Hayashi Department Store(原林百貨)

Introduce

On June 30th 2013, the Hayashi Department Store(林百貨), the largest of Tainan's old building's, was opened for tours after refurbishment. Crowds lined up from 7 am until the afternoon to enter the "five story building" (五棧樓仔) built in 1932 during the Japanese Colonial Time. It was a very busy part of Tainan, but after the end of the Japanese Colonial Period, the owner returned to Japan, and the Hayashi Department Store was left empty, leaving people to eventually forget about its former glory. In 2014, its status as a department store was restored, with a great many limited edition Hayashi goods on sale inside. In addition, there are some important points that must not be missed: The elevator's floor indicator is the old style dial type, now probably the only remaining one in Taiwan, which preserves the authentic feel of the place. The Torii shrine on the top floor is also one of a kind, be sure to go upstairs and have a look. A hole in a wall from the bombing by US Forces during World War II is a link to the building's past.

Information

TEL +886-6-2213000

FAX +886-6-2210102

Address West Central Dist., Tainan City Taiwán, R.O.C

Category Historic Sites、Culture

Opening Hours Free entry 11:00~22:00

Offical Site Offical Site

Traffic

Choose a transportation method based on your departure location.

TripAdvisor Reviews

888 Reviews Write a Review

Traveler rating

6 Terrible
13 Poor
159 Average
409 Very good
301 Excellent

Traveler type

197 Families
191 Couples
177 Solo
20 Business
217 Friends

KrisD_pl

Warsaw, Poland

Restored old-style boutique

2018-11

It was just across the street from our hotel, so it was obvious that we visited Hayashi. It was originally constructed and opened on December 5, 1932, during Japanese rule. The elevators in the building were considered state-of-art at that time. The classy store was bombed during the WWII and was left in ruins. The reconstruction of the building, that started in 2006 and finished in 2014, kept most of the original interior designs, from the elevator, the floor materials, the stairways to the rooftop and ceilings. Nowadays it once again serves as a shop with some local (but not only) products. There's also a rooftop terrace, Shinto shrine and cafe. Nice to see the results of the reconstruction.
J430WNmichellek

Pacific Pines, Australia

Traveler type:

Friends getaway

Not a place to visit in summer

2019-08

Really stuffy and warm as air condition is not working in the max. They provided fan though. Interesting local products and well presented. A building that needs less that an hour to complete.
BettyandLingShing

Malaysia

Not more than a beautiful boutique

2019-05

Hayashi Department Store was built in 1932 during the Japanese occupation. It was one of the earliest building in Taiwan equipped with elevator. The building was restored in 2014. Now, it is occupied by stalls selling local food, clothes, souvenirs, and handicrafts. Hayashi Department Store is called "five-storey building". Each level of the building is uniquely decorated. We can see the scenery around the area on the top of the building. The things there were quite expensive, but unique. It worth a short visit anyway.
earlgreyane

新加坡

Traveler type:

Couples

Shopping mall selling mostly modern cultural items.

2019-07

The 1st level is selling snacks and food for souvenirs and the rest of the levels, 2nd to 4th are mostly stalls that selling bags, clothing, fancy soaps, etc. There is only 1 lift which directly brings you to Level 5 where the shrine situated at and a cafe beside it. While there is no lift to access the rest of the levels. Spent at least 20 mins to walk around the building and that's it.
sar77107

Taiwan

Traveler type:

Friends getaway

Nice place to see history and shopping

2019-04

The first elevator in town is interesting to experience. The building looks nice during night time with illumination. Going to the top of the building have a Japanese temple also can see the city view plus the mark after the war. Except of those, they also selling nice souvenir inside. And the ice cream store on the first floor corner is nice. Great place for shop with history experiences.

1-888 Reviews

All Reviews

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of Tainan City Government and TripAdvisor LLC.

Previous Back Next

Tainan Travel