Breakfast is a rice porridge set meal at the inn's cafeteria. The ginger stimulates the appetite for a healthy start. Refills of porridge are free of charge!

After soaking in the hot spring baths at the inn, my body became lighter and lighter.
The pedals felt light as we started riding on the eighth day!

The Suhua Highway (National Highway No. 9, part of Provincial Highway No. 9), which runs along the coast of Hualien County, is narrow and is frequented by trucks, so the train will warp us approximately 100km from Hualien Station to Jiaoxi Station. The ride will begin with a 70km ride to Hualien Station, where we'll board the train.

Stopped at the Visitor Center "鶴岡遊客中心 (hè gāng yóu kè zhōng xīn)" about 5km after leaving the inn.
The center is equipped with a free charging spot, restrooms, and bicycle tire air pumps.
The recharging spot is a welcome addition to a bicycle trip that requires heavy use of a smartphone for map apps, photography, and other purposes.

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Refill water at the water server in the tourist center. Water servers in Japan offer only "water" or "hot water," but in Taiwan, it is impressive that "lukewarm water" is also available.

After refilling the tires with air and water, we set out again. After about 10km on National Highway 9, we turned off onto a side road to the "Hualien Plain Forest Park." This is the first flatland forest park in Taiwan, and there is a 20km bike path through the park. This is Sam's recommended route, which allows visitors to enjoy a leisurely ride while "bathing" in the forest.

Stop by the "Danongdafu Forest Park" located in the center of the forest park. This is a so-called visitor center. It includes restrooms, a café, and a souvenir store.

Check location on map

Today's ride was about 70km, a milder route than the previous days. We decided to take an elegant coffee break at a cafe in the visitor center while enjoying the view of the Central Mountain Range.

After riding about 20km, we arrived at the town of Horin. At the request of Tsucchi, who was hungry, we took an early break for sweets. We stopped at an ice cream shop called "Sanli Ice Cream. We could choose the number and type of ice cream and toppings, but there were so many to choose from that it was hard to decide. The owner of the ice cream store, who was very service oriented, let us try a few.

I chose matcha and vanilla ice cream with toppings that are hard to choose from in Japan: red beans, taro dumplings, and passion fruit jelly. The ice cream was rich and the toppings of various textures were enjoyable.

After the sweets break, we rode about 35km, nonstop, and arrived at the Hualien station one hour before train departure time. We got our tickets and purchased station lunches, then waited for the train to depart.

Check location on map

This time, we could catch a train that does not require bikes to be packed in a bag, but in case we missed the train, we decided it was safer to have a bike-bag handy. I packed my bag in my bike pack, but Tsucchi sent it from Taipei to Family Mart in Hualien Station with a delivery service the day before starting the round-trip to save weight. He received it safely at the store in front of the station.

I received my ticket without incident and purchased today's lunch. I was looking for the "Taiwan Railway Bento" at the "Taiwan Railway Shop Hualien Branch" next to the ticket gate. I had a hot bento with pork spare ribs and braised egg on a bed of rice.

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When you are ready to board the train, you can push your bicycle through the ticket gate. You can also take your bike into the elevators, which makes it wonderfully smooth to move around the platform and get into the car!

The train we took had a special car for bicycles at the end, and we were able to get on the express train too.
The cost for one adult and one bicycle from Hualien Station to Jiaoxi Station was 363 yuan (approx. ¥1,700). This is a very reasonable price for a 100km trip.

Half of the space in the vehicle is dedicated to bicycle racks, and the rest is for seating.
The bike is simply placed on the rack and fastened to the front and rear wheels with belts, but my bike weighs about 30kg, soit took two people to get it on the rack.

This is what the rear of the rack looks like from the seat. It feels safe to have the bicycles within eyesight.

Spread out the "Taiwan Railway Bento" that we had been waiting for and had lunch. Enjoyed the train ride for about 1 hour and 30 minutes (about 100km).

After completing the train ride, we arrived at Jiaoxi Station, where the day's lodging was located. Since the bike could be loaded directly onto the train, there was no need to disassemble it or reassemble it upon arrival at the station.

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Jiaoxi is one of the best hot spring resorts in Taiwan, and there is a footbath in front of the station.
We rode through the mecca of downtown in front of the station to the inn 1km away. Tsucchi and I were excited to arrive at the inn before daylight for the first time in a while!

About 5 minutes from the station, we arrived at today's inn, Onsense Villa.
The inn is divided into three buildings, A, B, and C, with guest rooms on the third through fifth floors of each building.
The first and second floors of each building are shared kitchens and dining rooms, and it is interesting that they could be used freely.
I was allowed to leave my bicycle in the kitchen on the first floor.

Check location on map

Day 8's room is a twin-bed. In the baths installed in each room, you can enjoy a hot spring as the name of the hotel suggests.

The downtown area is a short distance from the hotel. Rather than force myself to head to town and eat out, I decided to relax in the hot spring bath in my room, relying on Uber Eats for the second time on this trip.
We ordered mainly hot dishes such as fried rice, dumplings, and soup at "拾松辦棹小吃(shí sōng bàn zhào xiǎo chī)", a well-reputed Taiwanese restaurant in town. We enjoyed our last dinner around Taiwan with local beer.
Although the last day of the trip was still tomorrow, we shared a sense of loneliness and accomplishment on our last night together, thinking, "I thought it would be a long nine days but it's already only one day of cycling left for us."