Taipei City Government

The exhibition events of the 2015 Taipei Hot Springs Season will take place outside MRT Xinbeitou Station between October 29 and November 2. One of the highlights of this year’s event will be the reenactment of the “Clash-of-Shrines” tradition from Japan.

The venues for this year’s event include the plaza space outside of MRT Xinbeitou Station, Songshan Train Station, and Civic Plaza. The performance schedule will be as follows:

Date	Time	Location
Oct. 30 (Fri.)	3 PM	MRT Xinbeitou Station
Oct. 31 (Sat.)	9 AM	MRT Xinbeitou Station
Oct. 31 (Sat.)	3 PM	West Plaza of Songshan Train Station
Oct. 31 (Sat.)	5 PM	Plaza in front of Songshan Ciyou Temple
Nov. 1 (Sun.)	10 AM	Civic Plaza, Taipei City Government
Nov. 1 (Sun.)	3:30 PM	MRT Xinbeitou Station

A Taste of Japan in Beitou

Thanks to the strong friendship between Taipei City’s Songshan District and the city of Matsuyama in Japan’s Ehime Prefecture, a Japanese delegation consisting of over 400 staff members and four portable shrines/palanquins (“mikoshi”) will be staging the shrine-crashing spectacle once again this year at the invitation of the Department of Information and Tourism. Each of the shrines, which cost between 6 to 7 million yen, weighs between 600 to 700 kilograms and requires strong porters to bear the weight.

The renowned festival ritual highlights the power and vitality of the shrine porters. Starting with a parade of the mikoshi in the neighborhood, the men will shake and move the palanquins, seeking to bring divine blessing for rich harvest and prosperous business. After arriving at the ritual venue, the teams will begin the “clashing” spectacle. There will be no doubt that onlookers will be excited to witness the clashing of the mikoshi from Doggo Haccho!

Learn More about the District of Hot Springs

In addition to the clashing of shrines carried by teams of tough guys echoing from the plaza next to the MRT station in Beitou, booths at the five-daylong Hot Spring Exhibition taking place between October 29 and November 2 at the MRT Xinbeitou Station Plaza will feature activities ranging from local culture, great food, and nakashi music.

Hot spring businesses from across the Asia-Pacific region will also organize a joint exposition to allow visitors to learn more about the different choices of hot springs available at different countries. They can also try out local delicacies such as beef noodle, oyster omelet, Chinese hamburger, and pearl milk tea. There will also be a charity flea market, as well as local businesses offering a selection of packages spanning hot spring, souvenirs, and fine cuisine. Visitors will discover that the exhibition offers them a great opportunity to learn more about hot spring culture and the local community.

In addition, stage program at the Hot Spring Festival will feature performances spanning old-style nakashi music to Taiwanese opera by Minghua Yuan.

Blood Donation Drive and Charity Events

While visitors can listen to nakashi music and taste great food at the exhibition, there are also blood drives and charity flea market for the public to contribute to society.

For more information about this year’s Taipei Hot Spring Season, please call Taipei Hot Springs Association (TEL: 02-2895-5418) or visit the Chinese website of the association (http://taipeisprings.org.tw/)