I'm in Taipei for business at the moment. Tomorrow is apparently a national holiday, so I'll have the day to sightsee and wander around. I thought it might be fun if I could get a game or two of go in. Are there go clubs in Taiwan? Anybody know where to find one? I'm in Taipei, near the corner of the brown and blue train lines (that's the Zhongxiao Fuxing train station I think). This is also sort of close to the Taipei 101 building.

And, to make it harder, I don't speak a single word of Chinese! Well, one word, "wei-chi", but I don't speak it very well because nobody understands me until I show them a picture...and then they all say "No, sorry, I don't play."

When I went to Taipei a couple of years ago, the hotel staff were helpful in finding an address for clubs. Then, the people in the club were helpful in telling me about the 24 hour bookstore in Taipei. I also found on my recent trip in China that even my badly written version of "weiqi" could be read and understood by the locals.

Best wishes.

_________________
No aji, keshi, kifu or kikashi has been harmed in the compiling of this post.
http://www.gogod.co.uk

Good idea Mark! I'll check at the desk tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, I just got back from walking around a bit. I found a go club! But sadly there was a sign across the door; a guy standing there seemed to say that it was closed until after the holiday. Oh well, maybe the desk staff will know of one that will be open.

Dang, it's my day off of work. I checked with the concierge, he found a bunch of go clubs, but they were all closed for the holiday.

So I guess I'll do some sightseeing. I found an English-language brochure for the train system that lists a lot of things to see or do, so I've mapped out some that I'll go to. It should be fun, but I wish my wife or a friend was here. I know that some people like to sightsee alone, but for me I always prefer to have somebody to chat with when I'm out.

Looks like a bit too late. But it seems that the following go institution provide places for playing go games.

棋聖棋院
No. 200, Section 2, FùXìng South Rd, Da-an Distric

中華棋苑
No. 200, Section 3, XìnYì Rd, Da-an District
http://www.saigo.com.tw/page.php?c=4

Hi,

thank you for the locations. Being in Taiwan for a while, I'll go take a look during my free time.

Just wanted to update this. Back in Taipei for the week, and decided to visit the Taiwan Chi Yuan, although I didn't play. The 3rd floor of their building is under renovation, so they're actually on the 8th floor now -- not sure if this is permanent or only temporary. They have open playing free of charge on Wednesdays from noon to 6pm. The lady at the reception also suggested the 棋聖道場 mentioned above, which has a daily charge of 150 NTD (~5 USD).

Addresses below:

台灣棋院文化基金會
Taiwan Chi Yuan Culture Foundation
台北市100羅斯福路三段28號8樓
No. 28, Section 3, Roosevelt Rd, Zhongzheng District, Taipei City, Taiwan 100
8th Floor
(Quick walk south from Exit 2 of Guting Station on the MRT)

棋聖道場
Kisei Dojo
台北市106復興南路二段200號3樓
No. 200, Section 2, Fuxing S Rd, Da’an District, Taipei City, Taiwan 106
3rd Floor
(Quick walk north from Technology Building Station on the MRT)