I’m new to Taipei, have been here for months, and am dying for a good massage (deep tissue), a real one and not the chopping, punching Asian styles. Should I just go to a hotel spa, or are there any good local ones that are CLEAN, use massage oil, and legal/legitimate? I have done searches on the Web and 99% of what’s popped up looked shady - they offer to come to your home or hotel room, even though they claim no “special service”? Is that how things work here? Or, are they exactly what I think they are? Any suggestions would be appreciated!!
If u want a good deep tissue massage, go outside Taiwan.
I get a massages about 3 times a month for a few years now in taipei and none are really good deep tissue relaxing. The closest I have found is at Sakura on Dunhua and Renai circle. But you have to stumble upon the right masseuse. No special services other than a massage offered there, if that is what you mean by “legitimate”.
The best massage I ever had was in Chiayi county, in a teeny-weeny town called Puzi. Completely legit, and she didn’t even ask what people wanted (deep tissue/aromatherapy/whatever). She just KNEW. Wish I’d kept her number; I’d make the trip just for the massage.
Thanks! Maybe I’ll wait until the end of the month and get one in the US. I do need to find one at some point. Jiayi is way too far, but I’ll keep that in mind for when I do travel outside of Taipei. I will check out Sakura. If anyone else knows of other good places, please let me know! Thanks!
Guys, I just found a great place for massage in Taipei and it’s cheap. The place is called KINRAKU (金樂足體養生會館). they specialize in giving foot massages, but their whole-body massage is very good. Their address is 台北市八德路二段324號 and phone number is 02-27711928. I just pasted the address in Google Maps and didn’t have problems getting there at all.
While they say they don’t employ the typical Asian style of massage (hitting, chopping, stomping, et cetera) you still have to tell them that. The reason i say this is that the woman who gave me the massage did try to stretch my arms by pulling them out in a jerky motion as if trying to crack something. I told her to stop it, and to my dismay, she even tried to convince me that it was okay and necessary. I insisted. So, just to be sure, you need to tell them in advance what you don’t like and be adamant about it. Asian people seem to have the mentality that if medicine doesn’t taste bitter, massage isn’t painful, or soup isn’t scolding hot (or, something along these lines) then you’re not getting your money worth or the stuff isn’t real.
But, I’m definitely going back, though, next time I’ll have to make sure to tell them that I want a massage with oil for an hour and a half ($1500, i think). By the way, they pair men with masseurs and women with masseuses. I prefer being massaged by a member of the opposite sex only because my muscles involuntarily tense up when a man is oiling me up and massaging me. Make sure you tell them if you prefer a man or a woman.
I hope this helps.