Did you know that Taiwan was actually Japan’s first colony? You can still feel it, once you step on the shores of Taiwan-you can feel a little bit of China, and a little bit of Japan… but don’t tell the Taiwanese that.
Japan wanted to show off to the world that they can also do the imperial colonizing thing as the Westerners can, and wanted to set Taiwan as a model example. You can still see the remnants of Japan especially in Taiwan’s old towns, particularly Jiufen and Shifen. If you want to experience more history and culture, these old mining towns give a feel of what Taiwan was like during the late 20th-century Japanese occupation.