We caught the bus up to Yangmingshan for some sightseeing and hiking. The kids really enjoyed the steam vents! Some of the valleys in the area produce natural, hot, springwater with a high mineral content. Some of it is trapped and piped down to hotels and bath houses farther down the mountain. As you can see, the scenery is very beautiful.

Peitou is just north of Taipei on the way to Yangmingshan. It is well known for its numerous bath houses, as well as hotels and restaurants with naturual hot springwater baths. The river that runs through the city park is hot to the touch and smells of sulphur. Some of the bath houses pipe different types of hot springwater from the geothermal valley above.

We ate dinner at a Buddhist vegetarian restaurant, then rented a family bathing room on the second floor of the same restaurant. The room had a large tiled tub large enough for the entire family, and it had a large tap for clear, hot, sulphurous mineral water from the geothermal valley. Very relaxing! In case you are wondering, a good dinner for all four of us and the bath cost us about $20 U.S.

The first picture is a Japanese colonial administrative center and bath house. The next two pictures are of the children having fun while the bath is filling.