Chiayi City (嘉義市) is an easy day out from Tainan by ordinary train: no car needed, just a ride up the main line. It's the town where the Alishan Forest Railway begins, and the city's own tourism site calls turkey rice a must-eat. One thing to get straight first: Chiayi City is its own city, separate from Chiayi County, which surrounds it and holds Alishan, the Palace Museum's southern branch and the coffee and tea hills. This page is about the city itself.
Getting there
Take a TRA train from Tainan Station downtown to TRA Chiayi Station (嘉義車站). Times and fares depend on the train, so check the Taiwan Railway timetable on the day.
The station itself is worth a look. It's where the Alishan Forest Railway meets the main line, at kilometer zero, and on the first platform you can see the two track widths side by side: 1,067 mm for the main line and 762 mm for the forest railway. The forest railway's trains leave from the north end of that platform. → The forest railway up to Alishan
Hinoki Village
Hinoki Village (檜意森活村) is the place to start. It's a quarter of 30 historic wooden buildings from Chiayi's forestry days, Japanese-style bungalows built from 1914 over some 30 years, mostly in Taiwan red cypress and China fir. They were restored with original materials and methods, and the site, 3.4 hectares in all, opened as a forest culture park in January 2014. It also includes the Forestry Club (營林俱樂部), a city historic site, which has been closed for interior work since July 2025.
- Hours: 10:00 to 18:00 daily
- Address: No. 3, Lane 356, Gonghe Road, East District, Chiayi City (嘉義市東區共和路356巷3號)
- Getting there: about 20 minutes on foot from Chiayi Station along Linsen West Road, or city bus 66 (formerly City Route 6, 市區6路) to the Hinoki Village (North Gate) stop
- Guided tours: the official page says guided tours need booking 14 days ahead, by phone
The forest railway garage park and Beimen Station
The Alishan Forest Railway Garage Park (阿里山林業鐵路車庫園區) was the Beimen Repair Plant in the Japanese era. From 1912 it built and repaired the railway's rolling stock, including its cypress carriages. A fire in 1993 destroyed the old workshops and many retired trains; the plant was rebuilt, some trains are kept in the yard, and it opened to visitors under its current name in 2005. It's open 08:00 to 18:00, though the office area is closed to the public.
Beimen Station (北門車站) is the forest railway's next stop, 1.6 km up the line. The station moved to a new building that opened on 26 December 2023, with wood-pattern platforms and the railway's red, green and white colors. The railway lists Hinoki Village and the garage park as its neighbors, so the three sit close together.
Chiayi Art Museum
The Chiayi Art Museum (嘉義市立美術館) sits in the former Chiayi office of the Japanese-era Monopoly Bureau, a three-story building from 1936 with a curved corner and tiles from Beitou, now a city historic site. A new wing uses glued-laminated timber beams instead of steel, a nod to Chiayi's past as a timber town. The museum shows Chiayi's art from Japanese-era painters to the present, drawing on Chiayi's nickname as a "city of painting" (畫都).
- Hours: 09:00 to 17:00 Tuesday to Sunday, closed Mondays and on other announced days
- Tickets: sold only at the museum. It has no online booking, and asks visitors not to pay any website for tickets
- Address: No. 101, Guangning Street, West District, Chiayi City (嘉義市西區廣寧街101號)
- Getting there: about 3 minutes' walk from the front of Chiayi Station
Turkey rice and Wenhua Road Night Market
Turkey rice (火雞肉飯) is Chiayi City's signature dish: shredded or sliced turkey over steamed rice, finished with a spoon of gravy made from the turkey broth and fat, and green onion oil. Every shop guards its own gravy recipe, and a bowl costs little. Chiayi City's tourism site keeps a turkey rice map if you want to compare shops.
Where to start
Chiayi has dozens of turkey rice shops, and locals argue about them. These four come up again and again in Taiwan's food press, and each suits a different time of day. Hours change and shops sell out, so check Google Maps before you go.
- Minzhu Turkey Rice (民主火雞肉飯), No. 149 Minzu Road, East District. The classic first stop, with a house-made fried shallot sauce and plenty of side dishes.
- A-Xi Turkey Rice (阿溪火雞肉飯), No. 356 Ren'ai Road, West District. A breakfast shop: TVBS lists it from 05:30 to 13:30, closed Thursdays, and its sliced turkey rice (雞片飯) tends to sell out early.
- A-Lou-Shi Turkey Rice (阿樓師火雞肉飯), No. 102 Wufeng North Road, East District. The late one: NOWnews lists it from 16:00 to midnight, useful if you arrive after the lunch shops close.
- Taocheng Sanhe Turkey Rice (桃城三禾火雞肉飯), No. 97 Minquan Road, East District. Good for a fuller meal, with turkey rice and several traditional sides. Published opening days differ, so check before you go.
For the evening, Wenhua Road Night Market (文化路夜市) runs along Wenhua Road between Zhongshan Road and Chuiyang Road, in a shopping area that has been busy since the Japanese era. The city lists turkey rice, soy milk and tofu pudding, traditional egg rolls and tomatoes with ginger sauce among the snacks. Stall hours vary, so check Google Maps before you go.
→ Back home: Tainan's night markets
A simple plan
Take a morning train up, see Hinoki Village, the garage park and Beimen Station, then have turkey rice for lunch. Spend the afternoon at the Art Museum by the station, eat your way down Wenhua Road in the evening, and take the train home. If you'd rather see the National Palace Museum's southern branch, it's in Chiayi County, a bus ride from THSR Chiayi. → The Palace Museum's southern branch
Sources
Hinoki Village from the Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office (English page; building materials, closures, bus route and guided-tour booking from its Chinese page), plus its pages on the Chiayi garage park, Beimen Station and Chiayi Station. The Art Museum from its visitor information and architecture pages. Turkey rice and the night market from Chiayi City Government's tourism site (turkey rice, Wenhua Road Night Market). Trains from Taiwan Railway. Turkey rice shops from SuperTaste and its Chiayi turkey rice guide, TVBS and NOWnews. Checked October 2026.