: Hsinchu City God Temple
Our first stop was
Hsinchu City God Temple.
I found this place really interesting.
We only had a short time here,
but honestly,
I wished we could have stayed longer.
Around the temple, there were lots of small shops and food stalls.
This was a shop selling dried foods and local products.
Our guide recommended the peanut butter,
so of course we bought some!
We tried it after returning home.
It was not very sweet, so rather than spreading it on bread,
I thought it might actually work better in savory dishes or dressings.
Once we went farther inside,
there were food stalls everywhere.
It was still morning,
but plenty of local people were already eating.
The atmosphere felt quite different from a night market.
You could really get a glimpse of everyday local life.
That was part of what made it so much fun!
Learning How to Pray at a Taiwanese Temple
And right beside all those food stalls was this impressive temple.
A temple and so many places to eat in almost the same space!
I found that combination fascinating.
Our Finemakers guide showed us how to pray in the Taiwanese style,
so we gave it a try.
Taiwanese temples are beautifully ornate,
with lots of gold and decorative details.
It felt very different from many of the temples we are used to seeing in Japan.
This figure reminded me a little of Ebisu,
the Japanese god associated with good fortune.
It looked lucky,
so naturally we took a photo together!
After Praying, It Was Time for Hsinchu Rice Noodles
After visiting the temple,
we went back to one of the nearby food stalls to try one of Hsinchu’s famous local foods:
rice noodles.
The rice noodles were delicious!
There was a slightly herbal flavor that reminded me a little of traditional Chinese herbs.
The portion was generous,
and at the time the price was very reasonable.
There were plenty of other local dishes too,
including meatball soup,
which also looked delicious.
And this food area even had desserts.
Looking back,
we probably should have skipped the hotel breakfast and eaten breakfast here instead!
If you are visiting Hsinchu City God Temple in the morning,
I would definitely consider keeping breakfast light beforehand.
There are too many tempting things to eat once you arrive.
Hsinchu Station and Its Connection with Japan
After that,
we visited Hsinchu Station.
Hsinchu Station has a sister-station relationship with Tokyo Station in Japan.
Both stations have more than 100 years of history,
and Hsinchu Station was designed by a Japanese architect during the period of Japanese rule in Taiwan.
Traveling around Taiwan,
I kept noticing little connections between Taiwan and Japan.
We had felt the same thing during our trip to Hualien,
and seeing Hsinchu Station brought that feeling back again.
Our Thoughts on Hsinchu
This was only part of our day in Hsinchu,
but it left a strong impression on me.
The historic temple,
the busy local food stalls,
the rice noodles,
and the beautiful old railway station—
there was much more to see than I had expected.
I really liked Hsinchu.
If you have already visited Taipei and want to experience another side of Taiwan,
Hsinchu is worth adding to your list.
And after this,
we continued to something else I had been looking forward to:
a traditional Hakka lei cha experience.
Disclosure: Our Taiwan trip in 2018 was hosted by Finemakers.
Our guide made the experience easy to enjoy, especially as first-time visitors to this part of Taiwan.
Finemakers is still operating tours and private travel services in Taiwan, although current itineraries may differ from the tour we joined in 2018.
