Brickfinder’s Taiwan LEGO Guide
While I’m sure there are lot more extensive guides out there but here is my little travelogue through some of the LEGO hotspots in Taipei, Taiwan.
As some of you know that I was in the country for a short getaway recently and I would be remiss if I didn’t take the time to check out some of the LEGO sites there.
I’m putting this together as there have been a few AFOLs who have asked what are some of the LEGO related places to check out during their visit in the Republic of China (ROC).
Taiwan seems to have a very healthy LEGO culture that has actually infiltrated into the mainstream pop culture. There was a random cafe that I visited which had LEGO paintings on the wall and the hotel which I stayed in had some Duplo figures just hanging out in the lobby.
Without further ado, here are some of the places that I visited which are all compiled below:
Taipei Underground Malls
There is a very rich toy culture here in Taiwan which is evident if you take a stroll through any of Taiwan’s sprawling underground malls. The Taipei City Mall runs parallel to Civic Boulevard and it has been the heart for toys and collectibles in the country’s capital for years.
You can actually access it right from the Taipei Main Station which is one of the central terminals for the Metro (Taiwan’s subway).
There are quite a handful of toy stores that sell LEGO on top of the usual Anime and Hot Toys figurines. The prices vary but generally are more expensive than the other local specialty shops like BidBuy4uTW, Gold Bricks, Mr. Gold and Princess Land.
You might be able to get a cheap deal if you bargain but that is quite rare. They do sell some knock-off / clone brands as well so do be wary of what you’re actually buying.
They also have some of those “cubicle” stores which sell loose LEGO minifigures and some random sets. The mall is generally open from 11am – 9:30pm.
LEGO Museum 歪樓樂高積木藝術空間 “Wild Studio”
This place houses some of the amazing builds by the members of Pockyland. Some of the builds that are on display are Rack911’s tower Taipei 101 model, 戴樂高‘s Baseball stadium and 大黑白’s 1:1 scale LEGO Deer and his famous Long Shan Temple (龍山寺).
The ‘museum’ is free to the public but they do sell some books which the proceeds go to running the place so if you are inclined, do pick up a book or two. They are around NT250 which is about SGD$13 and they are packed with instructions for a lot of their original designs.
You can read more in detail about the “Wild Studio” here. Opening hours for the studio is 10:30am – 6:30pm.
【Directions】
Address: No. 10, Lane 14, Dihua Street, Datong District, Taipei City
How to get there: Get off at “Beimen” (北門 / North Gate) station on the Green line. Take Exit 1 and walk straight down “Nanjing West Road” (南京西路), it is in one of the alleys (No.14) along that stretch. The sign is visible from the entrance of the lane.
Brick Works Cafe
There are a few branches of this LEGO themed cafe around Taipei city but the one I went to was at the Taipei Arena.
It serves your usual cafe food but the main highlight here are the LEGO MOCs on permanent display. AFOLs will definitely get a kick out of this cafe as it houses some of Alex Jones’s most famous models like the Ghostbusters HQ, Simpsons’ Springfield City and his Thousand Sunnies Ship from One Piece.
They have a free play area as well as other amenities like a Build-A-Minifigure station, brick engraving services and there are some LEGO sets (range is limited) for sale as well.
You can read more about the Brick Works cafe in detail here.
【Directions】
Brick Works Cafe (Taipei Arena)
No. 2, Section 4, Nanjing East Road
Songshan District, Taipei City, Taiwan 105
Tel: 02-25789253
Daily: 12pm – 8pm
Nearest Station: Taipei Arena
小巨蛋店
台北市松山區南京東路四段2號1樓
營業時間：12:00-20:00
Tel: 02-25789253
Just take the Metro to the Taipei Arena Station and turn out at Exit 2. The cafe is on the ground floor near the main entrance.
LEGO Exhibitions
There are currently three LEGO exhibitions taking place in Taiwan and they feature some of the best works that the country has to offer.
Lego Fantasy Adventure Story Exhibition
This is held at the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial hall exhibition center (the huge white building with the blue tiled roof). Admission is NT280 which is only about SGD$12.90. The exhibition has some of the best LEGO castle dioramas I have ever seen in my life.
The exhibition ends on the 4th of April which is like in two days so if you want to check it out, you should do it quickly. You can read and check out more photos here.
Taipei City Mall Exhibition
As I mentioned earlier about the underground malls in Taipei city, this exhibition is taking place right along the Y-District of the Taipei City Mall. This is also organised by the guys from Pockyland and it features a lot of brick-built figures from a lot of Animes and cartoons.
There is even one model inspired by the recent hit anime movie, “Your Name”. Entry is free. You can check out more photos here.
藝童遊樂趣 Exhibition
The location of this exhibition is at the Northern Miaoli Art Center which is about 1.5 hours away from Taipei City. It is a bit of a journey but there are quite a bit of displays there and the theme is centred on kids.
This will be on display till the 30th of April and entry is free of charge.
LEGO Specialty Stores
These are stores all around Taipei city that is dedicated to selling everything LEGO.
BidBuy4uTW (必買站 美國專業代購 代標 代寄)
This place is like your one stop AFOL center for all things LEGO. They have everything from current sets to ones that are retired, a Pick-A-Brick shop (yes, there is one unit that dedicated to builders and their needs), Build-A-Minifigure station, custom designed sets as well as minifigures and the list goes on. You can read my review of the place here.
They are located in the Shi Da district and the closest Metro station is the Taipower Building Station (台電大樓站) on the Green line. Get out at Exit 3 and turn right to walk down Shi Da Road (師大路). Turn right again once you hit Lane 93 and the first store should be a couple of units in from the main road. They are open for business from 10am to 9pm.
Gold Bricks
This LEGO store is actually located along the Civic Blvd which is right above the Taipei City Mall. It is located on the second floor of a nondescript building so look out for the LEGO signage at the foot of the stairs that lead up to it.
It also has a wide selection of bricks, current sets and custom minifigures. It also has a huge build-a-minifigure station and a section for retired sets as well. You can read my review of the place here. Their opening hourse are 12:30pm to 8pm.
There were a few on the list that I wanted to visit like Princess Land and Mr. Gold but was not able to due to time constraints. I apologise in advance if I did not make it to your store but I will definitely do so next time I’m up in Taipei!
LEGO Retail Stores
These are the stores that sell LEGO on top of other products as well. They usually carry a range of toy lines and brick systems like Nanoblocks too.
東東玩具百貨 Toy Store
They have a section dedicated to LEGO which is on the ground floor. The whole building sells various kid related products like books and educational toys.
Prices here are much more expensive than in Singapore but they also carry the D2C sets like the LEGO Death Star (75159) – NT24999 / SGD$1151 / USD$823 and the LEGO Technic Porsche (NT13999 / SGD$645 / USD$460).
You can check out more photos of the store here.
I just want to say that I really enjoyed myself visiting Taiwan and would like to thank all the wonderful AFOLs who have been helping me navigate the city streets and showing me what true Taiwanese hospitality is like.
There will definitely more opportunities for me to visit Taiwan again and catch up with even more Taiwanese AFOLs next time round.
Till we meet again, Happy Bricking!
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