For a massage in Shilin, check your watch first.
Forty-odd shops are on file. The earlier Shilin massage picks read them by three streets, Wenlin Rd, Zhongzheng Rd and Tianmu; this one reads them by the clock. The same shop at two in the afternoon and half past ten at night is two different shops. Every name and number comes from the Shilin massage list.
14:00, the whole district open
Two to six in the afternoon, Shilin’s loosest four hours.
森SPA足體養生館 - 士林館 at Wenlin Rd 102, 4.8 stars and over 3,950 reviews, walk straight in at this hour. 夯足足體養生會館 Hang Foot Massage at No. 135 with over 3,300 and 指舞春秋足體養生會館 士林會館 at No. 69 with over 1,600 have beds as well.
The Zhongzheng Rd row is empty too. 明易足體按摩 士中館 at No. 211, 4.8 stars and over 100; 錫安泰式按摩養生館 siam thai massage at No. 200, over 210; Dr.撥運動按摩 台北士林店 創新調理 at No. 381, a perfect score and 101 reviews, the one for sports injuries and easiest to book in this slot.
Foot massage about NT$800 to 1,200 an hour, posted prices rule.
19:00, Tianmu’s last round
Seven is the dividing line.
The Tianmu side is reservation-only SPA. 6星集按摩會館(天母會館) at Tianmu E. Rd 38, 4.3 stars and over 830; Eunice SPA 高島屋旗艦館 at Zhongcheng Rd Sec. 2 No. 55, 12F, 4.9 stars and 601; 逗Doll Spa台北天母店 at Zhongshan N. Rd Sec. 6 No. 134, 2F, a perfect score and over 580. These mostly sell course packages from ninety minutes up; around seven is the last entry round and most stop taking new guests after nine, each shop’s posted hours rule.
From Jiantan Station it is about twenty minutes by bus, ten or so by taxi. For Tianmu, call before seven; later means tomorrow.
Wenlin Rd at seven? The queue starts. The night market opens at half past six and the first wave of diners is in the massage chairs by eight.
22:30, the exodus
Half past ten.
Stalls start packing up, the crowd around Jihe Rd 101 drifts toward Jiantan Station, and half of it passes Wenlin Rd. A half-hour wait at the three big houses is normal at this hour, longer on Friday and Saturday.
Plainly put, if you want to lie down right now, do not stand on Wenlin Rd. Go north.
清邁星辰泰式養生館-士林 at Zhongzheng Rd 622, 4.7 stars and over 210; 新泰屋泰式養生館 at No. 637, 4.6 stars and over 200. A stretch from the market, emptier on weekend nights. 蘭泰坊泰式按摩 at Yanping N. Rd Sec. 5 No. 178 with over 140 and 泰和軒泰式SPA養生會館-士林泰式按摩推薦 at No. 186, a perfect score and 140 reviews, are on the Shezi side, five minutes by taxi. Thai ninety minutes NT$1,200 to 1,800, posted prices rule.
Or call 02 2880 7333 first and ask whether Sen SPA still has a bed, then walk over.
After 00:00
After midnight only a few Shilin shops are still taking people. The big houses on Wenlin Rd close at different times, most stop taking new guests around midnight, posted hours rule; Tianmu is fully closed.
Massage is not the main act at this hour. Shilin local late-night eats covers what is still open beyond the market. Eat first, come back tomorrow at two.
Parking, and one warning
The Jihe Rd multistory garage runs about NT$30 to 60 an hour, five minutes on foot to Wenlin Rd. Street spaces on Tianmu E. Rd and Zhongcheng Rd Sec. 2 are easy at night.
One kind of person gets warned off: Saturday, half past ten, four people, no phone call, standing at the door of Wenlin Rd 102. You will wait forty minutes. Either massage at seven and eat after, or walk to Zhongzheng Rd 622.
How the rest of a Shilin night fits together is on the Shilin page.