One of my favorite places to shop in Taipei is the Eslite bookstore (誠品) located in the Xin Yi district. Although this location isn't open 24 hours like the other main branch in Taipei, it boasts an incredible 7 stories of endless browsing entertainment (making it the largest bookstore in Taiwan). The word "bookstore" is actually a misnomer though, because books probably only make up about 1/10 of the product offerings at Eslite.
Eslite is your spot to go get anything from limited edition audio gear to Commes des Garcons clothing; it even has its own afternoon tea spot and an entire floor of restaurants dedicated to "world cuisine" (Thai, Japanese, etc). I could spend an entire day at Eslite and not even fully explore the entire store. Most of the time, though, I head straight to level 4, where you can shop to Astrud Gilberto playing through the speakers and find cute stationary, handcrafted accessories from local artists, awesome pens and pencils from Japan, and of course, toys. Not like Nerf Guns or Bratz dolls -- I'm talking about collectible miniatures, the entire series of Holga cameras, and now...nanoblocks.
Nanoblocks are Japan's version of Legos. However, as the name implies, all blocks are super small -- tiny, in fact. I was immediately and originally drawn to an epic display of Himeji Castle in a glass case.
Although I didn't want to shell out 3000+ NT (100+ USD) for the 2000 piece Himeji Castle kit, I knew I had to have a go at these nanoblocks myself. I decided to buy some mamelogs, which are basically just miniature sets that can fit in the palm of your hand. I picked up one of each mamelog kit available -- a frothy beer mug (for my friend), a donut and coffee (for my sister), and a cheeseburger meal (for myself).
The instructions for these kits are sort of like Ikea furniture instructions -- simple enough to look at, but kind of vague and confusing when it comes down to the nuts and bolts. With miniature pieces, you almost want to kill yourself when trying to figure out the connection pattern, or when you realize you've built your kit just one notch to the wrong side and have to pull everything apart; but when you're done, you feel a huge sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. My sister and I are hooked on building and admiring these nanoblocks now, so I'm a little sad I didn't clean out Eslite's inventory when I had the chance, because we have no idea where to get them here, or how to even order them online. Anyway, here are some pictures of my cheeseburger kit.
