淡水天元宮賞櫻攻略2020 / Tian Yuen Temple Tamsui Sakura Season 2020 Guide

淡水天元宮賞櫻攻略2020 / Tian Yuen Temple Tamsui Sakura Season 2020 Guide

（ Scroll down for English version / 英文版向下看）

台北櫻花季到了！眾人所知，櫻花樹是植物中的陽痿樹，所以趕快把握「短短」的賞櫻季，跟殘編去天元宮賞櫻！
Cherry Blossom Season is Here! as we all know, sakuras are trees with ED, so Seize the moment and watch it before it ends!

先看時尚高潮ＹＴ遊記影片 / Watch our Youtube vlog first:

殘編年輕離開日本時的最大遺憾就是沒吃到河豚跟沒賞到櫻花，如今已經返日好幾次吃好幾回的河豚，在加拿大不只看到油畫般的楓葉，也賞到明信片般的櫻花，但還是無法滿足我的賞櫻願。最近聽說士林櫻花步道盛開，揪朋友一同賞櫻，卻被笑無知，因為殘編新家附近的淡水天元宮就可看到，而且攝影點多加一個「天元宮」，讓拍出作品更加分。

淡水天元宮賞櫻季2020 / Tianyuan Temple Tamsui sakura cherry blossom

淡水天元宮 / Tianyuan Temple Tamsui

淡水天元宮賞櫻攻略2020 / Tianyuan Temple Tamsui sakura cherry blossom guide and review

淡水天元宮賞櫻攻略2020 / Tianyuan Temple Tamsui sakura cherry blossom guide and review

English version / 英文版:
My biggest regret when I left Japan at a young age is to had missed eating blowfish (pufferfish) and hadn’t had the chance to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom. However, since then, I’ve traveled back to Japan several times and completed those 2 on my bucket list. In Canada, I didn’t just see painting-like maple leaves, but also saw postcard-like cherry blossoms, but my sakura itch still remains. Recently, I heard Shihlin‘s cherry blossoms are in full bloom, so I invited a friend to go check them out. He laughed at my ignorance, saying there’s an even better place to see them just in my new Tamsui hood called Tianyuan Temple, with the majestic Temple adding value to the photography.

• 天元宮歷史與簡介 / What is Tien Yuan Temple?

座落於台北淡水水源里山上的天元宮，依山面海，風景宜人，距離淡水市區卻只需約5公裡，方便抵達，但可能是因為春節期間或旺季，殘編昨日造訪時四周不但有交通管制，宮內停車場也沒有對外開放，但附近很多私人停車場，收費均是計次制，一次$100，咱們快閃族的雖只停了約一小時，但在混亂當下，停的到位子就該偷笑了。天元宮停車場平日開放時間為上午8:00至下午9:00。但據說交通管制會持續到3月31日，並視花期彈性調整。假日於8:00-20:00執行，平日於7:00-19:00執行。

淡水天元宮停車場平日開放時間 / Tianyuan Temple parking lot open hours

English version / 英文版:
Nestled in the mountains of Shuiyuan, Taipei, Tianyuan Temple is blessed by the surrounding nature with mountains and water. The location is only about 5 kilometers away from the city of Tamsui, making it easy to get to on an average day. However, there were traffic restrictions when we visited yesterday, either due to the high season or CNY. Parking in the temple was not open to the public, but there are many private parking lots nearby, mostly charging a flat-free of $100NT. To fast-travelers like us who park for only an hour may seem like a waste, but with so many tourists, feel lucky to find one already. On regular seasons, Tianyuan Temple‘s parking lot is open from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm on weekdays. However, word is the traffic control will continue until March 31 and will be adjusted accordingly, depending on the blooming. Traffic control starts from 8:00-20:00 on weekends and from 7:00-19:00 on weekdays.

• 天元宮內 / Inside Tianyuan Temple：

淡水天元宮天聖門 / Tianyuan Temple Tamsui gate

天元宮內山坡地形，很適合天晴時造訪走走，登上二十一個階梯即進入天聖門（石頭大門），在爬一小段山坡路即可達天元宮正殿拜拜，殿內以金色跟白色打造出神聖的光輝氣勢，美侖美奐。殘編是無神論者，因為我相信沒有任何宗教的神能對小小弱女子這麼殘忍，所以我只相信科學、獨角獸和聖誕老公公（聖誕老公公跟加拿大國旗穿一樣的紅白色）。因此，拜拜跟研究佛像的這一步我就跳過了。天元宮周遭並沒見到櫻桃樹，但殘媽懶惰的抱怨，讓我更堅持繼續往上爬一探究竟。果然有毅力就會有收穫，繞過恭候往上走即可看見粉紅色「賞櫻，繞過恭候往上走即可看見粉紅色「賞櫻步道」的標誌，在努力一下就會開始看到自拍棒跟手機自拍族，等看到三腳架、單眼累的專業相機時就是拍照的最佳時機啦。

路ㄒㄧㄢtrail

淡水天元宮賞櫻路線 / Tianyuan Temple Tamsui sakura trail

淡水天元宮賞櫻路線 / Tianyuan Temple Tamsui sakura trail

English version / 英文版:
The hillside terrain and nature surrounding of Tianyuan Temple make it an ideal attraction on a sunny day. 21 stone steps take you to the main gate. A short climb up the hill brings you to the main temple, decorated with glorious gold and white. I respect all religions, but my unexpected turn of life-changing events makes me an atheist. Now I only believe in science, unicorns, and Santa Claus (Santa wears red and white like the flag of Canada). Therefore, I skipped praying and studying the story of each Buddha statue. Cherry blossom trees aren’t planted directly around Tianyuan temple, but my mom’s complaints pushed me to continue climbing out of spite. Because again, I don’t do things half-way. I guess at Tian Yuan, God rewards those who try. As we climb higher, signs of “cherry blossom trail” start appearing, then there are selfie sticks and cellphones. The higher we climb, the more sakura (cherry blossoms) we see. When tripods and DSLRs are out, that’s your cue to take your best shot.

季

淡水天元宮賞櫻季2020 / Tianyuan Temple Tamsui sakura cherry blossom

淡水天元宮賞櫻攻略2020 / Tianyuan Temple Tamsui sakura cherry blossom guide and review

淡水天元宮賞櫻攻略2020 / Tianyuan Temple Tamsui sakura cherry blossom guide and review

• 天元宮食物 / The Food at Tiayuan Temple:

宮內並無販賣食物，我想，這就是為什麼殘編看到許多遊客都坐在門外的階梯上狂嗑東西吧！宮內雖無販賣食物，但入口附近有很多小吃攤販。我想當地最出名的名產應該就是「草仔粿」跟「豬血糕」吧？因爲這賣這兩種小吃的攤販最多。其他的攤位也有賣鹽酥雞、蔥油餅、鳥蛋、茶葉蛋、香腸等等各式各樣的台灣道地小吃。

English version / 英文版:
No food is sold in the temple (duh, it’s a temple), hence the many tourists sitting on the staircase out the gate stuffing their faces. However, many street food vendors surround the temple. My guess is their specialties are pig’s blood cake and Caozaiguo, a stuffed snack made with glutinous rice, because most vendors have them on the menu. Other local Taiwanese street food, like fried chicken, scallion pancakes, quail eggs, tea eggs, sausages, and more, can also be found.