Things to Do in West Central District for Couples

THE 5 BEST West Central District Couples' Activities

Best Things to Do in West Central District for Couples

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What travelers are saying

  • grace
    Singapore, Singapore6 contributions
    If u got time, you probably can go in for a quick visit. Now part of the tower is under renovation , so you can just go visit the main tower
    Written March 11, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • OrderintheHouse
    Brisbane2,800 contributions
    In January 2020 my wife and I included a 6 night Wendy Wu private tour of Taiwan as part of our 18 day Asian trip we arranged to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. Our tour took in Taipei, Taroko Gorge, Sun Moon Lake, Tainan and Kaohaiung.

    While in Tainan we visited notable attractions such as a walking tour around Anping Old Fort, a visit to Chihkan Tower and a look at the Grand Matsu Temple. We also included a most enjoyable visit to the Hayashi Department Store, very iconic and worth visiting just for its history.

    On our 10 minute walk to the Department Store after visiting the Grand Matsu Temple there was a very pleasant diversion along the way. It was the grand 70 year old Chin Men Theatre with its façade completely covered with four 20 square metre movie posters carefully hand painted by 67-year-old artist Yan Jhen-fa who has been painting film posters since he was 16 years of age. Yan is the last movie poster artist still actively painting in Taiwan, and the Chin Men Theatre is the last cinema displaying such posters in the country. What is truly remarkable here is that Yan is partially blind and vows to continue painting until he can no longer see. The quality of the posters is truly amazing. It is well worth stopping for a look and well worth taking a photo.

    However, I digress, so back now to the Hayashi Department Store. The Store is located in a busy shopping precinct in the West Central District of Tainan. It is simply bursting with history. Hayashi Department Store was known to the Tainan people as "The Five-Stories-House". It was founded by Japanese businessman Hayashi Houichi and officially opened on 5 December 1932, under Japanese Rule, as the second large Department Store in Taiwan. It was the largest department store in southern Taiwan when it opened and boasted advanced facilities for its day such as a state of the art elevator and flush toilets. It is also the only department store in Taiwan with a Japanese Shintoist shrine (the Suehiro Shrine) on its rooftop completed in 1933 and not open to the public. The Store was badly damaged by US air raids during World War II (WWII) and ceased to be a Department Store soon after the War. It was of great interest that we could observe during our visit to the rooftop the pronounced holes in a wall, timely evidence of the US air raids on the building at the end of WWII.

    The Store had been deserted for decades prior to its reopening after restoration in 2014. It now welcomes visitors as the Tainan Cultural Creative Department Store with very distinct and well presented departments on each of its six floors. Each floor adopts a specific themes – floor 1 (Tainan Feast) incorporating a Taiwanese Tea Shop; floor 2 (Innovative Design); floor 3 (Fashion Stylish); floor 4 (Culture Salon); floor 5 (Unique Cuisine) and floor 6 (City Scenery) incorporating the Hayashi Shop, the Observatory and the Shinto Shrine.

    We never purchased anything during our one hour visit to the Store; however we enjoyed just walking around taking in the impressive shopping atmosphere of good old fashioned charm on display here – indeed this Store comes across as a throwback to a previous era. The original elevator could take a maximum of 12 passengers. To preserve the original mechanical tracks structure, the elevator has been rebuilt to a smaller size, to only take 6 persons maximum, for safety reasons. We had to wait in queues to use the elevator because of this restriction. On our way down from the top floor we chose to take the ornate steps down to each floor, rather than having to wait to use the elevator again. This proved a very good move because it enabled us to take a peek at every floor in the Store marvelling at the great way in which the goods are presented for sale. Very impressive was the historic floor indicator dial to let customers know which floor the elevator has stopped at. Also, being able to see the remnants of the very first original wooden elevator box on display on one of the floors was worthwhile.

    This was a most enjoyable visit to a very novel Department Store. You don’t have to buy anything here unless something appeals to you. However it is worth the effort to visit the place just to soak up its amazing history.
    Written June 6, 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Heng
    Singapore, Singapore3,736 contributions
    Street flanked by traditional buildings, some commercial and some residential all mixed together. However like a few places in Tainan, we either came to early in the day (mind you, it’s early afternoon) or they only opens during weekends. Lucky for us, we found an interesting souvenir shop which is opened.
    Written July 20, 2023
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • wireless_in_CA
    United States4,829 contributions
    There were quite a lot of visitors during my visit most likely due to some family event. A stage was setup, an MC motivated the crowds before the dance groups went to perform. It was quite entertaining and the kids drew a lot of support from the crowd.

    This place was a little smaller than I expected but there was a nice collection of boutiques. Architecture ran from traditional to modern with individual/eclectic landscaping and art. Wall paintings also were popular for groupies or selfies. There also was a second floor viewing area.

    It was a nice break from the typical city setting.
    Written September 24, 2022
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
  • Becky
    16 contributions
    I went to True-Life during the Moon Festival for 2-hour body massage with essential oil. I felt totally relaxed. I want to say thank you to masseuse NO 77.
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    Written September 30, 2020
    This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.