These Claw Machines in Ximen Are an Instagrammer’s Neon Paradise
If you’ve spent any time at all in Taipei, you’ll know how deep the Taiwanese obsession for claw machines runs. Official estimates put their numbers in the thousands, and for some reason, these machines — usually open 24/7 — are always packed with adults playing for any number of weird and wonderful prizes. And while most of the time these arcades are background noise to us, we recently came across an amusement centre packed full of them that had its own unique twist: it was completely designed for social media.
BIG PINK is located in Ximen, hidden in an alleyway just minutes away from the MRT station. It’s free to enter and oh-so delightfully Instagrammable. Every corner of the modest-sized amusement centre is full of photogenic neon signs, plushies, photographs, and of course, rows and rows of claw machines.
The neon signs are usually placed in spots that make them easy to take photos of. They come in both Chinese and English.
For the more politically minded, there are silly portraits of our (least) favourite president: Donald Trump. Kim Jong Un features in the painting next to his.
There are plenty of eye-catching photo spots to go around, and even on the busy Saturday that we went, BIG PINK was, surprisingly, a little pocket of calm in the hectic world of Ximending.
The machines cost $10 per turn to play and have a wide range of prizes, ranging from cookies and candies and key chains to plushies of all sizes. We quickly ran out of change, but that didn’t matter since there were plenty of coin machines to go around. We chose the easiest looking machine with some cookies and attempted to hook our prize. We actually succeeded in hooking it multiple times, but at the last moment, it would fall out of the claws. All in all, this made for a frustrating yet almost completely unentertaining experience.
Still, though, the appeal is not totally lost on us. The plushies, key chains, and phone charms are all very cute, and the idea of getting one for just $10 is an enticing one. It’s also extremely frustrating to lose something at the last minute, literally watching it slip from the shiny fingers of the machine. It’s not hard to see how people get addicted to these things, but we’re happy to report that we are not joining their ranks any time soon. But no matter — we still enjoyed stopping by BIG PINK for the unique design, and we managed to snap some killer photos while we were at it.
What’s the vibe?
An Instagrammer’s neon paradise. The crowd was mostly young Taiwanese women hanging out and playing on the machines, or taking photos with the signs.
Worth it?
That depends on you. It’s free and right in the centre of Ximen, so it’s easy to pop in and check it out. It’s also a great place to take photos. However, unless you’re interested in claw machines or photo-taking, you can probably sit this one out.
Would you go back?
Not by ourselves, but we’d definitely bring friends who want to take photos. It is free to visit after all!
Visited: March 2019
| BIG PINK |
| Chinese Name: 大粉娃娃機主題館 |
| Hours: 1pm – 10pm |
| English Address: No. 4, Lane 27, Chengdu Road, Wanhua District, Taipei |
| Chinese Address: 108台北市萬華區成都路27巷4號 |
