Little Shibuya

I had barely even glanced at our Rough Guide to Taiwan before we arrived so knew practically nothing about the city of Taipei. My initial reaction was one of shock at the influence that Japan is having on the youth of Taipei. We found out pretty quickly that the neighborhood where we were staying (Ximending) was like a little Shibuya. Shops selling Japanese-inspired fashion and accessories spilled out onto the pavements, restaurants and street carts sell tempura, yakiniku, sushi and that awful boiled pork patty stuff that we get in convenience stores in Japan. There are games arcades, karaoke and pericular (the photo booths that Elly and Clare liked so much).