Hinoki Village

Chiayi was the base for the Alishan forest railway and the timber industry it served, and the Japanese administration built dormitories for its forestry staff from the cypress the industry was cutting. Twenty-eight of those wooden houses survive in one block, restored in the 2010s and let to shops, cafes and craft studios. The wood is the point: the buildings are made from the trees the town existed to fell, and the smell of cypress is still in them.

What you actually see

• The cypress houses - twenty-eight wooden dormitories from the Japanese period.
• The timber connection - buildings made from the trees the industry cut.
• The shops and studios - craft and coffee occupying the restored interiors.
• The forestry context - the railway and timber history the district came from.

When to go

Year round; shops keep daily hours and close on some weekdays. Evenings are pleasant when the buildings are lit. Weekends are busy.

Honest expectations

It is a commercial development in historic buildings and the shops are much the same as elsewhere. The block is small and an hour covers it. Some houses are closed.

Nearby

Chiayi station and the Alishan railway are nearby, and Alishan is east up the line.