We’re going on our 4th year as expats in Taipei. And while I’m sure there are still some fun touristy spots we’ve missed in the city – I don’t think its an exaggeration to say we’ve hit most of them! And that’s okay. Checking those places off our list has left open the space to find other charming and fun everyday parts of Taipei. Parts that sure, you probably wouldn’t wouldn’t hit during your vacation abroad but places you’d love if they were in your own city. And that’s the thing. Taipei is our city! And its SUCH a great city to live in. The cheap, delicious food, the clean, cheap and reliable public transportation, the friendly people, the parks, the arts scene…we could go on and on. But right now I want to talk about the newest one on my list – the Yuanshan Bowling Alley (圓山保齡球館).
Yuanshan Bowling Alley: Easy-going Retro
The Yuanshan Bowling Alley is 60 years old and its enormous! Its a 50+ lane bowling hall that still appears to have plenty of the original hardware and decor from its 1960’s heyday. It’s run down and the machines are ridiculously unreliable. And it just so unintentionally and genuinely retro that it’s a complete delight. If this place were set in Portland it would be a gloriously restored hipster joint with crazy expensive food and craft beer. But then a lane wouldn’t cost just $3 a person to bowl plus a $1 shoe rental. And you definitely wouldn’t be able to walk in with your own case of beer and a pizza! All of which, yes, you CAN do at Yuanshan Bowling Alley (at least so we’ve heard).
Sure. If you LOVE bowling and care about an accurate score, you shouldn’t go. The machine WILL pad your score by occasionally knocking over pins as it resets between throws. But that didn’t go in the negative column for us. Nor did the fact that the employee who kept helping us reset the machine when it glitched, ran over and gave us high fives whenever we got strikes. And we also appreciated that the serious league bowlers a few lanes over didn’t seem to mind when the crazy Americans started trying to bowl with their eyes closed or sitting down granny style. 😂
Details:
If this sounds like a place that might be up your alley 😉, here’s some details
Where: Conveniently located just a few minute’s walk away from Jiantan station (off the Red line) near Shilin Market.
When: 9am – midnight DAILY.
(As far as we can tell there’s always open bowling available.)
How Much: $90/person/game + 30NT for shoe rental