Come to Us for a Hot Spring Soak!

A century-old hot spring

Beitou cultural historian Yang Yeh says that according to written records, the site now occupied by the Long Nice Hot Spring was formerly the therapeutic hot spring bathhouse of a Japanese military hospital, built in 1898. Later the facility was taken over by the Ladies’ Charity Society of Formosa, and was rebuilt as a public bath, which opened in 1907 and became known as the “charity hot spring.” Because the rebuilding work was undertaken by the Railway Department of the Government-General of Taiwan, it was also called the “iron hot spring” (because “railroad” in Japanese is “iron road”). Meanwhile, Taiwanese called it sam-sian-king—“three immortals house”—because in Taiwanese Hokkien sam-sian (“three immortals”) sounds like “three sen” (three hundredths of a yen), a reference to how inexpensive it was. Long Nice Hot Spring was the first public bathhouse in Beitou.

It 1913 the name was changed to Takino Hot Spring (in Japanese), which is pronounced Longnai Hot Spring in Mandarin (now translated as Long Nice Hot Spring). This is the moniker it continues to use today.

After World War II, the government put the management of Long Nice out to tender. Lin Tian-han, who ran a hotel near Taipei Station, won the bid. His family has run the place since the 1950s. It is now operated by the third generation, which includes Lin Chia-hui and her sisters.

For Lin Chia-hui, this is simply “home,” the place where she grew up. Three generations of the family still live together in the same building as the hot spring pools. “When I was small, we washed up next to the baths, and sometimes we would ­accidentally fall into the pool.” These memories are still vivid in Lin’s mind.

Having passed through different eras, the structure at Long Nice Hot Springs bears the traces of past renovations and repairs. When the third generation took over in 2016, they remodeled the place. They preserved the building’s wooden framework, but renovated the roof, which had previously been patched with corrugated sheet metal. The revamped house with its all-tile roof actually has more of a historic Japanese-era feel than the old one did.

Long Nice Hot Spring was the first public bathhouse in Taiwan in the era of Japanese rule. The photo shows its appearance after World War II. (courtesy of Yang Yeh)

Friendship through bathing

Lin Chia-hui says that the source of Long Nice’s water is the green sulfur hot spring in Beitou’s Thermal Valley. After flowing from its source to Long Nice, it is still at 50–60℃. Unlike some hot spring bathing venues, the water does not need to be reheated, and indeed at Long Nice they need to lower its temperature. The soaking water is kept at 42–46℃, which is still on the hot side. Hence people trying it for the first time can find it hard to get used to. Nonetheless, Long Nice has many senior customers who have been coming here to bathe since they were young, and for them the hotter the better—in fact, they will be unhappy if the water isn’t hot enough!

Lin calls these long-time customers “old soakers.” They come three times a week and all know each other, and they enjoy chatting as they bathe. When new customers come in, they will even help out by reminding the newcomers to wash themselves before entering the pool. They also warn novices that the acidic green sulfur spring water can be irritating to the skin, so they should avoid getting it on their faces; and advise them that after soaking for five minutes they should get up, take a break, and drink some water. Lin says with a laugh that the old soakers are like staff members, helping to keep things running smoothly. Sometimes the last group of old soakers on a given day will even help clean up the venue. These routine daily scenes have given rise to a hot-spring bathing culture filled with kindness and warmth.

This stone marker in the courtyard at Long Nice commemorates a visit to Beitou by the Crown Prince of Japan in the era of Japanese rule.

Welcome home!

Not only do customers take care of Long Nice Hot Spring as if it were their own home, the Lin family who live there have a profound emotional connection to the place. When planning any changes, they always take “making our home more comfortable” as the starting point. For example, the foot pool added during the 2016 renovations, inspired by Lin Chia-hui’s experiences traveling in Japan and based on the idea that routine foot soaking enhances one’s health, was built in the family’s own courtyard. It was only later, when Lin had some time to spare, that she set up an eatery there with foot pools available to the public.

A group of friends sitting on a long platform outside a Japanese-­style wooden building soaking their feet and agreeably chatting can also enjoy tasty treats including snacks made with Taiwan ingredients, high mountain tea from Nantou, Tieguanyin tea from Muzha, hot spring eggs, and taiyaki (fish-shaped pastries). Lin says: “I want to offer people things to help them understand Taiwanese culture.”

After bathing, you can go into the hot spring’s courtyard and see a Japanese-era stone marker commemorating a visit to Beitou by the then Crown Prince (and later Emperor) Hirohito. Or you can just sit in the courtyard and enjoy the cool breeze while listening to the soughing of trees that seems to say to visitors: “Welcome home!”

Long Nice has recently added a food service area where customers can sit on a long platform and enjoy light foods as they soak their feet in a hot spring pool and chat with friends.