花蓮縣文化局 Hualien County Cultural Affairs Bureau

ChiHsin Dry Bonito Museum
ChiHsin Dry Bonito Museum Masthead Figure
  • Name: ChiHsin Dry Bonito Museum
  • Category: Reutilization of idle space
  • Level: Folk premises
  • Rownsihip: Xincheng Township
  • Feature: The skill of making dry bonito and ChiHsinTan Fishing Culture<br />
  • Address: No. 148, ChiHsin Street, DaHan Vil., Xincheng Township, Hualien County 971
  • TEL: +886-3-8236100
  • FAX: 03-8236155
  • Open hours:  Mondays to Fridays 09:00-19:00; Saturdays to Sundays 08:00-19:00
  • Ticket: 
    Persons entitled to free entry:
    Those with household registration in Hualien;Senior citizens above 65 years of age;Disabled people;Low income households。
    Please show relevant documentary proof if you meet one of the above categories.
    Children below 120cm in height.
  • Website: http://www.katsuo.com.tw/
ChiHsin Dry Bonito Museum ChiHsin Dry Bonito Museum

Service:

1. DIY activities:
a. Hand-shaved Bonito flakes
(Per person/per portion) ingredient cost NT$150... 15 minutes
b. Fun Takoyaki
c. Old-fashioned Bonito crisps
d. Chihsing Tour (per person) NT$100 - no service during summer holidays
In addition to a guided tour of the museum history and folk crafts, if there is still time, the museum will take you on an outdoor tour to visit the Chihsing community and experience the local fishing village, as well as the fishery that is a few hundred meters from the shore of Chihsingtan Beach. The entire tour is 60-70 minutes long, and you can enjoy a free bowl of mola fish ball soup.
10 or more people are required to form a group, please make arrangements in advance.

2. Food
From 10:00-18:30, specialty seafood snacks and dishes such as mola fish ball soup, fried fish cake, Takoyaki, Kuroshio noodles and Japanese style drumstick rolls are available.

3. Ocean-themed souvenirs and gifts
Tasty snacks made from fresh seafood including Bonito powder, Bonito crisps, various seafood snacks and seafood ingredients such as tuna miso, tuna powder, and Bonito peeled chilies.

A brief introduction of the facility:

Located in ChiHsinTan Community, the museum was built from a defunct dry bonito fish factory to give people a picture of how dry bonito fish was made before, which is reminiscent of the life in a fishing village in early days. The museum tells an oceanic story of how the skill of making dry bonito fish was learned in Japan and took root in Taiwan. People can have a further understanding of how an alien culture is integrated with the local fishing culture in the eastern part of the island and became one of the important features of local culture.

”ChiHsin Dry Bonito Fish Museum” is telling the oceanic story of how the skill of making dry bonito fish was learned in Japan and took root in Taiwan. The museum not only has recorded the revival and passing-on of the skills but also is an excellent stopover for tourists. People can gain an understanding of how an alien culture was integrated with the local fishing industry in eastern Taiwan.

Dry bonito fish is called “ChienJei”in Japan. The manufacturing process is very complicated. It takes about a month to make dry bonito fish from fresh bonito fish. In the manufacturing process, no preservatives, chemicals, medicine or spices are added. Therefore the fish much be carefully selected because fish that is not fresh or contains too much fat will produce unbearable odor during the process.

Migrating mackerels are the main materials for the making of dry bonito fish. ChiHsinTan, located in the eastern coastline, is famous for the production of this kind of fish. The set-net fishing is a fishing method in which fishing nets are set in the sea to trap fish on a long term basis. As the fishing nets are set in the sea, this kind of fishing ground is called set-net fishery. Normally, the setting-up of the fishing nets depends on the sea currents. The fishing nets in ChiHsinTan waters are set up with their openings facing north because of the counter-clockwise ocean currents. This kind of fishing nets is often set up not far away from the coast. Therefore the work of retrieving the fishing nets and the delivery of the caught fish to the shore can mostly be completed within the shortest possible time. Thus, every time when the fishing boats enter the harbor, they can always bring back the freshest fish. Bonito fish weighing 3 ~ 4kg is the best for making dry bonito fish. In the process, the fish is smoked by burning dry longan branches so that the dry bonito fish can give off the fragrance of longan, which is one of the most important features of this local specialty.

The disused dry bonito fish factory is a 3-story building with a basement where firewood used to be stored. The basement is the most unique feature of this building. There are professional tour guides to explain to the visitors about the manufacturing process of dry bonito fish, the history of the fishing industry along the ChiHsin coast and the making of the specimens of marine fish. Additionally, various kinds of exhibitions are regularly held such as the display of old community pictures, marine ecology exhibitions, the local culture education activities and so on. It is hoped that the precious community structure, marine ecology and the industry features of ChiHsinTan area can be further integrated and propagated through the establishment of this local museum and its combination with community resources. Also, it is hoped that glamour of this natural territory can be created through the community residents' participation.


Geography QRcode
24.02687,121.62941
Information QRcode
ChiHsin Dry Bonito Museum
Address:No. 148, ChiHsin Street, DaHan Vil., Xincheng Township, Hualien County 971
TEL:+886-3-8236100
花蓮縣文化局 Hualien County Cultural Affairs Bureau
TEL:886-3-8227121 FAX:886-3-8227665
E-mail:juisui@nt.juisui.gov.tw