Pine Garden

Established in 1942, Pine Garden that served as a command center during the Japanese Colonial Era is now the best-preserved Japanese military structure in Hualien. It boasts a touch of Japanese charm and will transport you back to the old days of Taiwan.

Situated at the highest point of Hualien City and overlooking the Hualien Harbor and the Pacific Ocean, Pine Garden was a strategic point of high importance that allowed the Japanese forces to command their battleships and fighter aircrafts without any difficulty. At the end of World War II, numerous special attack units such as kamikaze (神風特攻隊) were developed for suicide missions, in a desperate move to compensate for the annihilation of the main fleet. It it said that before the kamikaze pilots went on their last missions, a special ceremony would take place here at Pine Garden, where they received a glass of wine bestowed by the emperor. Later, during the renovation of Pine Garden, visitors often heard greetings in Japanese but never saw anyone around them. Locals started to believed that Pine Garden has been haunted by the Japanese pilots. As creepy as it may seem, urban explorers and thrill-seekers are still drawn here to seek out the mysteries that lie behind the walls, especially during the ghost month. After World War II, Pine Garden was turned into a vacation resort operated by the U.S. Army. Today, it is a prestigious cultural hub dedicated to poetry in the beautiful city of Hualien.

Pine Garden allows guests to appreciate the century-old pine trees at different times of the day when the light hits the scene from different angles. When you look across to the east, the calm and serene Pacific Ocean will greet you from the distance with a sense of bliss.

Notice:

Closed on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.