Japan and Taiwan as travel destinations

Japan and Taiwan are very close, but do you know just how close?

It is only about 111km!!

This is the distance is from Japan’s southwestern island Yonaguni to the Taiwanese town Su’ao.
A few days per year, people can even see the mountains of Taiwan from Yonaguni island!

In fact, Japan and Taiwan are not only geographically close, their relationship also has a long history. Taiwan was a Japanese colony for 50 years (cc.1895-1945).

This history is really difficult to describe in a short blog!
Nowadays these two countries are not only trading partners, but Japan also influences Taiwan's political policy and society.

If you visit Taiwan, you will be amazed to find that walking the streets of Taipei feels just like downtown Osaka！
The street layout, same road signs and traffic lights, the cars driving on the left.
The architecture, the neon lights on the buildings, people lining up in front of popular snack shops…the city is very crowed, but always clean and far from chaos!

One more surprise is the subway of Taipei!
Probably you will be confused whether you are in Osaka or Taipei…
It is not just the stations and cars that look similar, even the passenger rules are alike, so no eating or drinking, loud talking nor phone calls are allowed in the subway.
Absolutely, an amazing experience!

The big difference between Japan and Taiwan is the people!

Taiwanese are more enthusiastic and spontaneous than Japanese.
You can feel it when you hear them talk, it does not matter if you understand the language or not, their positive tone and happy smile make a different impression.

Compared to Taiwanese, Japanese are more quiet, formal and polite….but still very friendly!
They are a bit too shy to talk with strangers, it does not matter if you are Japanese or foreigner.

Taiwan is like a young man full of colour and vitality, while Japan is more like a gentle and dignified lady.

Taiwan and Japan both are interesting and fascinating travel destinations, don’t you think so?