漫步小旅市集 / Strolling Through the Little Travel Market

小旅市集是一個假日市集，我猜，應該是取自小旅行的含意吧，人們整天在日復一日的繁忙的工作中掙扎，到了週末期間，能夠來場小旅行，離開熟悉的城市，不一定要去遙遠的異國，或走遍名勝古蹟，到一個充滿新鮮感的地方，隨性地體會當下的美好，所以，平日人來人往的火車站，突然搖身一變，成為一個充滿異國情調的假日市集，的確是讓我充滿的新鮮感。

我本來正想快步離開火車站，但是充滿日式風情、燈火通明的市集攤位，讓我忍不住駐足停留，在市集前面，有搭建一個日式神社的布景裝置，能讓過往路人，在繪馬上寫上自己的願望，獻給神明，還真的有路人掛上繪馬，繪馬是日本神社和寺廟提供給善眾祈願的一塊小木牌，相傳古時日本人視馬為神明的坐騎，因此常常會有信眾將活馬奉獻給神社以表虔誠，因為馬匹價格昂貴，於是逐漸演變成「繪馬」的方式，給善眾寫下心願或祝福後，掛在神社。

後來我才知道，這個場地是原本的舊火車站，舊火車站並未拆除，反而是保留下來，重新規劃，再做為利用，所以，人們才有機會可以坐在那曾經載著旅客飛馳的鐵軌上，欣賞鐵軌舞台上的各式表演活動，不像台北行人徒步區，到處都有街頭藝人表演，能站在鐵軌舞台上表演，對藝人而言，應該也是蠻特別的經驗吧！

而市集區，可能是配合主題，充滿著日式風情，但是攤商賣的多是文創小物、烘培作品，及手作商品，根據我逛過大大小小市集的經驗，其實這個市集販賣的商品大同小異，不過，這個市集不知道為何，出現很多身著日式浴衣的女生，我不確定是攤商店員還是遊客，但我想是遊客的可能性居高，總而言之，真的有種在夜晚，漫步在日本傳統祭典的感覺。

Little Travel Market is a weekend market, and I guess the name might come from the idea of a "little trip". People spend their weekdays caught up in the daily grind, so on weekends, they can take a small getaway, leaving their familiar surroundings. It doesn’t have to be a distant country or famous tourist spot; it’s about going somewhere fresh and simply enjoying the moment. So, this usually busy train station suddenly transforms into an exotic weekend market, giving me a sense of something new and exciting.

Originally, I was about to hurry out of the station, but the market, lit up with Japanese-style decor, made me stop and linger. Right at the entrance was a Japanese shrine-like setup, where people could write their wishes on ema plaques to offer up to the gods. Some people were actually hanging their ema there. In Japan, ema are little wooden plaques provided by shrines or temples where people can write their wishes. Long ago, the Japanese viewed horses as divine messengers, and devotees would offer live horses to shrines as a sign of piety. But since horses were expensive, it evolved into this custom of using ema as symbolic offerings.

I later learned that this market is set up in the old train station, which was never demolished but preserved and repurposed. Now, people have a chance to sit on the old tracks that once carried travelers and watch performances on a stage set over the rails. It’s different from the pedestrian zones in Taipei, where street performers are everywhere. Performing on this track stage must be a unique experience for the artists.

The market itself has a Japanese vibe, probably to match the theme, but most of the stalls sell the usual selection of handmade crafts, baked goods, and artisanal items. From my experience visiting many markets, the products here aren’t all that different. But strangely, there were lots of girls dressed in yukata, the traditional Japanese summer robes. I wasn’t sure if they were stall staff or visitors, but it was probably the latter. All in all, it felt like strolling through a Japanese summer festival at night.

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