How to Store Luggage and Use the Lockers in Taipei & Across Taiwan

Whether you’re visiting Taiwan on a layover, for a few days, or longer, you may find yourself in situations when you want to store your luggage for a while.

Luckily, Taiwan makes this very easy, with hundreds of luggage storage lockers. You can find these at Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) and other airports, train stations, HSR stations, and MRT stations across the country. I’ve personally used these lockers many times and they are extremely convenient. There are also a few baggage storage centers and a new luggage delivery service in Taiwan.

In this article, I will cover how to find and use these lockers and baggage centers in Taipei and other places in Taiwan. You may also want to see my guides to getting from Taoyuan Airport to Taipei, how to book trains in Taiwan, and how to book HSRs in Taiwan.

How to Store Baggage in Taiwan: Summary

• There are luggage storage lockers at Taoyuan International Airport, some Taoyuan Airport MRT stations, some Taipei MRT stations, some TRA (regular train) stations, and all HSR (High Speed Rail) stations across the country.
• These lockers usually take cash or EasyCard (see my EasyCard guide and order an EasyCard here). You’ll typically pay for the first 3 hours upfront, then pay more when you retrieve the luggage if you go past 3 hours.
• Almost all of them have a button for English, but I did find a few older storage lockers in the underground malls of Taipei Main Station that had Mandarin only. The lockers are generally very easy to use and all the instructions and rules are printed at each locker station.
• Most have a maximum storage period of 24 hours (TRA train and MRT stations) or 3 days (Airport, HSR, and Airport MRT stations)
• The ones at the airport are accessible around the clock, but others are only accessible during train station opening hours (usually around 6 AM to midnight).
• For longer storage, larger items, or luggage delivery, visit Taiwan Pelican Express (all terminals of all major airports), the Taipei Station Baggage Service Center beside Taipei Main Station, or the baggage centers at Taichung and Ruifang TRA stations.
• There’s also a brand new luggage delivery service from Taoyuan Airport or Songshan Airport to hotels in Taipei City.

Storing Luggage in Taipei

Taipei unsurprisingly has the highest concentration of luggage storage options in the country.

This can be super handy for travelers arriving in Taipei too early to check in to their hotel, checking out from their hotel many hours before they need to go to the airport, day trips, and many other situations.

Lockers at the Airport MRT Station

The Taoyuan Airport MRT station is located here, approximately 200 meters west of Taipei Main Station (the main train station building where the TRA, HSR, and Taipei MRT stations are, located here).

The Airport MRT station and Taipei Main Station are connected by a long underground tunnel. It takes about 10 minutes to walk between them.

Since the Airport MRT station is where many visitors to Taipei arrive in or depart from the city, it can be very convenient to store your luggage there.

After riding the Airport MRT from Taoyuan Airport to Taipei Main Station, I saw several sets of these bright orange luggage lockers just after getting off the Airport MRT, going up the escalators, then swiping out from the station.

These lockers are run by OWLocker. Besides the Airport MRT station, you can find them at several others stations and tourist destinations around Taiwan.

See the full list of Owlocker locations in Taiwan here. The list includes most HSR stations, Sun Moon Lake, Cingjing Farm, and more.

As you can see from these photos, they have small size lockers (42 x 40 x 58 cm). I found that the small size was always big enough for my carry-on luggage. These are TWD 40 for three hours.

They also have large size lockers (84 x 40 x 58 cm), which would be better for check-in sized luggage. These are TWD 60 per three hours.

You can only access these lockers during station opening hours (around 6 AM to Midnight).

These orange lockers are different than some other ones I’ll cover below because you can store luggage in these ones for up to 3 days (24 hours x 3 or 72 hours) in the orange lockers found in HSR stations Taiwan, or up to 6 days (24 hours x 6 or 144 hours) for the orange lockers found in any airport (currently on their list of locations, the only airport I see is the airport in Penghu).

They are also the only lockers I saw in Taiwan that take credit cards (but your international credit card may or may not work).

Steps for Using the Lockers

Just like most luggage storage lockers in Taiwan, you’ll activate the screen by pressing anywhere on it, then there should be a button to choose English.

Then you can choose any of the available lockers from the screen (see below). It couldn’t be easier or clearer. You can put your luggage in that locker now if you’d like, but you’ll have more time to do it after you pay.

After choosing the locker, you’ll be taken to the payment screen. As you can see in the below image, you can pay by cash or Smart Card (EasyCard or iPass).

Also note there is the option to pay by credit card as well. Although I didn’t try it, I wouldn’t be surprised if only Taiwan-issued cards or a limited number of international cards work here, but you can always give yours a try!

And of course there are more options like LINE pay and EasyWallet, if you happen to have any of those.

If paying by EasyCard, you’ll need to hold it down on the sensor for a full 5 seconds. You’ll need to use the same EasyCard to retrieve your luggage later.

After you pay, put your luggage in the locker, and close it, you’ll receive a receipt with a password, which you’ll need to key in to retrieve the luggage later.

I highly recommend taking a photo of the locker set number (such as 211 in photo of the lockers above), your individual locker (such as 06 in the close up photo of the lockers), and your receipt (in case you lose it). If your phone might run out of battery, write them down.

If you don’t return and collect the luggage within 72 hours (or 144 hours if you happen to use an airport one), someone will come and take it, and you’ll need to call a number posted on the lockers to retrieve it.

Here are some more detailed guidelines from these lockers. Ignore the point about prices going up to 144 hours (6 days) – most of these lockers only work for up to 72 hours (3 days). Confusingly, they don’t mention this on the below instructions but I have found this info on their website.

Lockers at Taipei Main Station

There are tons of lockers at Taipei Main Station. I have no idea how many sets in total, but there are easily dozens of sets of lockers. They are operated by different companies than the above orange lockers.

I saw the largest number of baggage lockers on B1 of the station, so that means directly below the main Taipei Main Station building, where you’ll also find the entrances to the TRA (regular train) and HSR (High Speed Rail).

Most of the lockers I saw here were the below white kind. They are pretty similar to the orange ones I described above, with the biggest difference being that the maximum storage period is 24 hours, not 3 days.

You may notice that the lockers in the photo above are only smaller size, but there were others that also had larger size. The above ones were TWD 10 per hour.

You must be aware that the underground portion of Taipei Main Station is enormous and it’s easy to get lost there. Besides the TRA, HSR, and MRT stations, there are 4 underground malls (M, K, Y, and Z), and underground walkways that go for hundreds of meters in several directions.

Therefore, if you use any locker here, it’s especially important to remember/photograph which one. I suggest that you also find a nearby landmark so you can find your way back to it later.

One good idea is to take the nearest escalator up to the ground floor of Taipei Main Station, then take note of the nearest station exit number. Be careful using something like FamilyMart or 7-Eleven as a landmark as there are several of each of these in the station.

Steps for Using the Lockers

Typically for any luggage lockers you use in Taiwan, you’ll need to touch the screen first to activate it.

One time I found that a screen was stuck on a Mandarin page. I just tried clicking some buttons randomly on the screen until one took me to the home page (pictured below).

Next, click on any of the green (available) lockers and put your luggage into that locker. If you try to close the locker now, it won’t work yet.

You’ll need to pay first. In the below screen, click on “coin” for cash payment or “Easy/iPass Card” for payment with EasyCard or iPass. Next, hold your card on the sensor for 5 seconds without moving it.

After the payment is accepted, you’ll have about 1.5 minutes to close the locker door. When you close it, it will lock. There will be a final screen showing your EasyCard balance (if you paid with EasyCard).

Make sure to take your receipt, which has the password you’ll need to retrieve the luggage. Also photograph your individual locker number and the number of this set of lockers. Make note of a nearby landmark or station exit number so you can find them again later.

Here is the whole process illustrated:

In some of the furthest reaches of Taipei Main Station, such as Underground Mall Z (which extends for a few blocks west of the station below Zhongxiao West Road, I found some older storage lockers that didn’t have English and only take cash.

I used these one day when I stayed at Roaders Plus Hotel, which was just above Exit Z8 (and I believe I found the lockers in question at Exit Z6). I had to check out from my previous hotel early that day, so I figured it made sense to store my luggage as close as possible to my next hotel (in retrospect, I probably could have stored it at the hotel, but I didn’t check because I was in a rush).

Although I can read Mandarin, I feel that even if you can’t, you could still manage to use these if you’ve used other lockers in Taiwan before. The process is basically the same.

The main thing to note about these is that only locker numbers with a green light on the panel above are available, and red light means taken. No light also means not available – I learned this the hard way when I put some money in, tried to choose a blank light one (there were no green ones at that time), and I lost the money.

Lockers at MRT Stations

Only some Taipei MRT stations have lockers, and they are the same white kind that I described in the previous entry.

The Taipei MRT stations that have baggage storage lockers are: Taipei Main, Beimen, Zhongshan, Ximen, CKS Memorial Hall, Dongmen, Taipei 101, Xiangshan, Sanchong, Jiantan, Yuanshan, Shilin, Beitou, Xinbeitou, Tamsui, Zhongxiao Fuxing, Zhongxiao Dunhua, SYS Memorial Hall, Songshan, Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center, Gongguan, Xindian, Xinpu, Banqiao, Fuzhong, and Taipei Zoo.

You can see the precise sizes of the lockers and location (near which exit) in each station here on the MRT official site.

Taipei Station Baggage Service Center

If you want to store your luggage for multiple days, ship it somewhere, or it’s too big to fit into a locker, then you should use the Taipei Station Baggage Service Center.

The center is located here one block east of Taipei Main Station and 1 block south of Kuo Kuang Bus Station (where buses go to/from Taoyuan Airport).

The baggage center is open daily from 8 AM to 8 PM, so you can only drop off or pick up luggage during those hours. To determine the price per day, they will add up the total height, width, and length of your luggage.

Under 100 cm total will be TWD 30 per day, under 150 cm is TWD 50 per day, and over 150 cm is TWD 70 per day. You’ll pay the first day up front then the rest when you pick up. If you leave it for more than 10 days, the daily fee will be double after that.

Storing Luggage at Taoyuan Airport & Other Airports

If you have a short stopover at Taoyuan International Airport (see my stopover guide) or any other airport in Taiwan, you can make use of the luggage lockers. For longer storage, you’ll want to visit Pelican Express.

Lockers at the Airport

Both terminals of Taoyuan International Airport (see my Taoyuan Airport visitor’s guide) have luggage storage lockers. These are similar but not identical to the lockers in Taipei Main Station and Taipei Airport MRT Station that I described above.

For Terminal 2, I found two sets of these lockers in the ground floor of the Arrivals building (non-controlled area), but only one of them worked.

When you come out into the Arrivals Hall, turn right, walk to the end of the hall, then turn right down the hallway. This is the same direction for the bus station, so you can also just follow the signs to the bus station.

These lockers take cash (Taiwanese currency only) or EasyCard. If you pay with cash, the machine takes coins or TWD 100 bills only.

Items can be stored for up to 3 days (72 hours). You’ll pay for the first 3 hours first, then settle any remaining balance when you pick up. If you swipe with EasyCard, you’ll need to swipe the same EasyCard when you return.

The price is TWD 40 per three hours (small locker) or TWD 60 per three hours (large locker).

I found another set of such lockers at the opposite side of the Arrivals Hall (turn left then left down hallway), but they were not working when I was there (late 2023). They were directly opposite Pelican Express (see next section).

For Terminal 1, similar lockers can be found at the southwestern corner of the ground floor Departures Hall, behind the check-in counters, and just before the hallway that leads to the Arrivals Hall.

Similar lockers can also be found at Songshan, Taichung, and Kaohsiung International Airports in Taiwan.

Longer Luggage Storage and Delivery at the Airport

If you want to store luggage at Taoyuan Airport or any other airport in Taiwan for multiple days, or if you want to ship it to anywhere in Taiwan, then visit Taiwan Pelican Express (台灣宅配通).

I don’t have a price list for luggage storage, but the daily rate will definitely be cheaper than using the lockers at the airport.

At Taoyuan Airport Terminal 2, you can find Pelican Express by turning left when you exit into the Arrivals Hall, walking to the end, and turning left down the hallway. There’s also one at the front side of the Departures Hall.

At Terminal 1, you’ll find it at the northeastern corner of the Departures Hall. I noticed that most locations usually had a line of customers, and some of them are not always open. Make sure to factor some waiting time if you’re planning to use this service.

I’ve never personally used their luggage delivery service. But I do want to point out that luggage delivery service in Taiwan is nowhere near as advanced or convenient as in Japan, where most large train stations have services that will forward your luggage to your next hotel.

In Taiwan, you’ve only got Pelican Express and it is only at the airports. Some hotels in Taiwan will offer this service (of transferring your luggage to your next destination), but only a limited number of upscale hotels in Taiwan will do this.

However, Taiwan is improving, now that there’s a brand new luggage delivery service from Taoyuan or Songshan airports to hotels in the city. Hopefully this service will be expanded to even more

Luggage Storage at TRA & HSR Stations Across Taiwan

When traveling around Taiwan, you may sometimes also find it convenient to store luggage in lockers or baggage centers.

TRA Stations

For regular (TRA) train stations, here is a complete list of stations that have luggage storage lockers across the country. The locker dimensions (in centimeters) are included.

If the above link doesn’t work for you (Taiwanese websites can be awful), you can find it yourself by going to the TRA homepage, hovering over “Passenger Services”, then clicking “Station Automatic Storage Lockers Storage Service”.

These will typically be maximum 24 hours, have English, and take cash or EasyCard. In some cases, they are inside the station so they can only be accessed during station opening hours (around 6 AM to Midnight, but varies slightly by station). But in a few cases, I’ve seen some that are in a part of the station that can be accessed 24 hours.

Notably, and not noted on the webpage, there are luggage storage lockers at Fenqihu (between Chiayi and Alishan) and at Alishan bus station (at the back of the station’s 7-11 near the restrooms).

There are no luggage storage lockers at Sun Moon Lake. One locker website mentions you can store luggage at the Visitor’s Center in Shuishe (the main village at SML), but I have yet to confirm this.

Taichung TRA Station also has a baggage center for longer, cheaper storage, located here, while Ruifang station has one here – perfect for day trips to Jiufen and stops on the Pingxi Line.

I’m not aware of any others in other stations across Taiwan – please let me know in the comments if you find any others!

HSR Stations

Every HSR (High Speed Rail) station in Taiwan has at least one set of luggage storage lockers and usually more.

The ones I used at Taoyuan HSR Station (beside FamilyMart on ground floor) were the exact same orange type that I described at the top of the article, for the Airport MRT station.

These are good for up to 3 days, have small and large size, English directions, and take cash or EasyCard.