Monster Village sits at the gates of Xitou and is, by any reasonable measure, extremely odd. It is a Japanese-styled resort street — dark timber, red lanterns, izakaya frontages — built around Taiwanese folk monsters and an invented legend about a Japanese forester and the creatures he supposedly befriended here.
None of it is historically real, and it does not pretend otherwise. What it is, is enormous fun, especially with children, and the food and craft beer are genuinely good rather than merely themed. Treat it as the light half of a Xitou day and it earns its place.
Top things to do at Xitou Monster Village
Queue at the bakery
The village bakery is famous across Taiwan for its monster-shaped breads, and the queue at weekends is not a joke. The savoury loaves are better than the novelty shapes suggest.
Try the craft beer
The village brews its own, and the beer hall is a pleasant place to sit after a morning walking in the forest.
Stay for the lanterns
The street is best after dark, when the lanterns come on and the day visitors have gone. This is a strong argument for staying the night in the village or in Xitou.
How to get to Xitou Monster Village
- It is immediately outside the Xitou Nature Education Area entrance — a two-minute walk from the park gates.
- All buses serving Xitou stop here, and there is a large car park.
- Weekends and school holidays are extremely busy. Midweek it is a much more relaxed place.
- The mascot parades and drum performances run to a daily timetable posted at the entrance.
- You do not need a ticket to walk the street — you only pay for what you eat and buy.
Best tours & tickets for Xitou Monster Village
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to enjoy Xitou Monster Village and its surroundings:
Private day tour from $320 per group Taichung: Xitou Forest, Lukang and Rainbow Village Tour
The one tour on our list that gets you into southern Nantou’s forest country. Xitou is a former National Taiwan University experimental forest turned nature reserve — a plateau of towering Japanese cedar, a bamboo walkway through the canopy and air that sits a good ten degrees below the plains. Next door, Monster Village is a gleefully strange Japanese-styled resort village built around Taiwanese folk monsters, and a firm family favourite. The day is rounded out with historic Lukang and Taichung’s Rainbow Village. Priced per group of up to four.
- Xitou Nature Education Area — cool cedar forest at 1,150 m
- Xitou Monster Village, Taiwan’s wonderfully odd Japanese-themed street
- Lukang Old Street and the colourful Rainbow Village near Taichung
