XITOU MONSTER VILLAGE - EVERYDAY IS HALLOWEEN!

wittywheat(69)

Published in

Worldmappin

Words

546

Reading

3 min

Listen

Play

Happy Halloween Hivers!

Many people know about the breathtaking beauty of the Xitou Nature Education Area but only some are aware of the existence of the quirky Xitou Monster Village. The village is located towards the end of the Sun Moon Torii trail. Tall trees surrounding this area are known as the Formosan Red Cypress or Chamaecyparis formosensis. They are endemic to Taiwan.

TENGU

Xitou Monster Village was built to commemorate the friendship between Kubota (Japanese) and Matsubayashi (Taiwanese) during the Japanese colonial era. Mister Kubota used to be the head of the forestry department in Xitou. His team worked on experimental reforestation. After WWII, Mr. Kubota returned to Japan and set up a bakery with his wife for a living. Several years later, his wife passed away in a fire accident that wiped out the bakery as well. When Mr. Matsubayashi heard of the devastating news he decided to send some money over to help out Mr. Kubota. Touched by the kind gesture, Mr. Kubota carved a wooden sculpture that served as the basis for the construction of the monster village when Mr. Kubota's children sent the sculpture to Taiwan in 2009.

Three Eye Monster

Both Taiwanese people and especially so Japanese people can be complicated to decipher at times. Monsters as friendship tokens. Seriously? Maybe it meant we are close enough to confidently reveal to each other our inner demons? Surprisingly, this freakish marketing strategy draws close to 200,000 visitors a month. A clever feat difficult to dismiss as purely accidental.

Eyeball Balconies

The Xitou monster village is quite small so do not expect a miracle. However, it is a rather picturesque as well as a unique place for photography enthusiasts. Staying in the monster hotel after a day of an awesome hike at the Lotus Forest and Sun Link Sea is an interesting choice worthwhile considering especially for those wanting to teach their petulant kids a lesson. In reality, it will turn out to be more of a treat rather than punishment.

Sun Moon Torii Trail

Kids are sort of lucky these days depending on the situation. When I was still a young naive girl, my parents just told me they picked me up from the garbage can to make me cry. That statement alone was terrifying to children of my era. Yeah, we're easy! Nowadays, there are numerous haunted theme parks to spook children and those young at heart.

The only regrettable part about this trip was the stinging nettle bun at the famous bakery was sold out. This hot commodity is available daily from 10:00 to 14:00. Too bad! Another time maybe. A good excuse to return. I need to convince my forever busy friend to join me for the next round. In the meantime, I shall think of an irresistible bribe too good to refuse.😂