Taipei: Anime And Bookshops
Let's go back memory lane.... uhm, I mean a quick recap of the Taiwan trip. 😁
Spent half day of day one was in Taipei then travelled to Yilan county where we spent two nights before heading to Jiufen for a night. On our last two nights in Taiwan, we were back in Taipei.
After we settled down in our hostel, we went out... to take part in the One Piece 20th anniversary event. I love One Piece so much but I didn't have any idea that there will be an event to celebrate it's 20th anniversary and promote the new movie - Stampede in Taipei.
One Piece 20th Anniversary
It was a big surprise.... No words could express how I felt when I saw the tickets the night before the event. I was extremely delighted and teary-eyed that I sleep evaded me.
Held at an exhibition centre at Songshan Cultural & Creative Park, it was difficult to contain my emotions staring at the posters outside the venue.
I was like a child skipping, moving from one spot to another, naming the characters and relishing all those scenes from the anime. It felt like I was on cloud 9; containing my emotions was a huge challenge.. No plan of leaving the place without a sourvenir..ermmm souvenirs. ^_^
Almost 2 hours had past then we realised we haven't had lunch. Yikes.. So we headed to the Eslite Spectrum, looked for a place to fill our hungry stomach before another set of surprise was unveiled... Bookshops!
Yue Yue Bookshop
At first glance on its exterior, the Yue Yue Bookshop doesn't resemble a bookstore; it exudes a traditional home kind of vibe possessing a rich history. I was astonished when we made our way to this bookshop situated just across the Eslite Spectrum shopping mall. "You will love it" he said.... and I did! 😍
Built in 1954 as a nursery room, this historical building is now a fantastic bookstore cum cafe cum space for various arts and literature exhibitions.
Address: No. No. 133, Guangfu South Road, Xinyi District, Taipei City
Operating Hours: 11:30AM - 6:30PM Thursday to Sunday (schedule may vary)
Tsutaya Bookstore - Wired Tokyo
Tsutaya Taipei, a Japanese bookstore franchise, features a "book and cafe" theme housing a wide variety of books from Chinese to Japanese to English. In addition to books, it also sells music albums, the brand's selective stationery, coffee and cocktails.
Exhibiting an elegant atmosphere and abundant collection of books, movies and music, it is not surprising that the bookshop made it to the list of the most beautiful bookstores in the world.
Address: 110, Taiwan, Taipei City, Xinyi District, Section 5, Zhongxiao East Road
Opening Hours: Sunday to Thursday 11:00AM - 9:30PM; Friday to Saturday 11:00AM - 10:00PM (schedule may vary)
Eslite Bookstore
Our last destination of the day was the Eslite Bookstore - Dunnan branch. What makes this branch popular? Oh well, it is the first 24-hour bookstore in the world and the only 24 hour bookstore in Taipei. I was tongue-tied when I found out that the bookshop operates 24 hours!
Walking along each row made my heart feels like it were going to jump out of my chest. The happiness of seeing a diverse collection of books and smelling the unique scent was indecipherable.
A haven for bookworms - Eslite bookshop is a place where you can find any book you can think of. Being open for 24 hours means you can stay as long as you want and just read a book - we stayed until 2AM. 😄 Of course, we didn't leave the place empty handed. I got 2 books from here.
Sadly after accompanying Taipei residents for 30 years, the Dunnan branch decided to end operations. Lucky us, especially me, that I had the chance of experiencing the place being it closed its curtains.
Bleu&Book @ Huashan 1914 Creative Park
On our last day in Taipei, I had one more destination on my list that I begged to check out - the Huashan 1914 Creative Park. Originally, I was drawn to visit the park as I wanted to see the building covered with lush green plants. Yes it captured my attention. Little did I know that there is a hidden treasure in this place and that is the Bleu&Book bookshop.
The independent book cafe radiates a calm and relaxing atmosphere like an inner-city oasis. In contrasts to the big boys, this book cafe has a humble size possessing an interior layout that reflects a private study wherein the books are comfortably arranged on shelves. A range of book genres are housed in this bookshop including philosophy, society, culture and classical literature.
The homey feeling was super enticing that I just wanted to sit and savour the sight of being surrounded by books.
Address: 100, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongzheng District, Section 1, Bade Rd, 1號2樓
Operating Hours: 10AM - 9PM Sunday to Saturday
Detective Conan
Have I mentioned I am an anime fan? Okay not a huge fan of all anime series but certain anime only.
Let's go back to the morning on our last day when I wandered alone at the Taipei Main Station. Something caught my eyes... posters of Detective Conan anime were plastered almost everywhere at zone Z. I didn't exactly know was going on but I understood that there was an event related to the release of the 23rd movie of Detective Conan - The Fist of Blue Sapphire. I noticed youngsters and young at heart fanatics rushing from one spot to another, trying to get stamps. I wanted to ask where to acquire that stamp pad but to no avail.
So with a heavy heart I left the place... throwing tantrums and didn't feel like talking until we reached the Bleu&Book. 😁 Yes that was the only remedy of my bipolar behaviour. 🤣
Eslite Bookshop
Before heading back to our hostel to pick-up our stuff and leave for the airport, we dropped by at another Eslite bookshop. I forgot which mall was it but as expected the bookstore flaunts posh ambience. Time to bid goodbye to the books.. 😁
Our last 2 days in Taipei were filled with simple yet special memories that are worth remembering. Have you been to any of these bookstore?
A big thank you to someone who's never tired of understanding my tantrums and always surprising me with things that I love.
'9-10 July 2019